Gateway Consulting - Loan Modification & Real Estate Services

Loan Mods Continue at Steady Pace!

wordpress — Fri, 09 Jan 2015 11:36:02 +0000

HOPE NOW: Loan Mods And Workouts Continued At Steady Pace In October

About 39,000 homeowners received permanent loan modifications from mortgage servicers during October, an increase of about 15% compared to the approximately 34,000 completed in September, according to HOPE NOW, a voluntary, private-sector alliance of mortgage servicers, investors, mortgage insurers and nonprofit counselors.

Of the permanent loan modifications completed, about 29,000 were through proprietary programs while 10,023 were completed via the Home Affordable Modification Program.

Altogether, about 157,000 loan modifications, short sales, deeds-in-lieu and workout plans were completed in October. Workouts continue to outpace foreclosures four to one.

In October, HOPE NOW started receiving data from an additional servicer going back to January. This will affect all previous data reports for 2014, the organization says in a release.

There were about 65,000 foreclosure starts in October, a decrease of about 15% compared to the 77,000 recorded in September.

There were about 39,000 completed foreclosure sales for the month, up 10% compared to the 35,000 reported in September.

For comparison, in October 2013, there were about 101,000 foreclosure starts and about 51,000 foreclosure sales.

There were approximately 1.91 million serious delinquencies (60 days or more past due) in October, a decrease of 2.3% compared to the approximately 1.96 million recorded in September.

There were approximately 10,400 short sales completed in October, an increase of 8% compared to the approximately 9,700 recorded in September.

There were approximately 2,300 deeds-in-lieu completed in October, an increase of 7% compared to the 2,200 logged in September.

“Loan modifications and total workout solutions continued at a steady pace in the month of October,” says Eric Selk, executive director, of HOPE NOW, in the release. “We still see these solutions outpacing foreclosure sales by a large margin. In fact, the number of completed foreclosure sales has remained flat for most of 2014. This is further evidence of a housing recovery nationwide.”

Selk points out that during 2014, HOPE NOW, in partnership with the Making Home Affordable program, held borrower outreach events in nine markets, in addition to events with Congressman Patrick Murphy of Florida and Congressman Denny Heck of Washington.

“While housing improves on a national level, there are still pockets of the country that need extra attention as they have not reached an acceptable level of recovery,” Selk says. “As we head into 2015, HOPE NOW has tailored its outreach planning around these markets. We also plan to actively engage local elected officials, community leaders and nonprofit partners in these markets so that they have a comprehensive model for community stabilization going forward.”

BofA agrees to pay $16-$17B in US deal

wordpress — Thu, 07 Aug 2014 08:45:57 +0000

Bank of America tentatively agreed to pay between $16 billion and $17 billion to settle an investigation into its sale of mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis, a person directly familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

The deal with the bank, which must still be finalized, would be the largest Justice Department settlement by far arising from the economic meltdown. It follows earlier multibillion-dollar agreements reached in the last year with Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co.

The Wall Street Journal first reported details of the settlement on Wednesday.

The Justice Department last year reached a $13 billion settlement with JPMorgan, and last month announced a $7 billion settlement with Citigroup.

CFPB, States Reach Settlement with Ocwen

wordpress — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 02:11:03 +0000

$2 Billion in principal reduction

$125 Million in cash to foreclosed homeowners

Modeled on National Mortgage Settlement

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), together with attorneys general and state banking regulators in 49 states, and the District of Columbia have filed a proposed court order requiring the largest nonbank mortgage loan servicer in the country, Ocwen Financial Corporation, and its subsidiary, Ocwen Loan Servicing, to provide $2 billion in first lien principal reduction to underwater borrowers.

The consent order addresses Ocwen’s misconduct during the mortgage servicing process. It also covers two companies previously purchased by Ocwen, Litton Loan Servicing LP (“Litton”) and Homeward Residential Holdings LLC (previously known as American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. or AHMSI). Ocwen must also refund $125 million to the nearly 185,000 Ocwen, Litton, and Homeward borrowers who have already been foreclosed upon and Ocwen must adhere to significant new homeowner protections.

The consent order requires that Ocwen follow the servicing standards set up by the 2012 National Mortgage Settlement (NMS) with the five largest banks. Ocwen’s compliance with this settlement will be monitored by the same professional monitoring team currently in charge of enforcing the NMS, led by former North Carolina Banking Commissioner Joe Smith.

Further information concerning the Ocwen settlement is available here:

A factsheet about the proposed order filed today:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201312_cfpb_factsheet_ocwen.pdf

Common consumer questions and answers about the order:
http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201312_cfpb_common-questions_ocwen.pdf

A copy of the Ocwen complaint that the CFPB and state attorneys general filed today: http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201312_cfpb_complaint_ocwen.pdf

Bank of America TCPA Settlement

wordpress — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 21:57:01 +0000

If you received a non-emergency mortgage or credit card default servicing call or text on your cellular telephone from Bank of America through the use of an automatic telephone dialing system and/or a prerecorded voice, you could receive a payment from a class action settlement.

Case Background

The purpose of this website is to inform you about a proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to give Final Approval to the Settlement. This website explains the lawsuit, the Settlement, your legal rights, what benefits are available, who may be eligible for those benefits, and how to get them.

A settlement has been reached in these cases and affects individuals who:

Received an Automatic Call regarding a Bank of America Residential Mortgage Loan Account between August 30, 2007, and January 31, 2013; or Received an Automatic Call regarding a Bank of America Credit Card Account between May 16, 2007, and January 31, 2013; or Received an Automatic Text regarding a Bank of America Credit Card Account between February 22, 2009, and December 31, 2010. The Settlement, if approved, would provide $32,083,905 to pay any and all claims from those who received any of the above-described Automatic Calls or Texts from Bank of America, as well as to pay Plaintiffs’ attorneys fees and the administrative costs of the settlement; it avoids the further cost and risk associated with continuing the lawsuits; pays money to recipients of the Automatic Calls and Texts; and releases Bank of America from further liability.

If you received a postcard or email Notice, it is because according to Bank of America’s records, you may have received (1) an Automatic Call from Bank of America regarding a Bank of America Residential Mortgage Loan Account between August 30, 2007 and January 31, 2013 (“Mortgage Calls”); or (2) an Automatic Call from Bank of America regarding a Bank of America Credit Card Account between May 16, 2007 and January 31, 2013 (“Credit Card Calls”); or (3) -an Automatic Text from Bank of America regarding a Bank of America Credit Card Account between February 22, 2009 and December 31, 2010 (“Credit Card Texts”).

Questions? Contact the Claims Administrator at 1-877-919-9186

U.S. seeks $864 million from Bank of America after fraud verdict

wordpress — Sat, 09 Nov 2013 21:40:30 +0000

The U.S. government urged that Bank of America Corp pay $863.6 million in damages after a federal jury found it liable for fraud over defective mortgages sold by its Countrywide unit.

In a filing late Friday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the government also asked for penalties against Rebecca Mairone, a former midlevel executive at the bank’s Countrywide unit who the jury also found liable, “commensurate with her ability to pay.”

The government said the penalties were necessary to punish the bank and Mairone “and to send a clear and unambiguous message that mortgage fraud for profit will not be tolerated.”

Bank of America and Mairone were each found liable for defrauding government-controlled mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac through the sale of shoddy loans purchased from Countrywide in 2007 and 2008.

The case centered on a mortgage lending process at Countrywide, which Bank of America bought in July 2008, known as the “High Speed Swim Lane,” or alternatively “HSSL” or “Hustle.”

The government said Countrywide’s program emphasized and rewarded employees for the quantity rather than the quality of loans produced, and eliminated checkpoints designed to ensure that loans were sound.

The penalties the government requested are slightly higher than the amount lawyers in the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara had previously indicated they would seek, $848.2 million. The amount is based on the gross loss Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac incurred on the HSSL loans, the government said.

Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, has previously said it is evaluating its options for appeal. It is scheduled to respond to the government’s penalty request by November 20.

“We believe the filing overstates the volume of loans and the appropriate measure of damages arising from one narrow Countrywide program that lasted several months and ended before Bank of America acquired the company,” Lawrence Grayson, a spokesman for the bank, said Saturday.

In its filing, the government did not said it was holding off on recommending an amount to penalize Mairone until after it analyzed a financial disclosure form she provided Friday. The government also raised the question of whether Bank of America may indemnify her for the penalty.

Mairone joined JPMorgan Chase & Co after leaving the bank. She has denied wrongdoing.

“We intend, in our filing, to argue against the imposition of any penalty,” Marc Mukasey, Mairone’s lawyer, said in an email Saturday.

Penalties will be assessed by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who presided over the four-week trial in Manhattan.

The October 23 verdict was a major victory for the U.S. Department of Justice, which along with other regulators has been criticized by investors, politicians and others for failing to hold banks and individuals accountable for their roles in events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.

Bank of America paid $2.5 billion for Countrywide, but analysts have said that acquisition has since cost the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank tens of billions of dollars for litigation, loan repurchases and writedowns.

In October, Bank of America disclosed that staff of an unspecified U.S. Attorney’s office plan to recommend that the Justice Department file a civil action against the bank related to the securitization of mortgages.

And in August, the government filed two civil lawsuits in North Carolina accusing the bank of understating the risks of about $850 million of mortgage securities. The bank moved to dismiss those case Friday.

The Hustle case, like some other financial crisis cases recently pursued by the government, was brought under the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act, a law passed after the 1980s savings-and-loan scandals.

That law carries a lower burden of proof than criminal cases, and a 10-year statute of limitations in which to bring cases, twice as long as in typical securities fraud cases.

The case is U.S. ex rel O’Donnell v. Bank of America Corp et al, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 12-01422.

Wells Fargo & B of A violate mortgage accord.

wordpress — Wed, 08 May 2013 06:00:48 +0000

New York’s attorney general on Monday accused Wells Fargo and Bank of America of violating the terms of last year’s national mortgage settlement by failing to process hundreds of refinancing requests promptly.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has notified the national monitoring committee established to enforce the five-bank agreement, citing complaints of 210 prompt-processing violations by Wells Fargo and 129 by Bank of America. If the committee defers taking action, Schneiderman said he will sue for compliance.

Under the settlement, the banks are required to respond to mortgage modification requests within 30 days. Schneiderman said delays put homeowners further into debt from missed payments and penalties, pushing them closer to foreclosure.

“The five mortgage services that signed the national mortgage settlement are legally required to take specific, rigorous and enforceable steps to protect homeowners,” Schneiderman said. “Wells Fargo and Bank of America have flagrantly violated those obligations.” Bank of America spokesman Richard Simon said through March it provided mortgage relief for more than 10,000 New York homeowners totaling more than $1 billion and the bank will work to quickly address the 129 customer servicing problems Schneiderman cited.

“This agreement has been good for New York, and we continue using these beneficial programs to assist troubled homeowners in New York and nationally,” he said.

Wells Fargo said it was committed to full compliance with the settlement and its standards, adding it has helped more than 70,000 homeowners nationally and will continue to do what it can to help borrowers, including New Yorkers identified in the complaint. “It is unfortunate that the New York Attorney General has chosen this route rather than engage in a constructive dialogue through the established dispute resolution process,” spokeswoman Vickee Adams said.

The settlement with 49 states, the U.S. Justice Department and the lenders including JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Ally Financial set servicing standards and up to $25 billion in financial relief to homeowners. The standards prohibit the lenders from pursuing foreclosure while negotiating a loan modification. They require the banks to acknowledge in writing a refinancing application within three business days, notify the borrower of any missing documents within five days and make a decision on a complete application within 30 days.

In February, the attorney general’s office said 21,535 New York homeowners had received assistance, including $1.2 billion in principal reductions and refinancing that lowered interest rates on their mortgages from the five banks. However, the agency said Monday it has documented 339 violations against Wells Fargo and Bank of America since October following homeowner complaints.

The Massachusetts attorney general’s office in a May 1 letter to the settlement monitor cited several recurring issues with bank compliance including reviews taking more than 30 days and erroneous or contradictory notices confusing borrowers.

Schneiderman cited one couple from the Rockaways trying to renegotiate their loan for three years after Alton Harden was hurt on the job and whose home was later damaged by Superstorm Sandy, pushing them into foreclosure. While they submitted a new refinancing application in early March, helped by a legal services group, they received notice from the bank last week to start over and submit a new application, he said.

Banks are not complying with mortgage settlement

wordpress — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 22:30:36 +0000

Five major banks continue to pursue foreclosures against borrowers seeking loan modifications and fail to provide a single point of contact, an advocacy group says.

A survey shows that providers of mortgage customer service are violating… (Bob Chamberlin, Los Angeles…)Banks aren’t living up to pledges they made in last year’s landmark government settlement of mortgage servicing and foreclosure abuses, according to an advocacy group’s survey of California housing counselors and lawyers.

The California Reinvestment Coalition, which lobbies for low-income Californians, said banks continue to pursue foreclosures against borrowers seeking loan modifications — a practice they had sworn off — and have been ineffective at providing well-informed employees to help troubled borrowers one-on-one.

The findings, reported Wednesday by the San Francisco coalition of nonprofits and public agencies, rang true to Joseph A. Smith Jr., the government-appointed monitor for the $26-billion national mortgage settlement.

“Unfortunately,” Smith said in an email, “the survey’s findings are consistent with much of what I’ve heard as I’ve traveled the nation in the past year talking with housing counselors and other professionals.”

The report is the ninth in a series from the California Reinvestment Coalition. The CRC said the survey showed that providers of mortgage customer service also are violating consumer-protection provisions in the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, the foreclosure-prevention legislation sponsored last year by state Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris.

“Servicers continue to harm California families and neighborhoods,” said Kevin Stein, the CRC’s associate director. “Regulators need to hold servicers accountable for these violations, strengthen rules to protect disadvantaged communities, and require banks to be transparent about which borrowers and neighborhoods are receiving foreclosure prevention assistance.”

The national mortgage settlement was struck last year by 49 state attorneys general, several federal agencies and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers: Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Ally Financial Inc..

Most big servicers are national banks regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. An OCC spokesman said he hadn’t seen the survey and couldn’t comment.

John Mechem, a spokesman for the Mortgage Bankers Assn., questioned the CRC survey’s methodology and called it unreliable.

“This report is based on a small sample of nonverified anecdotal information and is not representative of the servicing environment where more than 5 million homeowners have received a loan modification in the last five years,” Mechem said.

The CRC interviewed 84 housing counselors and lawyers for the survey. Findings included problems in some key areas:

• Single points of contact. In response to complaints that troubled borrowers were bounced from one mortgage employee to another, servicers were required to provide a single contact. More than 70% of responding counselors reported that the contacts were “never,” “rarely” or only “sometimes” accessible, consistent or knowledgeable.

• Dual tracking, the practice of pursuing a foreclosure against a troubled borrowers’ home while the borrower is being considered for a loan modification. More than 60% of counselors reported that the largest mortgage servicers still dual-track “sometimes,” “often” or “always,” even though this practice should have ended months ago under the national mortgage settlement.

• Timelines. Servicers are rarely honoring guidelines for responses and decisions on borrower applications for loan modifications, the CRC said. At least 60% of the counselors said each of the five big mortgage-servicing banks “rarely” or “never” made loan modification decisions within 30 days of a complete loan modification application having been submitted.

Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, said mortgage servicers that are members of his industry group “are working hard to assist their customers who are in difficulty. They are implementing all the new standards such as continuity of contact for borrowers.”

The efforts are under review by the Office of the Comptroller, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Smith, the national monitor, Talbott said.

Smith, a former North Carolina banking commissioner, said he’s reviewing the banks’ compliance with the settlement and will report his findings early this summer.

“There are still problems around single points of contact and dual tracking,” he said.

-Scott Reckard LA Times

80,000 Loan Mods Granted in January

wordpress — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:34:01 +0000

HOPE NOW has released its January 2013 loan modification data. An estimated 78,397 homeowners received permanent, affordable loan modifications from mortgage servicers during the month. This includes modifications completed under both proprietary programs and the government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).
The January total of 78,397 loan modifications brings the total number of permanent loan modifications since 2007 to 6.15 million.

According to HOPE NOW, since 2007:

►5,002,409 homeowners have received proprietary loan modifications.

►1,151,340 homeowners have received HAMP modifications (Note: HAMP reporting began in 2009).

For the month of January:

►63,539 homeowners received proprietary loan modifications.

►14,858 homeowners received HAMP modifications.

Loan modifications completed via proprietary programs once again showed characteristics of sustainability and affordability for homeowners.

For the month of January:

►Proprietary loan modifications that included fixed interest rates of five years or more accounted for 88 percent (55,698) of the total.

►Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest monthly payments accounted for 85 percent (54,113) of the total.

►Proprietary loan modifications with reduced principal and interest payments of more than 10% accounted for 76 percent (48,595) of the total.

Gateway Consulting – California – San Diego – Loan Modification & Foreclosure Specialists

National Mortgage Settlement

wordpress — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:28:40 +0000

Federal Government & Attorneys General reach landmark settlement with major banks

Roughly $25 billion in relief for distressed borrowers, states and federal government…

In February 2012, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government announced a historic joint state-federal settlement with the country’s five largest mortgage servicers:

Ally/GMAC

Bank of America

Citi

JPMorgan Chase

Wells Fargo

The settlement provides as much as $25 billion in relief to distressed borrowers and direct payments to states and the federal government. It’s the largest multistate settlement since the Tobacco Settlement in 1998.

The agreement settles state and federal investigations finding that the country’s five largest mortgage servicers routinely signed foreclosure related documents outside the presence of a notary public and without really knowing whether the facts they contained were correct. Both of these practices violate the law. The settlement provides benefits to borrowers whose loans are owned by the settling banks as well as to many of the borrowers whose loans they service.

KEY PROVISIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT

Immediate aid to homeowners needing loan modifications now, including first and second lien principal reduction.

The servicers are required to work off up to $17 billion in principal reduction and other forms of loan modification relief nationwide.

State attorneys general anticipate the settlement’s requirement for principal reduction will show other lenders that principal reduction is one effective tool in combating foreclosure and that it will not lead to widespread defaults by borrowers who really can afford to pay.

Immediate aid to borrowers who are current, but whose mortgages currently exceed their home’s value.

Borrowers will be able to refinance at today’s historically low interest rates. Servicers will have to provide up to $3 billion in refinancing relief nationwide.

Gateway Consulting – California – San Diego – Loan Modification & Foreclosure Specialists

Banks Reach Settlement

wordpress — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:08:49 +0000

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
February 28, 2013

Amendments to Consent Orders Memorialize $9.3 Billion Foreclosure Agreement

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve Board today released amendments to their enforcement actions against 13 mortgage servicers for deficient practices in mortgage loan servicing and foreclosure processing. The amendments require the servicers to provide $9.3 billion in payments and other assistance to borrowers.

The amendments memorialize agreements in principle announced in January with Aurora, Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife Bank, Morgan Stanley, PNC, Sovereign, SunTrust, U.S. Bank, and Wells Fargo. The amount includes $3.6 billion in cash payments and $5.7 billion in other assistance to borrowers such as loan modifications and forgiveness of deficiency judgments.

Borrowers covered by the amendments include 4.2 million people whose homes were in any stage of the foreclosure process in 2009 or 2010 and whose mortgages were serviced by one of the companies listed above. These borrowers are expected to be contacted by the Paying Agent—Rust Consulting, Inc.—by the end of March 2013 with payment details. The Paying Agent will send payments and correspondence.

Borrowers covered by the amendments are expected to receive compensation ranging from hundreds of dollars up to $125,000. Borrowers are not required to take any additional steps to receive the payments. In addition, borrowers will not be required to execute a waiver of any legal claims they may have against their servicer as a condition for receiving payment.

In providing the $5.7 billion in assistance, the 13 servicers are expected to undertake well-structured loss mitigation efforts focused on foreclosure prevention, with preference given to activities designed to keep borrowers in their homes through affordable, sustainable, and meaningful home preservation actions.

OCC and Federal Reserve examiners continue to monitor the servicers’ implementation of corrective actions required by the original enforcement actions to address unsafe and unsound mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.

For the 13 servicers, these amendments to the enforcement actions replace the requirements related to the Independent Foreclosure Review. For GMAC Mortgage, Everbank, and OneWest, which did not enter agreements in principle with federal regulators, the Independent Foreclosure Review process continues. Regulators expect the reviews for these servicers to be completed over the course of the coming year. These companies service 457,000 mortgages that were in some stage of foreclosure in 2009 or 2010.

Gateway Consulting – California – San Diego – Loan Modification & Foreclosure Specialists