A new report shows nearly $46 billion in consumer relief has been provided nationwide to victims of the robosigning scandal as part of last year’s national foreclosure settlement with the five largest mortgage servicers.
Independent settlement monitor Joseph Smith released his third in a...
Housing Counseling
A homeowner facing foreclosure is often worried, stressed, and confused about the best course of action to take in order to save his or her home. Housing counselors serve as vital intermediaries between troubled homeowners and their mortgage servicers and work with homeowners to determine the best possible options for staying in their homes. About 45 percent of homeowners who complete counseling are able to stay in their homes, which is higher than those homeowners who do not complete counseling.
However, most housing counselors in the Chicago region do not have sufficient capacity to meet the recent influx of demand for their services. This problem is particularly acute in South and West Cook County, which have high rates of foreclosure but relatively few counseling agencies, and the collar counties. Clear lines of communication with servicers are crucial to finding the best option for the homeowner, and counselors still struggle with a lack of servicer responsiveness, transparency, and accountability. Borrowers often do not seek help until they are seriously delinquent on the mortgages or already in the foreclosure process, when it may be too late to keep the borrower in his or her home. The demand for legal counseling has also risen with that of foreclosure counseling, with low-income home owners in the Chicago area increasingly needing legal representation. The need is particularly acute in the southern and western suburbs of Chicago, where the numbers of foreclosures are risingand legal aid and court-based resources are scarce.
Counselors need more resources in order to adequately meet the need for their services, as well as ongoing training to keep up with the rapidly changing options for preventing foreclosure. Servicers need to improve internal recordkeeping and communication procedures and increase transparency into their decision-making process. Outreach must be appropriately targeted and motivate borrowers to seek help before their loans are seriously delinquent.
This page details efforts by Regional HOPI partners to increase capacity of counselors by advocating for federal and state resources and holding regular trainings on best practices, pioneer new ways of reaching borrowers, improve data collection on counseling outcomes, and improve networks among counselors. The Regional HOPI Action Plan identified Chicago region needs for housing counseling and legal aid and prioritized enhancing outreach, increasing access, and improving networks.
On March 18, 2013, more than 4.2 million people were sent postcard notices about payments they will receive as a result of an agreement between federal banking regulators and 13 mortgage servicers. As a result of this agreement, the Independent Foreclosure Review ceased at those servicers. A full list of companies and their affiliates or subsidiaries covered by the agreement are listed below....
This post originally appeared as an email from the Illinois Attorney General's office.
There are a number of mortgage related settlements currently ongoing, and the Illinois Attorney General’s office wants to ensure that you have clear, concise information. If you have received a letter or postcard regarding a settlement, please read the information...
By the National Consumer Law Center
In 2012, the U.S. is reaching the mid-point of a devastating foreclosure crisis, expected to result in an additional 10 million homes being lost (nearly 3 million homeowners have already been displaced through foreclosures). Yet there is an inexpensive fix to the broken housing crisis.
The evidence is in:...
By Urban Institute
The National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling (NFMC) program is a special federal appropriation, administered by NeighborWorks® America, designed to support a rapid expansion of foreclosure intervention counseling in response to the nationwide housing crisis. This brief summarizes the final results of the Urban Institute’s evaluation of the...
That baby boomers are swelling the ranks of older Americans is well-documented, but do we really understand the consequences of this important shift for the housing needs of older adults? A new report from the Center for Housing Policy, Housing an Aging Population: Are We Prepared?, explores the effects of this coming...
As part of his commitment to affordable housing and foreclosure prevention, Governor Pat Quinn today announced the launch of the statewide Illinois Foreclosure Prevention Network (IFPN) in his State of the State address. A multi-agency effort coordinated by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), the IFPN connects struggling homeowners with all available assistance, resources and...
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve Board Thursday released guidance that will be used in determining the compensation or other remedy that borrowers will receive for financial injury identified during the Independent Foreclosure Review.
The agencies also announced the extension of the deadline for eligible borrowers to request a free review...
Borrowers seeking a review of their mortgage foreclosures under the federal banking agencies' Independent Foreclosure Review now have until December 31, 2012, to submit their requests.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) today announced that the deadline for submitting requests...
AssetPlatform.org has released a tool that will be useful for housing counselors and other servicer providers looking to find sustainable financial products for their clients.
The AssetPlatform just added a new interactive search tool that will help you find those products your clients need most. Look for the Locator on...