Is foreclosure debt collection? Foreclosing on someone's home for failure to pay their mortgage may seem like just one more way for creditors to obtain money owed to them. Courts, however, disagree about whether foreclosure constitutes "debt collection" under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices...
The federal Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), is the loan modification program designed to help homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosure. Under HAMP, certain homeowners are eligible for loan modifications that may reduce their interest rates, lower their monthly payments, and, in...
Regulations from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) require a face-to-face meeting between a mortgage servicer and a homeowner before a foreclosure on a property, if the servicer has any kind of office within 200 miles...
This is a brief overview of various defenses to foreclosure available to homeowners in Massachusetts. Keep in mind that all mortgages and mortgage servicers are different. Regardless, homeowners are protected by certain rights and consumer protection related to the handling of mortgages and foreclosure in Massachusetts....
A helpful foreclosure prevention checklist is available for free to help consumers who are having problems paying their mortgages and who want to avoid foreclosure. The checklist was created by the National Consumer Law Center, one of the leading non-profit consumer advocacy groups in the country....
The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has helped many homeowners obtain loan modifications that reduced their monthly mortgage payments. But many consumer advocates have argued that HAMP does not do enough to help homeowners save their homes. The government recently announced two important revisions to HAMP...
Recently we've had a lot of questions from borrowers regarding Ocwen's $2.1B settlement and how specifically it impacts them, if at all. Included in this post is some background and specific information on how the details of the settlement may affect you. In 2012, the nation’s...
The ability to save one’s home from foreclosure varies widely between homeowners who file for bankruptcy and those who do not, says a new research study from the UNC Center for Community Capital. Only about 8% of homeowners in foreclosure filed for bankruptcy. But homeowners who...
The Massachusetts Division of Banks has issued rules regulating the conduct of banks and mortgage servicers. The regulations re-emphasize previous requirements, such as providing timely responses to payoff requests, and not foreclosing without legal authority to do so. The regulations are effective October 11, 2013. In...
Denying a motion filed by mortgage servicer Saxon Mortgage Services, a federal judge has allowed a homeowner’s claims related to unlawful and deceptive mortgage servicing to go to trial. This is the second time in this case Saxon has tried to prevent the homeowner from bringing...
The majority of Massachusetts consumers who contact us requesting assistance with loan modification or foreclosure defense have already received numerous unsolicited mail offers from firms promising to stop foreclosure or lower mortgage payments. Unfortunately, many have paid thousands of dollars and received no assistance at...
Culik Law has prevailed in a motion in Massachusetts Superior Court to prevent the foreclosure of a family’s home by the banks Ocwen and US Bank. The homeowners were under review for a loan modification when the foreclosure was scheduled. Under various standards set by the...
The federal loan-modification program, HAMP, has been extended until the end of 2015. The main government departments that oversee HAMP, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, recently made the announcement. Originally introduced in 2009, HAMP, which is short for...
Homeowners whose mortgages are owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac have a new option for obtaining a loan modification, called a Streamlined Modification. All mortgages owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will be eligible, whether owner-occupied, renter-occupied, or even a second home. To qualify...
The federal agency regulating national banks, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, has recently set rules for how to protect homeowners at risk of foreclosure. The rules state that, before foreclosure, banks must do the following: Ensure that all required legal notices were sent to...
Reviewing a Massachusetts homeowner’s trial loan modification agreement with her mortgage bank, an appeals court ruled in Young v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (Case no. 12-1405) that the homeowner was entitled to a permanent loan modification. The homeowner’s loan modification was offered under the federal Home...
In a recent decision on the HAMP loan modification program, a magistrate judge of the US District Court for Massachusetts ruled that homeowners who were foreclosed on while under consideration for a loan modification may proceed with a lawsuit against Bank of America. Bank of America...
Massachusetts is what is called a non-judicial foreclosure state. This means that to foreclose, the bank does not have to take you to court. In some states, the bank has to file a formal lawsuit against you before it can foreclose. Consumer advocates have proposed...
In a recent decision in Massachusetts federal court, Culik Law successfully fended off a motion to dismiss the case filed by the bank that claimed to service and own a homeowner’s mortgage, Wells Fargo. The basis of the lawsuit was that Wells Fargo had foreclosed illegally,...
Under Massachusetts law, before a bank can foreclose, it is required to send a notice to the homeowner that he or she has the right to cure the default (catch up on past-due payments). The notice must also disclose the name of the bank or...