Attorney General Bondi Announces that Mortgage Servicers Report More Than $3.6 Billion in Relief to Florida’s Borrowers

TALLAHASSEE, FL – November 19, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced today that the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers that entered the federal-state settlement over foreclosure abuses and unacceptable mortgage servicing practices report that they have provided more than $3.6 billion in borrower relief to Floridians as of Sept. 30, 2012, with an additional $1.3 billion in modification relief in the pipeline. The servicers reported that 48,998 Floridians have benefitted from an average of $73,663 in relief per borrower. Nationally, the servicers report that more than 300,000 borrowers have received a total of $26.11 billion in relief and an average of $84,385 in relief per borrower.

“Florida was one of only two states in the country that negotiated a guarantee in the settlement. The fact that servicers report $3.6 billion in relief to Florida’s borrowers within the first eight months of implementation is a promising indication that obtaining a minimum commitment from the banks has been effective,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Consumer relief can include the following: first and second lien modifications; enhanced borrower transitional funds; facilitation of short sales; deficiency waivers; forbearance for unemployed borrowers; anti-blight activities; refinancing programs; and benefits for members of the Armed Forces.

Additionally, the report contains information provided by the servicers regarding the implementation of servicing standards or reforms made by the servicers, all of which were required by the settlement to be in effect in early October. The report released by Monitor Joseph Smith today is not required by the settlement, and none of the data has been confirmed, credited or otherwise approved by the Monitor. Separate, state-specific reports were also released by the servicers and are posted on the Monitor’s website. These reports are required by the settlement, but the reported results have not been confirmed by the monitor.

Florida borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011 and who may be eligible for payment under the $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement must file claims by Jan.18, 2013. Forms have been mailed to qualified borrowers. Borrowers who have questions or need help filing their claims can contact the settlement administrator, toll-free, at 1-866-430-8358, or send questions by email to administrator (at) nationalmortgagesettlement (dot) com.

The full report can be found here. The Monitor’s state-by-state data map is available here.

The federal-state settlement with Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo was reached in February 2012, and the mortgage servicers must meet all of the terms of the settlement within three years of the execution of the settlement.