More Than 72,000 Floridians Who Lost Homes to Foreclosure Will Receive $1,480 Checks

TALLAHASSEE, FL – June 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced today that more than 72,000 eligible Floridians who lost their homes due to foreclosure between 2008 and 2011 and who submitted valid foreclosure claims through the national mortgage settlement will receive checks this month for approximately $1,480. The $1,480 payment amount is uniform for all eligible claimants throughout the country. To be eligible, borrowers must have lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011, suffered certain foreclosure abuses, and had mortgages serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase or Wells Fargo. This direct relief provided to eligible claimants is one of the facets of the $26 billion settlement entered last year between 49 state attorneys general, the federal government and the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers.

“The money from the banks that we negotiated to be provided to Floridians who lost their homes to foreclosures is one of the myriad ways we are providing relief under the national mortgage settlement,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Every borrower who filed a claim will receive a letter regarding their outcome in the upcoming weeks. Borrowers with questions about their National Mortgage Settlement payment should call the settlement administrator at 1-866-430-8358.

Attorney General Bondi, along with 48 other state attorneys general and the federal government, announced the historic settlement in February 2012. Preliminary, self-reported data by the banks shows that the servicers have provided approximately $8.6 billion in direct settlement relief to borrowers in Florida.

Importantly, the funds being dispersed pursuant to the national mortgage settlement are separate from the Independent Foreclosure Review Payments currently being dispersed by the OCC. The IFR settlement is unrelated and separate from the national mortgage settlement and does not include the same governmental agencies. The IFR payments began in mid-April of 2013, and the OCC announced that final payments will be mailed in mid-July. For more information on the OCC Independent Foreclosure Review settlement, go to www.OCC.gov and click on Independent Foreclosure Review.

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Jenn Meale
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