By Sandy Flores
California announced his retirement from the Committee for Research on malpractices in the process of foreclosure. In a letter sent by the Attorney General of California, Kamala Harris, on Friday September 30 to Attorney General Thomas Perrelli and Iowa Attorney General, Tom Miller, Harris said the proposed arrangement, widely denounced by 20,000 million dollars-is “inadequate” for homeowners and provides too much immunity for bank officials.
After much consideration, I have concluded that this is not the deal that homeowners have been waiting for, he wrote in his letter the Attorney General Harris, who met with many of the leading banks in Washington last week. “The relief contemplated would allow too few California homeowners to stay in their homes,” he added.
The Research Committee on malpractices in the foreclosure process was installed in a joint effort last October 13, 2010 with 50 states. The attorneys general are focused on the joint detection of improper practices in foreclosure, including the participation of officials and regulators from different servers and the largest financial institutions in the country and ensure the immediate cessation of such practices.
This coordinated research is based on the clarification on whether banks and loan servicers used false documents and signatures to justify hundreds of thousands of foreclosures. “Financial institutions could benefit even better if they work with us, so that all these processes made transparent display, said Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to a television. “These agreements that were coming were to settle claims of bad foreclosure practices, including document fraud known as” robo-signing, in which the documents were passed authorizing foreclosures without actually reading them, or make some type of research. The prosecutor likewise Harris said the pending deal is “inadequate for California homeowners” and gives too much legal immunity to bank officials. It requests the State as part of the solution “to excuse conduct that has not been properly investigated,” and pledged to continue their own research. No agreement now the most populous state in the nation, and one of the hardest hit by foreclosures, it could not determine what the results of these actions will be, and how much help they provide to solve the problem of the research.
Harris noted that more than 2.2 million California residents are underwater, meaning they owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. “While we have been negotiating in good faith, foreclosures in California have grown again.” Since the start of these negotiations 11 months ago, there have been more than 560,000 additional properties with a foreclosure process in California. “No state has been more hit than my home state of California,” Harris said.
Other states, upset with the slow movement in the negotiations, as they are taking their own actions too. The New York attorney general, Eric Schneiderman, retired from the Executive Committee of 14 officials last August after refusing to accept a generalized immunity clause for banks. Attorneys general in Arizona and Nevada, two of the states hardest likewise affected by defaulted mortgages, have filed lawsuits against various banks, commenting on the lack of participation and deceiving homeowners who have tried to modify their mortgages.
This year the California Reinvestment Coalition, nonprofit organization, surveyed 55 foreclosure counselors, where they said that about 94 percent of homeowners who lost their homes had worked despite having developed a modification reasonable loan.
According to DataQuick, foreclosure tracker based in San Diego company, the number of notices of default state (first step in the foreclosure process) increased by 72.5 percent in August from 16,877 in July to 29,120. During the same period, the Sacramento area (four counties) reported an increase of 82 percent, according to DataQuick.
This represents an increase of almost 212 percent local foreclosure filings by Bank of America, which froze foreclosures last year, now intensifying in August foreclosures with the report that there have been improvements in the way processed foreclosures.
In another report of August, 78,800 properties were also reported in the process of foreclosure, are considered the largest monthly increase in the last four years, according to RealtyTrac, another tracker company reports statistics of foreclosures in the nation. The lingering effects of the foreclosure moratoriums enacted after these irregularities detected in tests of processing foreclosures are starting to disappear leading to these processes continue to form and established stages.
Five states accounted for more than half of the foreclosure activity in August. Leading this list is California, where 59.383 properties started the foreclosure process during the month of August. Florida was published as the second highest state total with 23,569 submissions, followed by Michigan with 13,016, and Illinois with 12,493 to 11,743 Georgia properties.
Note that many of homeowners who are facing difficult financial situations, have options to avoid foreclosure. It is important to know that if you are in a financial situation that allows you to continue your mortgage payments, either partial or total, it is important that you contact your bank immediately.
For banks is not financially profitable seize your property. Financial institutions make everything available to them to help you avoid repossession. Keep in mind that banks do not want the property back, and that are not in the business of selling properties, but it is their last resort. The sooner you call your bank, get help sooner. If you ignore letters or phone calls from your bank, then this will start the process of legal action leading to foreclosure. Protect yourself from false promises! Do not sign any document or contract you do not understand. It is your obligation, right and responsibility to ask questions and get clear, accurate answers. Information is your best defense against becoming a victim of mortgage fraud.
The Federal Trade Commission (Federal Trade Commission) works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them.
To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer interest issues, visit ftc.gov / Spanish or call toll free at 1 – 877-382-4357. As always, you should consider professional advice, to be better able to decide which options would best suit you in particular.
