[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 171 (Monday, December 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2020]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   MILLIONS FORGO FORECLOSURE REVIEWS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 31, 2012

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, this is the article I referred to in my one-
minute speech this morning.

                            (From USA Today)

Millions Forgo Foreclosure Reviews (Homeowners Don't Have Much Time To 
                        Ask for Accuracy Checks)

                           (By Julie Schmit)

       Millions of homeowners who were in foreclosure in 2009 or 
     2010 could miss a chance to have their cases reviewed for 
     errors--and possible compensation--if they don't act by 
     Monday.
       That's the deadline for eligible homeowners to request a 
     free review required by a settlement last year between 
     federal bank regulators and 14 mortgage servicers and their 
     affiliates. The deadline has been extended three times due to 
     poor response from homeowners.
       More than 4 million notices were mailed a year ago 
     informing homeowners of their right to a review, but only 
     356,000 had asked for one by Dec. 13, according to the Office 
     of the Comptroller of the Currency.
       Compensation could range from hundreds of dollars to more 
     than $100,000, the OCC has said. It is overseeing the 
     settlement with the Federal Reserve.
       Requests must be submitted at 
     independentforeclosurereview.com or be postmarked no later 
     than Monday, the OCC says. Answers to questions can be found 
     on the website or by calling 888-952-9105.
       ``The (response) numbers are not terribly impressive,'' 
     says Bruce Mirken of the Greenlining Institute, a consumer 
     advocacy group.
       Greenlining, like other consumer groups, says borrowers may 
     still not be aware of the review opportunity.
       Notification materials--including the 4 million letters--
     may have been ignored because they were written in legal 
     jargon, were hard to read and looked too much like those used 
     in foreclosure scams, says James Can, a senior policy fellow 
     with the Opportunity Agenda, a non-partisan think tank. A 
     Government Accountability Office report in June echoed those 
     concerns.
       The settlement followed a federal probe in which regulators 
     found significant weaknesses in foreclosure processes, 
     including improper foreclosure document preparation.
       To meet regulators' deadlines, the GAO noted that servicers 
     had just 60 days to develop outreach materials. That didn't 
     leave time to test them with focus groups, one servicer 
     representative told the GAO.
       About 95% of the letters were successfully delivered, the 
     OCC has said.
       The reviews are intended to address a wide range of 
     foreclosure errors, including excessive fees, wrongly denied 
     loan modifications, misapplied payments or wrongful 
     foreclosures. Borrower restitution will vary by case and 
     financial harm, the OCC says. It's provided no cost estimate 
     to servicers. No one has yet received restitution, OCC 
     spokesman William Grassano says.
       The requested reviews are in addition to 159,000 reviews 
     being done, as part of the same settlement, by consultants 
     hired by the servicers, Grassano says.
       The Monday deadline should be lifted and review requests 
     should be allowed as needed, the community groups say, 
     especially since more recent outreach efforts have been more 
     consumer friendly.
       The reviews are separate from a $25 billion settlement, 
     reached between five servicers and, state and federal 
     officials, that's also meant to address past foreclosure 
     abuses.

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