Melanie Hartmann

Friday, July 31, 2009

New Foreclosure Reimbursements

Countrywide Borrowers Begin Receiving Notices of Foreclosure Reimbursements
07/31/2009 By: Carrie Bay
State officials have begun mailing letters to Countrywide customers who may be eligible for foreclosure relief payments. Countrywide’s parent company, Bank of America, said it will begin issuing checks to borrowers during the first quarter of 2010.
The reimbursements are part of the agreement reached last October between Bank of America, who acquired the once-subprime-leader in 2008, and state attorneys general from across the country to settle allegations of predatory lending brought against Countrywide.
Up to $150 million is allocated nationally to provide assistance for certain borrowers who experienced a foreclosure, short sale, or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure on their Countrywide mortgage. Forty states are participating in the program. Borrowers will be notified by letter from their state if they are eligible to receive a settlement payment.
Rust Consulting, a third-party administrator, will manage notifications and payment processing for eligible homeowners.
The foreclosure relief program is one of three components of Countrywide’s 2008 agreement with state attorneys general. The second part, the National Homeownership Retention Program, calls for the bank to modify loans and lower mortgage payments for up to 400,000 borrowers who financed their homes with subprime or payment option adjustable-rate mortgages serviced by Countrywide.
The third component of the agreement provides relocation assistance to borrowers who experience a foreclosure sale and agree to leave the property voluntarily. They are eligible for a cash payment to help them transition to a new place of residence.
Countrywide admitted no wrongdoing under the agreement reached with state prosecutors, and as a result of the unprecedented settlement totaling $8.4 billion, the individual states dropped their lawsuits against the lender.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, though, has filed a separate suit against former Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo, alleging the subprime leader employed deceptive marketing and sales practices to lure borrowers into risky, high-cost mortgages and then knowingly resold those unsustainable loans to securities investors.
According to a report by the Miami Herald, Mozilo is seeking to have the case dismissed on grounds that the Broward Circuit Court in Florida has no jurisdiction over him as a California resident. The hearing on Mozilo’s dismissal motion, originally scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed but no new date has yet been set.
Mozilo also faces civil charges of fraud and insider trading brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last month.

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Friday, July 17, 2009

Forbes names 25 Best Places to Move

Forbes 25 Best Places to Move

Google: Forbes: America’s 25 Best Places to Move

Then scroll down to In Depth: America’s 25 Best Places to Move
Then read in depth on each of the 25 Cities.

The Metroplex dominates the Forbes Best Cities:
#6 – Flower Mound
#7 – Frisco
#9 - McKinney
#12 - Carrollton
#19 – Allen
#25 – Plano
Other notable mention:
Coppell and Corinth

The Forbes List is one of the most respected annual reports in the nation.

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