A group of 14 mortgage loan servicers that entered into the April settlement with the Federal Reserve Board and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have set up the independent foreclosure review mechanism the agreement calls for.
An estimated 4.5 million borrowers will be notified by a letter explaining the review process and sending a request for review form, along with a postage-paid return mailer. For those who do not receive this mailing, a national advertising campaign will take place, directing them to a website, www.IndependentForeclosureReview.com, for additional information.
The mailings will be staggered- to better manage volumes- in stages beginning Nov. 1. The form needs to be returned by April 30, 2012. It asks the borrower to provide information on the property, the borrower and any co-borrowers, and responses to questions about how they believe they may have been financially injured.
Foreclosure actions that may be eligible for a review include: if the property was sold due to a foreclosure judgment; loans referred into the foreclosure process but removed from the process because payments were brought up-to-date or the borrower entered a payment plan or modification program; loans referred into the foreclosure process, but the home was sold or the borrower participated in a short sale, or chose a deed-in-lieu or other program to avoid foreclosure; and delinquent loans in the foreclosure process where the property has not yet been sold.
The loans needed to be in the foreclosure process between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010.
