Ohio Claimants to Receive Payments from the National Mortgage Settlement by June 17th

COLUMBUS, OH – June 4, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that eligible Ohioans who lost their homes to foreclosure will be sent settlement payments by June 17^th. The payment checks will be worth approximately $1,480 for each loan serviced and will be mailed between June 10th and June 17th.

“The National Mortgage Settlement concluded that mortgage servicing was so broken in this country, nearly everyone who lost their home to foreclosure suffered some sort of servicing abuse,” said Attorney General DeWine.  “While the settlement can’t make Ohioans who lost a home to foreclosure whole, this compensation can provide some relief to those facing financial hardship.”

In February 2012, 49 states and the U.S. government announced the National Mortgage Settlement with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers: GMAC (now Ally), Bank of America, CitiMortgage, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. Among the direct assistance provided in the settlement to borrowers are payments for homes lost to foreclosure sales.

In Ohio, 32,547 loan claims were accepted on behalf of 33,876 borrowers. Loans which had multiple borrowers, such as co-signors or couples now divorced, will split the approximately $1,480 amongst the multiple borrowers on that loan.

Eligible claimants were initially estimated to receive a minimum of $840 in compensation, but due a smaller number of claimants, the estimated compensation will be approximately $1,480. The payments do not prohibit borrowers from filing civil lawsuits against servicers alleging wrongful foreclosure.

Those eligible were subject to the following requirements:

• Borrower had a mortgage loan secured by an owner-occupied, one-to-four unit residential property.
• Borrowers’ mortgage loan was serviced by one of the five servicers.
• Borrower made at least three payments on the mortgage loan.
• Borrower lost home to a foreclosure sale (including strict foreclosure) between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011.
• Unpaid principal balance of the first mortgage loan did not exceed the GSE conforming loan limits (1 unit – $729,750; 2 units – $934,200; 3 units – $1,129,250; and 4 units – $1,403,400).
• Property address was located in a participating state or in the District of Columbia.

The Administrator for the National Mortgage Settlement sent several mailings, including claim forms, to persons identified as eligible borrowers. A person who is eligible but did not file a claim form can still file a claim online at NationalMortgageSettlementClaim.com, or by downloading the claim form at NationalMortgageSettlement.com. However, late claims are not guaranteed payment.

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