Government Settles Foreclosure Lawsuits With Major Banks US Government and States Reach $25 Billion Foreclosure Case Settlement With National Mortgage Companies

According to this Bloomberg Business Week article, Banks Agree to $25 Billion Deal to End Foreclosure Probe, the federal government and state AG's agreed to settle lawsuits stemming from the illegal and unethical foreclosure practices of the large national banks (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, CitiMortgage, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo ). Under the foreclosure settlement, the banks agreed to follow new servicing guidelines when dealing with borrowers who are in default or facing foreclosure. The new mortgage servicing guidelines, which are detailed in RETURN INTEGRITY & ACCURACY TO FORECLOSURE AND BANKRUPTCY PROCEEDINGS, require the major banks to offer financially distressed homeowners and property owners more workout options, be more careful during the foreclosure process and pay homeowners and property owners cash payments for mistakes made by the large banks. If you feel that your mortgage lender has treated you unfairly, or violated this new settlement, I would recommend that you file a complaint against the bank as detailed on my website at How To File A Complaint Against A Bank.

Whatever you do, please do not let the bank foreclose on you. If you have a house, or investment property and you owe more than the house or property is worth and have a HAFA eligible mortgage loan, an FHA Insured mortgage loan, a VA Guaranteed mortgage loan, or any type of mortgage loan, and you have missed payments, or will miss payments, please contact Franklin Tennessee Short Sales and Foreclosures Expert for a free no obligation consultation to discuss your foreclosure prevention options. Avoiding foreclosure by completing a short sale can salvage your credit, protect you from a deficiency judgment (the lender/bank pursuing you for their loss) and make it possible to buy another house or property sooner.

If you are a Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Thompson's Station, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, LaVergne, Antioch, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin, Hermitage, Hendersonville, Clarksville and Middle Tennessee (Davidson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson Counties) homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Franklin TN Short Sales and Foreclosures Expert to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Almost always short sale services are free to homeowners and property owners (In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)

Banks Paying Cash to Financially Distressed Homeowners for Short Sales

Banks Paying Cash to Financially Distressed Homeowners for Short Sales
Banks Giving up to $30,000 to Delinquent Borrowers to Avoid Foreclosures

According to this Bloomberg.com article, Banks Paying Cash to Homeowners to Avoid Foreclosures banks are giving financially distressed homeowners and upside down (i.e. underwater) homeowners up to $30,000 to avoid foreclosure and complete a short sale. Per the article, not every lender is offering this type of short sale and it is up to the bank/lender to pick who qualifies. Even if your bank/lender does not offer this type of short sale, they may deem you eligible for a HAFA Short Sale, which can give a financially distressed homeowner up to $3,000 to complete a short sale. Generally, these incentives are only available to owner occupants (i.e. not investors), unless the homeowner lived in the property recently and moved out due to a hardship less than 12 months ago. The time limit depends on the loan investor (i.e. the financial institution that owns your mortgage loan - see Who Owns My Mortgage Loan? for more information.

The reasons that a mortgage lender/bank would be willing to pay financially distressed homeowners to complete a short sale are:

• Depending on the state that the property is located in, the foreclosure process can take a long time (from many months to several years). A short sale can be a much faster way for mortgage lenders/banks to recoup their money.
• Short sales generally result in mortgage lenders/banks recovering more of their money since the foreclosure process costs more money and foreclosed homes sell at bigger discounts.
• Short sales are less damaging to overall market values than foreclosures.

Please do not let the bank foreclose on you. If you have a house, or investment property and you owe more than the house or property is worth and have a HAFA eligible mortgage loan, an FHA Insured mortgage loan, a VA Guaranteed mortgage loan, or any type of mortgage loan, and you have missed payments, or will miss payments, please contact Franklin Tennessee Short Sales and Foreclosures Expert for a free no obligation consultation to discuss your foreclosure prevention options. Avoiding foreclosure by completing a short sale can salvage your credit, protect you from a deficiency judgment (the lender/bank pursuing you for their loss) and make it possible to buy another house or property sooner.

If you are a Nashville, Brentwood, Franklin, Nolensville, Spring Hill, Thompson's Station, Murfreesboro, Smyrna, LaVergne, Antioch, Columbia, Mt. Juliet, Springfield, Gallatin, Hermitage, Hendersonville, Clarksville and Middle Tennessee (Davidson, Maury, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson Counties) homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact Franklin TN Short Sales and Foreclosures Expert to discuss a short sale (when the real estate sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgages and liens on the property). Almost always short sale services are free to homeowners and property owners (In a real estate short sale, the bank or mortgage company usually approves and pays all of Jim's commissions and fees.)