Eureka Realty Network

15 mortgage holders have decided to charge the nation's biggest bank with a "systematic home loan scheme", so they filed a lawsuit against Bank of America. The lawsuit was filed by the Texas Justice League, a nonprofit organization who represent these mortgage owners. This lawsuit can involve thousands of Texas mortgage holders, who charge they were abused and financially damaged by Bank of America employees handling their mortgages. As a result of these problems three of the homeowners were foreclosed. The suit was filed in Victoria, a small community in Texas, 30 miles north of the Golf of Mexico, about two hours drive south of Corpus Cristi.

The lawsuit affirms that Bank of America mortgage holders have suffered hours of telephone run around, inconsistent information and misleading, verbal abuse, lost correspondence, and extensive delays in their effort to get their home mortgages modified. "The facts in this case reveal the harsh reality that underlines the loan servicer's press statements about loan modifications and forbearance agreements following the collapse of the U.S. housing market", the suit affirms.

The sad reality is that this is not the only case. Attorney Molly Ann Rogers, who represents the plaintiffs in this suit says that this "is the normal way the bank handles business." Rogers says that the Bank of America violated mortgage contracts and they were negligent in representations made to borrowers. The bank made many of the plaintiffs believe that they are eligible for loan modifications or other work out assistance, but this was good just for being shuffled through the bank's "Home Retention" department and other ones only to receive foreclosure notices on their homes.

The lawsuit doesn't specify a requested amount of money, although they are seeking for financial damages and attorney fees. Bank of America is expected to answer in September. "Instead of providing plaintiffs with basic information about the servicing of their loans and providing timely screenings for workout assistance, however, 'Defendant BAC' the Bank of America's servicing company - misrepresented material information to the plaintiffs about their loans, and forced them into a scheme of operation so dysfunctional that the constant barrage of misinformation, misdirection, and deliberate inactivity amounted to abuse and harassment", the suit states.

The plaintiffs used the terms "harassed" "like a yo-yo" and "blocked at every turn" when describing their relationship with the bank. When they called Bank of America the information they received over the telephone conflicted with written statements or even earlier conversations.

The lawsuit aims an injunction against Bank of America loan servicers to stop using practices, plans and policies that result in the banks series of problems to deal with borrowers at risk of foreclosure. “Misrepresentations that jeopardize a borrower’s home are unconscionable and the damage is irreparable. Defendant BAC’s misrepresentations to borrowers are systemic in nature and widespread in practice,” the suit states.

Eureka Realty Network is a nationwide network of real estate, financing and legal professionals with a mission to revitalize the real estate market. It operates centers in the Texas cities of Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. For further information please visit www.EurekaRealtyNetwork.com

The foreclosure assisting programs are gaining grounds with increasing number of resources available to help the troubled homeowners than ever before, states CAP (the Center for American Progress). The jurisdiction numbers published in a report released in late June this year further supports the statement. It reveals that with the foreclosure mediation programs, the number of jurisdictions has doubled from 11, which was a year ago, to 21 this year. The center is taking a close look at the current state-based services pertaining to foreclosure mediation and deciding more on how to bring them to scale.

Center for American Progress envisions that this number is further going to increase as they say, “list to continue to grow as legislation already introduced in additional states becomes law. What’s more, the promise and practicality of foreclosure mediation is garnering support nationwide, including that of the American Bar Association.” However, CAP also do not denies that in order to make these programs available for the American homeowners, the foreclosure mediation has to go beyond the state level and reach the federal level. The center notes in its report that “Required mediation prior to foreclosure is not yet a part of federal efforts to prevent unnecessary foreclosures, either within the suite of Making Home Affordable programs, or as part of loss mitigation efforts for federally backed mortgages.”

In this regard few recommendations have also been marked in a report prepared for CAP by Alon Cohen, SVP and general counsel of FightMetric LLC, and Andrew Jakabovics, associate director for housing and economics. They suggest that by moving “opt-in” mediation programs (where the homeowner is required to ask for assistance to receive mediation) to “automatically scheduled” or mandatory mediations, CAP can ensure the success of future state-run mediation programs. In addition, they also emphasize on expanding mediation assistance statewide in states that already undergo mature pilot programs.

In harmony with these recommendations, CAP states that California, Connecticut, and Florida are those few states which have already ratified the mediation programs that are automatically scheduled when foreclosure is initiated either through notice of foreclosure sale in nonjudicial foreclosures or through the filing of foreclosure in judicial foreclosures. With mandatory enactment of the automatic mediation programs, these states have observed a participation rate of near about 75%, which is much higher against 25% of that in states with opt-in programs. These participation rates clearly indicates that with automatic scheduling of the mediation programs, 70 to 75% of cases successfully end in a settlement and consequently around 60 percent of homeowners rest in peace in their own homes.

Eureka Realty Network is a nationwide network of real estate, financing and legal professionals with a mission to revitalize the real estate market. For further information please visit www.EurekaRealtyNetwork.com