The Florida Attorney General's Office, working in conjunction with Rust Consulting, Inc., began making outbound calls late Wednesday in an effort to reach borrowers who may be eligible for cash payments under the National Mortgage Settlement.
Friday, January 18th is the deadline for Floridians to file a claim under the National Mortgage Settlement. So far, only about half of the borrowers to whom notices have been mailed have filed claims for monetary relief.
Live operators started contacting eligible borrowers who lost their homes to foreclosure between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2011 and had mortgages serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.
“We want every borrower who may be eligible for a cash payment under the national settlement to submit a claim. Currently, approximately forty-four percent of the people to whom claim forms have been mailed have submitted their claims,” stated Attorney General Pam Bondi, in a prepared release.
Claims forms have been mailed to qualified borrowers. They must be completed and returned by January 18, 2013 in the envelope provided. For borrowers that cannot meet the postal deadline, a claims form can be filed online at www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com.
Borrowers who believe they may be eligible - but did not receive a claims form - should contact the settlement administrator at 866-430-8358 prior to 7 p.m. Friday.
Payment checks are expected to be mailed in mid-2013. Claims received after January 18th may be considered, but payment to those claimants is not guaranteed. The amount of the payment will be the same for all claimants and will depend upon the number of eligible claims received.
Payments will be a minimum of $840, but higher payments to each eligible borrower is expected.
This $25 billion settlement between the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers, the federal government, 49 states and the District of Columbia, earmarked approximately $1.5 billion in payments for 2 million borrowers nationwide.
In Florida, approximately $170 million is available for cash payments to borrowers. All available funds will be distributed to those who file claims. None of the settlement funds will be returned to the banks or used by the respective states for any other purpose.
“Homeowners faced with a foreclosure from 2008 through 2011 should take advantage of this settlement opportunity,” Fort Lauderdale foreclosure defense attorney Carlos Reyes stated Thursday. “The process is free and totally without fee. Don’t let someone charge you for completing an application you can complete online in less than 30 minutes.”
For more information, please visit www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com.
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