Regulators Extend Foreclosure Review Deadline

Regulators are extending the deadline for homeowners, who believe they were subjected to wrongful foreclosure practices in 2009 and 2010, to have their cases reviewed.

Under the terms of a settlement reached with regulators, fourteen banks agreed to review the foreclosure documents. The banks hired independent consultants to determine if any errors or violations caused any wrongful foreclosures.

The reviews came in the wake of a robo-signing scandal where mortgage servicers and banks were accused of signing foreclosure documents without even reading the documents. In some instances, employees for mortgage servicers would sign thousands of documents a day.

Generally, when a homeowner feels that their foreclosure documents may have been mishandled they can have a foreclosure attorney review the paperwork.

Homeowners- still living in their homes or not- may be entitled to some compensation from the lenders if the review reveals that their documents were fraudulent or handled improperly. The original deadline for review was April 30, but the Office of the Comptroller of Currency and the Federal Reserve have extended that deadline to July 31, giving homeowners an additional 90 days to file.

The homeowner may be entitled to compensation if their foreclosure documents were mishandled although the terms of the compensation have not been determined.

Thousands of homes were seized by banks under false pretenses and many have enlisted the expertise of a foreclosure lawyer to keep possession of their homes. Foreclosure attorneys are able to assist a homeowner with all aspects of the foreclosure process.