The 5 largest mortgage lenders in the US, which include JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America, have stated they pay $5 billion to settle the investigations of their mortgage practices. The unsavory foreclosure practices of some of the largest banks caused many people to lose their homes, along with causing the housing market to fail.
Some of the settlement will go those individuals who were wrongfully foreclosed on in order to help them transition to new housing. There is debate over how to handle some portions of the funds.
Democratic attorney generals would like to apply some of the settlement to lower the loan balances of homeowners. Several Republican attorney generals fear that a write-down on loan balances would cause more people to purposely default on their home loans.
There has been some talk of writing-down the interest on the mortgage loans for some homeowners, but some feel as this is not enough to help struggling homeowners, who are paying mortgages based on the value of their homes at purchase. The value of many homes have declined dramatically since the real estate market crash and mortgage holders typically owe more than their homes are worth.
To avoid foreclosure, the homeowner should contact a local foreclosure attorney to represent them in court. Keeping the home a person work hard to obtain is possible if a foreclosure lawyer is employed to fight for you in court. The housing crisis caused many people to unnecessarily lose their homes and if you happen to be a victim of the negligent bank practices a foreclosure attorney may help you keep your home.
