Four Million Foreclosures Eligible for Review

Millions of homeowners have lost their homes to foreclosures which may have been based on faulty paperwork or misconduct on the part of lender. And now these homeowners may be able to challenge these foreclosures.

The Office of the Comptroller of Currency has sent out letters to close 4 million homeowners who can have their cases reviewed. This is part of the larger enforcement actions taken against large banks after robo-signing and mishandling of foreclosure paperwork came to light last year.

Numerous homeowners, who did not utilize foreclosure attorneys, can have their cases reviewed by the lenders to evaluate whether their homes were inappropriately foreclosed. Fourteen of the major mortgage lenders including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank and Chase will fund the reviews.

If the foreclosure action is deemed inappropriate, the homeowner may be eligible for “remediation.” This remediation will likely come in the form of financial settlements. Most people will not be able to re-possess their homes if they have been legally sold to another buyer. The actual settlement will be dependent upon the particulars of each case.

Letters have been sent out to eligible homeowners and they will have until April of 2012 to complete their applications.

Foreclosure lawyers have been utilized by many homeowners to challenge wrongful foreclosures. However, many homeowners did not have the option of hiring a foreclosure attorney to review their cases, so these individuals now have recourse against the negligent practices of mortgage lenders.