From Lawrenceville to Coweta County, homeowners who battled foreclosures in 2009 or 2010 were cheered by Tuesday's news that they can get a free consultant to review their files and that they might get money back if mistakes were made.
"Oh, my gosh," said Cindy O'Neal of Coweta County, who lost her home, unfairly she believes.
"When I read that, to begin with I was like here we are, the perfect example of what needs to be looked at," O'Neal said. "It might be something that would be helpful to a whole lot of people."
Her case began more than a year ago with an attempted refinance that ended up causing a delay in payments, which led eventually to foreclosure in September.
O'Neal and others who had foreclosures processed by 14 major loan servicers, which include Georgia's biggest players such as Bank of America, SunTrust and Wells Fargo, will get letters by the end of the year informing them about the opportunity to appeal. The process and forms have been standardized to cut down on confusion.
The deadline to appeal is April 30. A website, www.IndependentForeclosureReview.com, and a single phone number, 1-888-952-9105, have been set up for those seeking information.
Frank Alexander, a law professor at Emory University who specializes in property and finance, said he was encouraged by the process, but the outline of how it will work left him with questions.
"The basic proposition that the [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] is moving aggressively to undertake serious review of foreclosures in ‘09 and ‘10 is a very encouraging step forward," he said.
But the details of how the process will work exactly, how fair it will be and how much information about it will be released have yet to be seen.
"I am hoping and expecting [the comptroller's office] will make this information publicly available in a way that does not breach confidentiality so the public can begin to ascertain the level of errors and harms," he said
Bryan Hubbard, a spokesman for the comptroller, said the consultants will be from recognized firms with knowledgeable attorney support.
They will be paid by the servicers but work under the direction of acting Comptroller John Walsh.
Hubbard said in an email that consultants will deal only with financial losses from unfair processes, not violations of legal rights.
"The intent is to identify errors, misrepresentations and deficiencies that resulted in financial injury. Yes, in some cases there may be errors, misrepresentations or deficiencies in the process that did not result in financial injury," he said. "These actions do not reduce the rights of citizens to seek other redress if they think it is appropriate to do so."
The appeal process is the latest outcome of controls put in place last spring by federal regulators, which required major mortgage servicers to correct deficiencies in foreclosure processes and help homeowners modify loans.
Gerald Hall of Lawrenceville said he is ready to appeal. He tried to work out a modified loan for his home last year and says he followed his servicer's directions only to see foreclosure proceedings start. He was told recently he has to start the process over again, but Hall said the foreclosure proceedings have ruined his credit.
"I never should have asked," Hall said. "I did everything the way they wanted me to do it, and now they are telling me I don't qualify. Nothing has changed, but my credit has been ruined."
The other servicers working under the agreement include Ally Bank (formerly GMAC), Aurora Bank, Citibank, EverBank, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, MetLife, OneWest, PNC, Sovereign Bank and U.S. Bank.
To learn the answers to frequently asked questions about foreclosure appeals, go to www.occ.gov/topics/consumer-protection/foreclosure-prevention/foreclosure-faqs.html.
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