In Foreclosure? Read and Understand Dodd Frank!
If you are in foreclosure, or are about to be, you need to understand the important protections found in The Act.
We will be using these protections, but for both existing foreclosure clients, and all other consumers
YOU MUST ACT IMMEDIATELY TO REQUEST NEW LOSS MITIGATION CONSIDERATION PURSUANT TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DODD FRANK ACT!
Contact your servicer, request information, keep detailed records of their responses (and lack thereof)….
In January 2013, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued several final rules concerning mortgage markets in the United States (2013 Title XIV Final Rules), pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), Public Law No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376 (2010)
The rules contain specific requirements, discussed in this guide. The rules also require servicers to adopt policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve objectives relating to, among The rules contain specific requirements, discussed in this guide. The rules also require servicers to adopt policies and procedures reasonably designed to achieve objectives relating to, among other things: accessing and providing timely and accurate information,3 properly evaluating loss mitigation applications,4 facilitating oversight of and ensuring compliance with the rules by service providers,5 facilitating transfer of information when servicing is transferred to a different servicer,6 and informing borrowers of error resolution and information request procedures.7 The rules also set forth requirements on record retention and the contents of a servicing file.
These new rules become effective on January 10, 2014. Any borrower who is more than 37 days from a foreclosure sale on January 10, 2014 and files a complete loss mitigation application before 37 days before a foreclosure sale is entitled to an evaluation of the complete loss mitigation application for all available loss mitigation options under 12 C.F.R. 1024.41, as described more fully in section 1.5 of this guide.
Between the day the borrower’s mortgage payment is due and not paid in full and 36 days later the servicer must make a good faith effort to reach the borrower, or an authorized agent of the borrower, by telephone (not just leave a message) or talk to the borrower in an in-person meeting to discuss the circumstances of the borrower’s delinquency.
Promptly after the servicer makes live contact with the borrower the servicer must tell the borrower, or an authorized agent of the borrower, about the availability of loss mitigation options if appropriate.
An inquiry about loss mitigation, in which the borrower provides no information to the servicer, is not an application.86
But if the borrower does provide any information that would be evaluated as part of a loss mitigation application, the provision of the information IS an application.87
The commentary gives examples of communications from the borrower to the servicer that would be considered an application, and says that “a loss mitigation application is considered expansively.” 88
If servicing on a mortgage account is transferred to a new servicer, documents and information transferred from the old servicer to the new servicer may count as an application for loss mitigation, triggering all of the responsibilities of section 1024.41.89
See the book. Comply with the requirements.
Help For Struggling Borrowers – A guide to the mortgage servicing rules