Monthly Archives: December 2011

The Independent Foreclosure Review Application

Following  40 days of trying to locate the independent foreclosure review application we finally have it.  At first glance it appears much easier than an application for loss mitigation – like a loan modification.

Here are a few of our comments on the 5 page application.  Our format starts with an “excerpt from the application in quotes” followed by  underlined excerpt(s) from the independent foreclosure review website followed by * our thoughts:

• At the upper right of the application you will see “Important Notice:  Your loan may be eligible for an Independent Foreclosure Review…”  In the body it states “The Board of Governors…required an Independent Foreclosure Review to identify customers that may have been financially injured…”

Website:  As part of a consent order with federal bank regulators … mortgage servicers and their affiliates are identifying customers who were part of a foreclosure action on their primary residence during the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.

*Since these are the eligibility requirements for the program you can assume You Are Eligible if you are receiving the application;

• “…you may submit a Request for Review Form for an Independent Foreclosure by a consultant…”

Website: Any borrower, co-borrower or attorney-in-fact can sign the form.

*Why is it presently the policy of the administrator of the Independent Foreclosure Review Program not to provide the application to someone who represented the homeowner during this period?  Good-intentioned service providers were damaged by the fraudulent behavior of the banks and their lack of attention to complete loss mitigation applications.  This resulted in 78% of licensed companies going out of business in Nevada.  If a licensed service provider assembled a complete loss mitigation application and the bank failed to process or respond as required in the MHA Handbook should a client of the service provider pay for the application or should the lender?  Should the licensed service provider be permitted to apply for “Financial Injury”?

Based on the updated information that came out we decided to make a video series.  Here is the first episode: