Can you Believe This??! Mortgage Relief Checks Go Out, Only to Bounce

[DonRedwood]

Hmmmmm.... writing bad checks is against the law. I wonder if they will get fined? Just kidding. We know they will get away with it.



When the bank account is running dry and the mortgage payment is coming due, the phrase “insufficient funds” is the last thing you want to hear.

Now imagine hearing those two words when trying to cash a long-awaited check from the same bank that foreclosed on you.

Many struggling homeowners got exactly that this week when they lined up to take their cut of a $3.6 billion settlement with the nation’s largest banks — lenders accused of wrongful evictions and other abuses.

Ronnie Edward, whose home was sold in a foreclosure auction, waited three years for his $3,000 check. When it arrived on Tuesday, he raced to his local bank in Tennessee, only to learn that the funds “were not available.”

More at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/04/17/victims-of-foreclosure-abuses-face-another-woe-bounced-checks/?hp

(the photo goes with the article...I don't know if it is one of the actual checks)

[DonRedwood]

1. sorry about the updates

hopefully you can see the article. NYT is hard to get into sometimes.

[ms.smiler]

2. While Rust Consulting attempted to earn interest on the money

they did take the time to apologize.

Some early payment recipients were told that their checks could not be cashed due to insufficient funds. Rust can verify that $3.6 billion is available to be cashed or deposited.

"We apologize to anyone who experienced problems trying to cash their checks. We are working hard and communicating with the banking regulators, the servicers, and other banks to ensure those issues are not repeated," Rust Consulting Senior Vice President James Parks said. "We want to assure the public that checks we have mailed under the Independent Foreclosure Review Payment Agreement process are valid."

Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/2013/04/16/4779791/independent-foreclosure-review.html#storylink=cpy

The homeowners who receive these checks might want to phone the General Counsel at 202-649-5400. Request a Certified Letter from the OCC which states which state and federal laws were broken by the foreclosing party, not that it I expect much of a response.

Unclear to me is if these payments are subject to incomes taxes. They shouldn't be but the foreclosure crisis always seems to achieve a new low.

Hopefully, many of these homeowners sue to obtain the 7 figure damages to which they are entitled.