Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin today reported on the progress made by the five mortgage service providers (Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorganChase, and Wells Fargo) at the center of the National Mortgage Settlement. According to the information provided by the five mortgage service providers, 1,019 Rhode Island homeowners have received financial relief, valued at $73,165,044. In addition, another 896 Rhode Island homeowners are in the process of receiving financial relief, including first lien modifications and refinancing.
The information was provided as part of the formal report issued by the National Mortgage Settlement Monitor Joseph P. Smith, which discloses the five settling mortgage service providers have distributed more than $22 billion in relief to more than 300,000 homeowners nationally, with an additional $4.2 billion still in active trial modifications.
According to the report, Rhode Island homeowners saw the following in relief:
o 91 homeowners received first lien modifications, with a total relief value of $10,818,138, or an average of $118,881.
o 163 homeowners received forbearance forgiveness, with a total benefit of $10,103,990 with the average homeowners seeing $61,988 in relief.
o 13 homeowners have received second lien modification forgiveness, with a total value of $336,534 and an average savings of $25,887 per homeowner.
o 215 homeowners completed second lien extinguishments, with a total savings of $9,871,813, for an average savings per homeowner of $45,915.
o 291 homeowners have completed shorts sales, with deficiencies forgiven, for $31,319,674 in relief, or$107,628 in relief per homeowner.
o 65 homeowners have received enhanced borrower transitional funds by the mortgage service providers, valued at $736,829, or $11,336 per homeowner.
o Eight (8) homeowners have received payments from servicers to unrelated second lien holder for release of second liens, valued at $38,419, or $4,802 per homeowner. o 86 homeowners have received deficiency waivers from the mortgage service providers, valued at $5,661,927, or $65,836 per homeowner.
o Two (2) REO properties owned by the mortgage service providers were donated, valued at $255,585. o 85 homeowners have completed refinances, with the average interest rate reduction of 2.41 percent, valued at $4,022, 135, or $47,319 per homeowner.
The $25 billion national settlement, which took effect in April, required the five mortgage service providers to provide relief to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure, brought badly needed reform to the mortgage servicing industry, ensured that foreclosures are lawfully conducted and penalized the banks for past misconduct.
Rhode Island homeowners' estimated share of the settlement is: • $152 .6 million in benefits from loan term modifications, including principal reduction and other relief.
• $3.1 million in cash payments to borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure and suffered servicing abuse from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2011.
o Eligible borrowers must complete a claim form and return them before the January 18, 2013 deadline. For more information, or to download a form, please visit www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com. Checks are expected to be mailed in mid-2013.
• $7.3 million in refinance loans on homeowners under water.
• $8.9 million direct payment to the Department of Attorney General to help fund consumer protection and homeowner foreclosure services.
o In September, Attorney General Kilmartin announced a two-year $1.57 million grant to Rhode Island Legal Services for the Foreclosure Prevention Project to assist low and middle income families facing foreclosure.
o The Office of Attorney General continues to accept grant proposals from community and housing agencies for additional homeowner assistance and foreclosure prevention programs.
"Every day, my office advocates on behalf of homeowners, working with banks and mortgage service providers to find solutions to keep Rhode Island families in their homes. I will continue to hold mortgage service providers to the high standards that are set in the settlement agreement, and I will keep fighting to protect Rhode Island homeowners," said Attorney General Kilmartin.
The Progress Report from the Monitor of the National Mortgage Settlement can be found at www.mortgageoversight.com.
Please Note: The information contained in the report is self-reported and unaudited. Further, it represents gross dollar amounts and cannot be used to evaluate progress toward the banks' $20 billion obligation.
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