Thursday, September 13, 2012

Home Buyer Grant Program Class


HIP’s Homebuyer University
 Interested in buying a home?
Now is the time to get your degree from HIP Services’ Free Homebuyer University

This 8-hour homebuyer workshop will arm you with the knowledge and confidence to jump into the real estate market and make the right choices for you.
Workshop topics will include:
·         Getting your financial ducks in a row
·         How much house can I afford? (And do I want as much house as I can afford?)
·         Will the bank say YES?
·         Don’t lose your shirt – how to avoid predatory lenders
·         How do I buy a foreclosed property and do I want one?
·         Where to find free down payment money
·         The daunting closing documents and procedures
·         I got my dream house – now what??
·         Am I in to stay?  How to avoid foreclosure

Location and Time:
Hyattsville Municipal Building
Multi-purpose Room
4310 Gallatin Street
Hyattsville, MD 20781
Saturday September22, 2012
9am to 5pm

**Pizza will be served for lunch**

MATERIALS:       You will receive a valuable workbook filled with information, examples and resources for buyers.

DEGREE AWARDED:  Upon completing the 8-hour class, you will receive a “Certificate of Completion” which is a prerequisite to applying for many downpayment/closing cost assistance programs, including the Prince George’s County Myhome program.

REGISTER:  You must register for the workshop to attend - Please call or email Lee Oliver at 301-699-8031,loliver@hiphomes.org.

Monday, August 27, 2012

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Independent Foreclosure Review Fact Sheet


Independent Foreclosure Reviews 
Fact Sheet 

What is happening? 
Fourteen U.S. mortgage servicers and their affiliates are making available free, 
impartial Independent Foreclosure Reviews to certain of their borrowers as 
part of the consent orders entered into with the Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in 
April 2011. 

If eligible borrowers believe that they were financially injured as a result of 
servicer errors, misrepresentations or other deficiencies in the foreclosure 
process on their primary residence, they can request a review of their 
foreclosure file to verify that their foreclosure process was handled properly. 

Throughout this process, servicers will continue their efforts to help 
homeowners who have not yet gone through a foreclosure sale stay in their 
homes, where possible.  


Who is eligible? 
Borrowers are eligible to submit a Request for Review if 1) their loan was 
serviced by one of the participating mortgage servicers, 2) their loan was active 
in the foreclosure process between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010, and 3) the 
property securing the loan was their primary residence.  

To participate in an official review, eligible borrowers must submit a completed 
Request for Review Form by April 30, 2012. 


Which servicers are being required to perform the reviews? 
The participating servicers are: 


  •  America’s Servicing Company 
  •  Aurora Loan Services 
  •  BAC Home Loans Servicing 
  •  Bank of America 
  •  Countrywide 
  •  EMC 
  •  EverBank/Everhome Mortgage Company 
  •  GMAC Mortgage 
  •  HFC 
  •  National City Mortgage 
  •  PNC Mortgage 
  •  Sovereign Bank 
  •  SunTrust Mortgage 
  •  U.S. Bank 
  •  Beneficial 
  •  Chase 
  •  Citibank 
  •  HSBC 
  •  IndyMac Mortgage Services 
  •  Wachovia 
  •  Washington Mutual (WaMu) 
  •  CitiFinancial 
  •  MetLife Bank 
  •  Wells Fargo 
  •  CitiMortgage  
  •  Wilshire Credit Corporation 

How can borrowers find out if they are eligible for a review? 
An estimated 4.5 million borrowers will be notified by a letter explaining the 
review process and a Request for Review Form. The mailings will be 
staggered—to better manage volumes—in stages beginning Nov. 1, 2011. 

Information also may be found at www.IndependentForeclosureReview.com.  
Borrowers who believe they may be eligible for a review who do not receive a 
mailing can call 1.888.952.9105 Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. 
ET and Saturday 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET to determine if they are eligible. 


What does it mean that a borrower was active in the foreclosure process? 
Foreclosure actions include any of the following occurrences on a primary 
residence between the dates of Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010: 

 The property was sold due to a foreclosure judgment. 
 The mortgage loan was referred into the foreclosure process but was 
removed from the process because payments were brought up-to-date or 
the borrower entered a payment plan or modification program. 
 The mortgage loan was referred into the foreclosure process, but the 
home was sold or the borrower participated in a short sale or chose a 
deed-in-lieu or other program to avoid foreclosure.  
 The mortgage loan was referred into the foreclosure process and remains 
delinquent but the foreclosure sale has not yet taken place. 


What information will borrowers need to provide? 
Borrowers will be asked to provide information on the property, the borrower 
and any co-borrowers, and details about how they believe they may have been 
financially injured. There is no charge to eligible borrowers for a review, which 
will not be reported to any of the credit bureaus and will not impact any other 
options a borrower may pursue related to their foreclosure. 


What constitutes “financial injury?” 
Listed below are examples of situations that may have led to financial injury. 
This list does not include all situations. 

 The mortgage balance amount at the time of the foreclosure action was 
more than you actually owed. 
 You were doing everything the modification agreement required, but the 
foreclosure sale still happened. 
 The foreclosure action occurred while you were protected by bankruptcy. 
 You requested assistance/modification, submitted complete documents 
on time, and were waiting for a decision when the foreclosure sale 
occurred. 
 Fees charged or mortgage payments were inaccurately calculated, 
processed, or applied. 
 The foreclosure action occurred on a mortgage that was obtained before 
active duty military service began and while on active duty, or within 9 
months after the active duty ended and the servicemember did not waive 
his/her rights under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. 

How long will the foreclosure review take to complete? 
The borrower will be sent an acknowledgement letter from the Independent 
Review Administrator within one week after the request is received.  Because 
the review process will be a thorough and complete examination of many 
details and documents, a review could take up to several months. 


Who will be conducting the reviews? 
Foreclosure Reviews will be conducted by independent consultants engaged by 
the servicers and approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  In order to ensure 
that the request for review process is as consistent as possible for eligible 
customers, all of the participating servicers are using the same outside 
administrator to manage the handling of incoming complaints for the Request 
for Review process.  

Once the Request for Review Forms have been collected by this single vendor, 
the servicer will provide relevant documents to the independent consultant. 
The servicer will also provide any findings and recommendations related to the 
borrower’s request for review to the independent consultant for examination.  
Servicers may be asked to clarify or confirm facts and disclose reasons for 
events that occurred related to the foreclosure process, and customers could 
be asked to provide additional information or documentation. 


Independent Foreclosure Review for Distressed Homeowners

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

What Your Realtors (R) Do For You


Realtor Action Alert
Dear Angel,

You did it! Late last week Congress finally acted on one of our key legislative priorities, a 5-year reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The pundits said nothing would be accomplished in an election year. But you proved them wrong because you didn’t give up, and you have the victory to confirm it!
The 5-year reauthorization will bring certainty to real estate transactions in more than 21,000 communities nationwide where flood insurance is required for a mortgage. The bill ensures the program will continue long-term for more than 5.6 million business- and home owners who rely on it.
This has been a long, arduous battle. The NFIP suffered through 25+ short-term extensions; hobbling along for more than seven years without a long-term reauthorization. Because of your resolve, NAR's management and leadership, and most importantly you, stayed the course to give lenders and homeowners more certainty in the mortgage and real estate market place with available flood insurance for existing homeowners and those buying and selling.
I am sending you this email to reinforce the commitment NAR made to you. As one of our key activists, and every other member, you expect us to persevere on issues of importance to consumers, homeowners, and future homeowners. It was your charge to us not to give up, not to accept anything less than a long-term reauthorization of NFIP. We battled to get every short-term extension until the full 5-year reauthorization was approved.

I am proud of you. New battles surely lay ahead and there will few easy victories. 

Now more than ever, it is our responsibility to be steadfast protectors of the American Dream of homeownership. 
If not us, who? If not now, when? So, when we call on you like we did to rally, when we call on you like we do to respond to the calls for action, and when we ask for you to invest in RPAC, please, continue to show your commitment.  This latest legislative victory shows what the REALTOR® Party can accomplish when we choose not to give up or give in.

Have a great Fourth of July weekend everyone! Rally on REALTOR® Party!

Moe Veissi
Moe Veissi Signature
Moe Veissi, 2012 NAR President
REALTORS® are the Heart of the Deal!
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