CHARLESTON – June 5, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — Many West Virginians who experienced a foreclosure sale between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, may be receiving a check in the mail for approximately $1,480 over the next few weeks from the National Mortgage Settlement.
A total of 2,664 checks will be mailed June 10-17 to West Virginia residents who were involved in approximately 2,567 loans during the three-year period. The number of checks mailed is higher than the number of loans being paid because some loan payments are being split between borrowers who are now divorced or separated, according to Rust Consulting, the settlement administrator.
“This is great news for West Virginians who were negatively impacted by the mortgage crisis in recent years, particularly because the amount they will receive is higher than the $840 originally anticipated,” Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said.
Last year, 49 states, including West Virginia, as well as the federal government, announced the National Mortgage Settlement with five participating mortgage service providers — Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The settlement included a $1.5 billion payment pool the states and federal government negotiated and set aside to help compensate borrowers for mortgage servicing abuse they may have endured.
“These payments serve two purposes,” Morrisey said. “In addition to compensating borrowers for servicing abuses that happened in the past, they also are a part of our efforts to hold banks accountable and stop these practices through the settlement’s tough new mortgage servicing standards.”
Morrisey said the payment does not limit a borrower from seeking relief through a separate lawsuit or other claims.
According to Rust Consulting, payments for a small number of borrowers who submitted a claim form but did not have a valid Social Security number on file will be delayed while taxation and W-9 solicitation items are addressed. An additional 31,000 consumers whose information recently was provided by two different servicers will be notified by Rust later this summer.
Rust also said some borrowers will receive less than the $1,480 amount if they divorced or separated and no longer live at the same physical address. The full amount will be paid, but it will be split between the borrowers.
Every borrower who filed a claim will receive a letter regarding their outcome. Borrowers with questions about their National Mortgage Settlement payment should call settlement administrator Rust Consulting at 1-866-430-8358. Information also is online at www.NationalMortgageSettlement.com.
