Homeowners get additional three months to ask for foreclosure review

Homeowners are getting a few extra months to request a review of their foreclosures as part of a requirement by several federal agencies to investigate abuses by mortgage servicers. 

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that the deadline for submitting requests under the Independent Foreclosure Review has been extended by three months to July 31. 

"The primary goal for mortgage servicers involved in this process is to ensure that those who are eligible and want an independent review of their foreclosure case can get one," said Paul Leonard, senior vice president of government affairs for the Housing Policy Council.

"We fully support the extension of the deadline to give eligible homeowners additional time to examine their file and make a decision that best suits their individual situation," he said. 

Borrowers can request a review of their foreclosure documents if they think there were errors on any repossessions that took place in 2009 or 2010. If the review discovers problems with the foreclosures, homeowners can be compensated for any financial losses. 

As part of enforcement actions issued in April 2011, the OCC, Federal Reserve and the Office of Thrift Supervision required 14 large mortgage servicers to retain independent consultants to conduct a comprehensive review of foreclosure activity during those two years. 

The deadline extension provides more time to ensure all eligible homeowners can ask for a review. There are no costs associated with being included in the review. 

Borrowers who are eligible must have had a home loan that was serviced by one of the participating mortgage servicers, a loan that was in the foreclosure process between Jan. 1, 2009, and Dec. 31, 2010, and the property must have been a primary residence. 

Participating mortgage servicers include America's Servicing Company, Aurora Loan Services, BAC Home Loans Servicing, Bank of America, Beneficial, Chase, Citibank, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Countrywide, EMC, Everbank/Everhome Mortgage Company, Financial Freedom, GMAC Mortgage, HFC, HSBC, IndyMac Mortgage Services, MetLife Bank, National City Mortgage, PNC Mortgage, Sovereign Bank, U.S. Bank, Wachovia Mortgage, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and Wilshire Credit Corporation.