Gotta love the in-fighting…
For immediate release
Contact: 202-327-8100
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
AMI Supports Long Term, Effective, Sustainable Solutions to Avert Foreclosure;
Invites Bank Servicers to Join
Washington, D.C. – As the Senate Banking Committee reviews the mortgage and foreclosure crisis, the Association of Mortgage Investors (AMI) wishes to clarify the record in response to the recent press statements regarding the housing and mortgage foreclosure crisis. The AMI believes one of the primary goals for all should be helping all willing homeowners find long-term, effective, and sustainable solutions. “No one should lose their home solely because of paperwork mishandling or lack of due process,” explained AMI Executive Director Chris Katopis.
AMI has consistently supported federal remedial programs to offer eligible, distressed, homeowners relief from foreclosure through modifications through HAMP and 2MP. Additionally, we support principal forgiveness and total debt realignment. No first lien modification will be sustainable without properly addressing a borrower’s total mortgage debt. Regrettably, these programs have often proven unsuccessful due to the servicers, who invariably are the second lien holders, and who continue to inhibit sustainable modifications. Mortgage investors have no control over the modification process, and therefore share many of the frustrations that homeowners and state Attorneys General are experiencing when dealing with mortgage servicers.
“All too often, homeowners are being victimized by the servicers’ past and ongoing actions. The time is now for a permanent solution to America’s housing crisis,” continued Katopis.
AMI calls on all mortgage servicers to provide an explanation for why the servicing operations continue to exhibit weakness in areas where they could offer homeowners immediate attention and real support with programs that are currently available like HAFA. It should be noted that the major servicers harm homeowners while benefitting themselves in the following ways:
Servicing Fees: Servicers generate significant servicing and late fees throughout the delinquency and foreclosure process. They can be reluctant to find quick sustainable solutions for homeowners. This is clearly evidenced by long call waiting times and high call abandon rates that homeowners experience when calling servicers. Profits from Affiliated Companies: Servicers generate profits through affiliated companies during the process of repurchasing, insuring and liquidating homes from distressed homeowners. Servicers can be reluctant to aggressively pursue short sales and other viable options to foreclosure due to these above-market fees generated by affiliated companies. Second Liens: Servicers own the second liens behind the first liens they service for investors. Their interest in the second liens can cause them to advise homeowners to defer payments on the primary mortgage while aggressively collecting on second liens to avoid losses to their own portfolio and balance sheet.
Several changes will help to protect homeowners: Mortgage modifications once the second lien holders stop their intransience; More research and diligence regarding incomplete or mishandled paperwork; and, More resources at mortgage servicing centers and the use of non-conflicted special servicers.
Again, everyone agrees that helping all willing homeowners find sustainable solutions should be the primary goal. Further, AMI also urges all servicers no longer place their own conflicted interest ahead of homeowners. “We urge all the major bank servicers to invest the time and resources necessary to allow for borrowers to find sustainable solutions in a timely manner and customary fashion,” remarked Katopis.
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The Association of Mortgage Investors represents private investors, public and private pension funds, and endowments, all of whom support the efforts of Congress and the Administration to help responsible, though distressed homeowners avoid foreclosure. For more information, visit www.the-ami.org.
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4closureFraud.org
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What took so long for AMI to make a statement to the public about their duties and responsibilities to their private investors, pubic, pension plans, and the government? If the servicers have their own interest and brake the law as we know some of the servicers are the same banks, they rather charge enormous amount of money and foreclose people’s homes, than offer a loan modification.
They had told the public that they can not do loan modifications because the investors have to approve it.
Now, for what I understand the investors support loan modifications to keep people in their homes and to continue working out other avenues like principal forbearance and/or principal forgiveness.
Why this was not done before, during the last 3 years people had lose their homes in foreclosure by the millions?
Even this year alone there are close to a million. Where is the sense of responsibility for any leader of any organization knowing what is happening with this epidemic and do nothing about it? How can you sleep at night knowing that many innocent families and children are suffering for losing their livelihood?
As we also know, many investors were taken advantage by the servicers and the banks in Wall St. when they bought the Mortgage Backing Securities as Bonds. Why the investors get together and suit the servicers for non-disclosures, for no transferring of the instruments, for no recording the instruments, for no keeping their end of the pool service agreements?
Why is it that Deutsche Bank, a foreign investor can suit Bank of America for over $47 Billion Dollars for these same reasons? Why all the investors get together with home owners and suit all the servicers and the too big to fail banksters for all the Fraud they are victims? If this will ever happened, all the banks will implode and will be insolvent and out of business. The government will never be able to bail out all the banks at once.
People are not that ignorant anymore and will never allow it again. Or I may be wrong. People in the U.S. don’t care and don’t get involve, because it is not their problem and is not happening to them. (Yet).
Let’s all wait for Uncle Sam fix this mess and see if in a few years we have a few homes left in our names.
WELL, WE KNOW UNCLE SAM ISNT THERE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, HE IS ONLY THERE WITH HIS HAND OUT!
How about if we take the whole HAMP program out the hands of the Servicer’s and we stop their dual track system where in one hand they are processing a Loan Modification and in the Other hand they Foreclosing in your home at the same time?
What a crminal dual track system process the Servicers have !
How about first we separate the TBTF banks from their in-house Servicing conflicts of interest departments. Until then, it’s mental muck.
Right,the left hand dosnt know the righthand but the both are the same bank…YIKES!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE!