Oregonians get $200M in foreclosure relief
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Oregonians have received nearly $200 million in relief as part of the National Mortgage Settlement, according to a progress report released Monday.
The money is part of a $25 billion settlement reached by attorneys general with five of the nation's biggest banks over improper foreclosures. Oregonians are expected to receive around $230 million in relief as part of the settlement.
Photos: 'Foreclosure fighters' take the protest to Multnomah County building
The banks and relief to-date in Oregon:
- Bank of America: $104.7 million, 1,656 borrowers
- J.P. Morgan Chase: $56.1 million, 755 borrowers
- Wells Fargo: $26 million, 464 borrowers
- Citi: $10.8 million, 227 borrowers
- Ally: $2.1 million, 32 borrowers
The average borrower has received more than $63,000 in relief. Types of relief include loan modifications and forgiveness of principal, among others.
Some of the settlement money will also support state-run foreclosure relief programs. The Oregon Department of Justice has set up a webpage to help homeowners navigate the claims process.
The Portland Business Journal is a KATU.com news partner.
Once again those of us who are paying our mortgages on time and are fiscally responsible get screwed.
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It doesn't pay to be honest and hard working in America.
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I should just go on welfare and collect food stamps. Swipe yo' EBT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LWlkXRZ3CA&feature=fvwrel
yeah! What kind of country is this, when the corporations/banks do something illegal and the victims get rewarded?
 @quackmire It's so un-American! The Corporations of this country are supposed to be untouchable and get away with what ever they want so long as it's profitable.
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Yea, well where is my relief? I lost my job, got my ducks in a row and kept my home out of foreclosure. Now, due to devaluation, I can't refinance my home to get a lower interest rate. So where is the relief for those who carried you, those who did the right thing, those who don't feel they "deserve" to be bailed out. B of A offered me nothing for making my payments in full on time at twice the current interest rate and I lost 45 min on the phone to get "no".
One defaulter is a deadbeat. 100,000 defaulters are victims who should be made whole. As Judge Judy says, "what a country."
Many many years too late to help those who were really screwed over - you know, the ones at the START of this whole mess - not the ones NOW trying to take advantage of it!
Hopefully this "relief" is only being given to those who showed evidence that they were wrongly foreclosed upon. I don't believe in rewarding the people who defaulted.
You guys are too funny.
 @pdxd That is my hope and understanding..this is why I get angry when people lump every one into one giant pot.
 @lee986321 My honest opinion is, if you for whatever reason violated your portion of the mortgage contract, then the mortgage company should act within the laws and the contract agreement to foreclose. If they also violated the contract in the process, then I think there should be some sort of modest compensation provided, and not the expectation that they get the house back on a technicality. If someone were current on their mortgage, and were wrongfully foreclosed upon, then I believe that they should be fairly compensated for any losses incurred and legal fees. On a side-note, someone previously mentioned this was tax-money, no, it's money that the mortgage companies were fined and ordered to repay to consumers. It is not tax money.
Will this help the Williams family in SE Portland? The ones who are currently occupying their foreclosed home?
@fracas From the article: "Types of relief include loan modifications and forgiveness of principal". In other words it is not going to those that were already foreclosed.
 @fracas Not sure but I just posted a link that could be used to help them in some way.
I have a feeling though that that family is dealing with Fraud in which the banks committed, I think there issue is deeper then waht can be said of right now..I wouldn't be surprised if they wind up cleaning house on the banks.
It's about damn time.Â
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I would love to believe that the majority of the reported $200 million will, in fact, end up helping homeowners. Unfortunately, my guess is that the majority of the reported figure will end up in the bank accounts of the litigating attorneys and some sort of lump-sum payment to the state for distribution.Â
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 @MarkKpic My guess.... some will be divirted probably in to the general fund and then out to one of Kitz's pet projects.
 @MarkKpic this true in part but it looks like they have accounted for some of that as ell..thus they also included "Forgiveness in Principle" clause as well What ever good that will do.
did find this link though..never heard of it.
http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/The-Mortgage-Forgiveness-Debt-Relief-Act-and-Debt-Cancellation-
It is nice to know my tax dollars are covering people who made a poor decision and bought a house they could not afford while I am setting here $150K-200K in the hole paying for their bad choices.
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What about the responsible people like myself who take personal responsibility for our actions, what do we get?
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Oh ya we don't reward responsibility in the US just incompetence and lack of personal responsibility get subsidized by others hard earned money...
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Thanks Obama and all the other liberals in Oregon for insuring we stay broken far into the future by not penalizing those who act irresponsibly!!! You would not train your kids by rewarding them for making bad choices so why do we do it with the sheeple?
 @FreedomRocks I don't disagree with your sentiment, but I would rather see such programs in an attempt to mitigate unethical mortgage programs that left many homeowners between a proverbial 'rock and a hard place', stay in their homes. As opposed to banks/mortgage companies kicking people out and sitting on equity and (vacant) properties.Â
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If the only other option is the occupy crowd using media outlets to televise clashes with law enforcement when the evictions happen...
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Bear in mind that a BIG component of our economy is private home ownership. Any efforts made to keep people who sincerely can afford their homes in them, to me, is a good thing.Â
@MarkKpic @FreedomRocks It takes two to make an unethical mortgage. The anxious lender, and the deceitful borrower who lies about his assets and his income.
 @hankhandsome  @MarkKpic  @FreedomRocks You are absolutely correct.
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 There were so many examples of such fraudulent behaviors, but in the end the feduciary responsibility lies in the hands of the broker to verify asset and income information. If the data provided was fraudulent, they should have acted when the documents were submitted. Instead, they only saw dollar signs when they bundled mortgages (sub-prime and otherwise), and sold them to financial institutions. The deals were done, the mortgages were sold, and the greed of the few subsequently unhinged the entire countries financial system.Â
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 @MarkKpic Ya I have mixed feelings on that because all kinds of people make offers that would be stupid to take yet are legal. For example all of the payday loan places that give you your money before you get your paycheck are highway robbery. Yet they should be allowed so someone in a real pinch could use it if needed and justified.
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Same with the "unethical mortgage programs" you mentioned. If you are not smart enough to understand what you are doing with your money or the banks then you should hire someone who is to help you.
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While many of those loans were terrible choices by the people who took them they still were a choice they made and choices they should be responsible for.
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After all I am responsible for mine and assume you are as well.
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If the banks violated laws are did something criminal then we should definitely go after them with criminal charges!!!
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I guess I am just not for nanny state or nanny feds and bailing out those like many of my family members that make poor choices with their money both house and CC that you and I have to pay for...
 @FreedomRocks Agreed.Â
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And, to be clear, there ARE incidents where the 'homeowner' simply bought too much house. The reality set in, and they could no longer afford what any person with a 5th grade math education would have been able to see coming.Â
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Unfortunately, there are also cases where the financial institutions were over agressive in their foreclosure process. Which is understandable given the current laws regarding 'asset relief'. Between mortgage insurance, and government handouts to 'guarantee financial institution solvency', they are (financially) better off just foreclosing than working with homeowners to resolve problems.Â
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It's not an automatic one way or the other. A BIG part of the problem that is facing many people right now is the supreme idiocy of ARM re-fi contracts that any financial advisor worth their salt would have told them to pass on. But, the homeowners saw the bait (a check in their hand), and really wanted that cash in their hand, so they signed. At that point, the 'fault' lies squarely on the homeowners shoulders.Â
 @FreedomRocks No kidding! Why not help those of us that are making their payments on time, every time, like me! I tried to get some help from Wells Fargo. All I wanted was for them to lower my interest rate but since I'm currently upside down, they basically told me to pound sand. My wife and I are getting punished for doing the right thing whereas those that go into foreclosure are getting rewarded. This makes absolutely no sense.
@scoreboard @FreedomRocks Same thing happened to me, but they charged me $500.00 to tell me that (for the property assessment). Not very happy with the whole business.Â
 @FreedomRocks Lets see what happens when you lose your home due to an unforeseen issue, Hey the banks are the ones that Screwed people out of there homes..Oh wait that right Nothing can happen to you, because your all high and mighty and perfect...You know it all don't you? You didn't read this did you? here let me help you..
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The money is part of a $25 billion settlement reached by attorneys general with five of the nation's biggest banks over improper foreclosures. Oregonians are expected to receive around $230 million in relief as part of the settlement.
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Nice to know that you think the banks losing is a loss for you..I feel sorry for you I really do.
 @lee986321 Improper foreclosures can mean a lot of things but you can't foreclose on someone like me who is paying their bill every month even though I am in the hole on my purchase big time.
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If you gamble and buy something you can't afford or for unseen reasons you can't make the payments then you should either not buy it or get insurance to cover the unforeseen reasons to avoid losing your house.
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Gambling and losing due to any issue other then a crime by the loan holder should not be the public's responsibility....
 @FreedomRocks  @lee986321 Well, BofA is being sued for foreclosing on multiple houses that were owned free and clear by the legal owners who had never had any dealings with BofA.  Every time, the bank claims it's an accident, but how many times can they have the same "accident" without being held accountable?
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Agreed, a lot of people caused their own problems, but the bank has to follow the laws. Â Period. Â When the bank's failure to comply with the laws and rules is a factor in tipping a family into foreclosure, they need to be held responsible.
NOT ONE needy homeowner will EVER touch one penny of that funding....
 @August100 So what is your theory on who will get it and why should we reward people for making irresponsible choices and not getting penalized for it?
 @FreedomRocks  @August100 You still don't get it do you,Oh wait a minute, You must be the bankers that took advantage of the people, you all certainly are cold blooded enough, in fact one qualifications of a banker is to have ice for blood, I would say you rank right up there..so if you don't like it, go and apply to be a banker..then you can kick out all the people you want...then get sued..
 @lee986321  @August100 Ya those evil bankers.... damn they have put hundreds of millions in homes over the years and we just let them. I for one think we should just do away with all the banks and let everyone build their own homes one board at a time over 30 years as they can afford it.
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Then when they are ready to retire they may have a place ready to do it in...
 @FreedomRocks We laughed when we were solicited & told we could refinance our paid-off $179,000 home for $799,000; we're still laughing; many of our neighbors aren't laughing.
 @August100 I think I learned in grade school that if something sounds to good to be true then it is not.
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I feel for your neighbors but aren't they grown adults capable of making their own decisions both good or bad?
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It's not like the bank put a gun to their head they just dangled a carrot in front of them...