Mortgage Servicing & Foreclosures Archives

Comments to the Notice of Assessment of 2013 RESPA Servicing Rule and Request for Public Comment

July 10, 2017

NCLC and other consumer advocacy groups issued a comment to the CFPB regarding the 5-year assessment of its mortgage servicing rules.

Comments on FHFA's Request for Input on Improving Language Access in Mortgage Origination and Servicing

July 31, 2017

Americans for Financial Reform (AFR)’s Language Access Task Force submits the following comments in response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s Request for Input (RFI) on Improving Language Access in Mortgage Lending and Servicing issued May 25, 2017. For the past two years, our task force has been focused specifically on improving language access…

Supplemental Comments to FHFA on Improving Language Access in Mortgage Origination and Servicing

September 1, 2017

The undersigned members of the Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) Language Access Task Force submitted comments in response to FHFA’s Request for Input: Improving Language Access in Mortgage Lending and Servicing (RFI), including analysis of responses from lenders and borrowers collected during the URLA Round 7 Consumer Testing Briefing (“URLA Briefing”) that the Federal Housing…

Defending a Home from Foreclosure

July 26, 2018

This article, the third in a series that deals with home mortgages, explains a homeowner’s general rights to defend or delay a pending home foreclosure, how a chapter 13 bankruptcy can avoid foreclosure, the homeowner’s rights after the foreclosure sale, and additional rights to deal with nine special types of foreclosures.

Current Options to Lower Mortgage Payments

July 19, 2018

This article, the second in the series that deals with home mortgages, details options to lowering or delaying mortgage payments for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VA, and RHS mortgages.

What Every Homeowner Should Know About Mortgage Payments

July 9, 2018

Mortgage problems tend to have a snowballing effect if not resolved quickly. This article covers how to obtain information about your mortgage payments, what happens if you make only a partial payment, disputing the amount due, and key information about escrow, property taxes, and insurance.

Opportunity Denied: How HUD's Note Sale Program Deprives Homeowners of the Basic Benefits of Their Government-Insured Loans

May 2, 2016

Vigorous enforcement of HUD’s loss mitigation rules would preserve homeownership and stabilize communities better than essentially unrestricted sales of the loans, often to financial speculators. To date, however, HUD has not held its major servicers accountable for their non-compliance with HUD’s own servicing rules. The note sale program should continue only if it can be…

Testimony Before House Financial Services Regarding Oversight of Mortgage Servicers' Implementation of the CARES Act

July 16, 2020

The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic has brought illness, death, unemployment, and greater economic insecurity to Americans across the country. Communities of color, particularly Black and Latinx communities, have been especially hard hit by COVID-19, with higher rates of illness, death, and unemployment due to COVID-19 than majority white communities. Pre- existing inequalities are being exacerbated by…

A Looming Crisis: Black Communities at Greatest Risk

July 1, 2020

Foreclosure prevention measures, data collection, and reporting must be prioritized to stave off preventable foreclosures Communities of color in the United States, especially Black and Latinx communities, are particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, from higher rates of illness and death to greater rates of unemployment, mortgage default and eviction risk. These challenges have…

Letter to HUD Addressing COVID-Related Issues for HECM Borrowers and Spouses

October 13, 2021

The undersigned write to request that HUD take certain steps to ensure the ongoing housing stability of borrowers who have taken out reverse mortgages under FHA’s Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) program, and their non-borrowing spouses, in light of the current COVID-19 public health emergency. Older Americans face the greatest risk from the current pandemic,…

Joint Comment to FHA’s Defect Taxonomy of the Single Family Housing Policy Handbook

January 28, 2022

On behalf of the industries, clients, and communities we represent, the undersigned write to comment on HUD’s proposed defect taxonomy for loan servicing reviews. This joint industry-consumer comment supplements our organizations’ individual comments and sets out essential principles we see as vital in the creation of any defect taxonomy.

Free Chapter: Homeowner Rights During Natural Disasters

September 30, 2022

Chapter 12 of Mortgage Servicing and Loan Modifications covers common legal issues that arise in the context of natural disasters and is free to all for a limited time.

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