Survey Finds Banks Still Foreclose on Homeowners Seeking Loan Mods - ProPublica Page 1 of 3

The ProPublica Blog

Survey Finds Banks StillForeclose on

H om eow ners Seeking Loan M ods
by Karen Weise
ProPublica, Dec. 16, 2010, 3:17 p.m.

In May, we first reported on how disorganization at banks

caused homeowners to lose their homes while still in the
loan modification process [1] -- something that's not
supposed to happen under the rules of the government
loan modification program. Treasury officials said they
were working to fix the problem, but nine months later the
practice is prevalent, according to a new report.

For the report, the National Consumer Law Center and the
National Association of Consumer Advocates surveyed 96
attorneys, representing over 2,500 homeowners. Nearly
every attorney [2] said that they had clients whose banks A bank-owned sign is seen in front of a
tried to foreclose while the homeowner was still foreclosed home on Dec. 7, 2010 in Miami, Fla.
negotiating a loan modification. Half of the attorneys said (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
they had represented more than 20 homeowners in that
situation. (These findings echo a similar survey that we reported [3] on in July, where nearly two-thirds of
California housing counselors surveyed said they had at least one client whose home was foreclosed on
during the modification process.)

Typically, foreclosures and modifications are processed at the same time in different parts of banks that
often don't talk to one another. This "dual track" became a hot topic [4] this fall as the "robo-signing"
scandal [5] highlighted the degree to which banks automated the foreclosure process. In a congressional
hearing [6] in November, Bank of America and Chase both admitted to using this system and said it was
actually an industry-wide practice.

Diane Thompson, an attorney who works with the NCLC, told us a big hurdle to changing the system is the
government-sponsored mortgage giant Fannie Mae, which owns or guarantees a third of all mortgages.
Fannie Mae favors the dual track processing and is "far behind other people" in addressing the situation,
Thompson said.

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/survey-finds-banks-still-foreclose-on-homeowners-s... 12/29/2010
Survey Finds Banks Still Foreclose on Homeowners Seeking Loan Mods - ProPublica Page 2 of 3

In congressional testimony earlier this month, a Fannie Mae executive generally defended the dual track
system [7]: "The longer the process takes, and the further in arrears the borrower becomes, the less likely it
is that the borrower will succeed with a modification and the greater potential there is for loss to Fannie Mae
and the U.S. taxpayer."

The government's loan modification program has always barred banks and others from foreclosing on
homeowners trying to get modifications. And in March, Treasury announced a new rule saying banks and
companies that service loans on behalf of investors couldn't even initiate the foreclosure process without first
evaluating the homeowner for a modification. (In early December, Fannie Mae said it plans to adopt the
measure.) The rule does not affect the 2.1 million borrowers already in the foreclosure process. Thompson
said the new report shows that so far Treasury's efforts haven't stopped the practice. "There is absolutely no
penalty for the servicers if they do that," Thompson said.

Since the survey was deployed, earlier this month the regulator of national banks said it will direct servicers
[8] to suspend foreclosures for homeowners who are in active trial modifications. Its website [9] does not yet
show any formal orders.

In the survey, attorneys also reported that servicers themselves often caused the foreclosures. As we've
written before, what constitutes a "wrongful" foreclosure [10] is hotly contested. Banks say they only
foreclose on homeowners who are in default, while advocates say banks' poor accounting and inflated fees
cause the foreclosures. Half of the attorneys [11] surveyed said they represented homeowners who were
placed into foreclosure due to improper fees (such as inspection fees or appraisal fees), misapplication of
payments (where the servicer does not properly credit a homeowner's account) and force-placed insurance
(where the banks charge homeowners for expensive insurance [12]).

1. http://www.propublica.org/article/disorganization-at-banks-causing-mistaken-foreclosures-050410
2. http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/nclc-and-naca-wrongful-foreclosure-survey#document/p1
3. http://www.propublica.org/article/survey-homeowners-working-with-servicers-often-blindsided-by-foreclosures
4. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/at-hearing-lawmakers-ask-experts-for-foreclosure-crisis-solutions
5. http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/whos-who-in-the-foreclosure-scandal-a-primer-on-the-players
6. http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=df8cb685-c1bf-4eea-
941d-cf9d5173873a
7. http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/fannie-mae-testimony-before-senate-banking-committee#/p7
8. http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/occ-testimony-before-the-senate-banking-committee-dec.-1-
2010#document/p2
9. http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/index-news-issuances.html
10.http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/primer-what-is-a-wrongful-foreclosure
11. http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/nclc-and-naca-wrongful-foreclosure-survey#document/p2
12.http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/175_216/ties-to-insurers-servicers-in-trouble-1028474-1.html?
zkPrintable=1&nopagination=1

© Copyright 2010 Pro Publica Inc.

Steal Our Stories

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/survey-finds-banks-still-foreclose-on-homeowners-s... 12/29/2010
Survey Finds Banks Still Foreclose on Homeowners Seeking Loan Mods - ProPublica Page 3 of 3

Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our stories for free if you follow these rules.

http://www.propublica.org/blog/item/survey-finds-banks-still-foreclose-on-homeowners-s... 12/29/2010