Washington, DC – October 18, 2010 – (LoanSafe.org) — It has come to the attention of the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB) that gross irregularities seem to exist in the processing of some home foreclosures in the metropolitan area. These include the use of improper paperwork, flawed and fraudulent documentation, “robo-signing,” excessive attorney fees, illegal mortgage registration, and transfer and wrongful foreclosures.
“Because of the high volume of mortgage foreclosures in recent years, it’s possible that some financial institutions may be using shortcuts that do not comply with District law,” said DISB Commissioner Gennet Purcell, Esq. Part of this includes the use of a company, created by the mortgage industry, to track loans through an electronic system rather than to have a paper trail. And this may be creating much of the difficulties.
Recently, several large financial institutions have suspended foreclosures nationwide, and the District’s congressional representative, Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, has requested a moratorium on foreclosures in the District “until they can assure residents here that they have systems in place to prevent improper foreclosure.”
While DISB is working independently to verify these complaints, the agency is requesting any resident who may have had an unlawfulforeclosure, to contact the agency at (202) 727-8000 or to file a complaint online at
http://www.disb.dc.gov/. The District of Columbia recently joined a multistate effort to stop mortgage loan servicers from allegedly submitting affidavits or signing notices that appear to have procedural defects of either a judicial or non-judicialforeclosure . It was alleged that many mortgage documents have been signed without personal knowledge of the facts stated in the documents, and affidavits were signed outside of the presence of a notary public.
In the meantime, DISB continues to dedicate its efforts in assisting residents facing foreclosure, through its Foreclosure Mitigation Kit (available in hardcopy and online), its seminars on preventing foreclosure, and its robust interventions on behalf of the homeowner with the mortgage lenders. Commissioner Purcell will be arranging a meeting with federal regulators and national bank representatives to discuss the issues DISB has identified, and to work on future steps that will ensure that District of Columbia residents are protected from improperforeclosures.
“I cannot warn our residents enough to read the fine print, ask questions, seek legal help, and most of all, call DISB with any complaints or issues,” Commissioner Purcell added.
