Lawsuit by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray Pauses Many Foreclosures in Ohio

In the state of Ohio the most important legal proceeding currently going on is the State of Ohio's lawsuit against a number of mortgage companies.

There has been quite a lot of turmoil going on in most states regarding the exceedingly high number of foreclosures and this lawsuit is forcing mortgage companies in Ohio to put an immediate hold on many foreclosures.

The Ohio Attorney General, Richard Cordray stepped up and put together a case against a few major mortgage lenders which has effectively stalled many impending foreclosure proceedings that were slated for November here in Ohio.

According to this lawsuit the defendants listed are: GMAC Mortgage LLC, Ally Financial Inc., and Jeffrey Stephan.

The lawsuit itself can be viewed at this location: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/GMACLawsuit

This action stems from the revelation that certain mortgage servicing companies and banks were processing foreclosures without actually reviewing all of the documents pertinent to each case. This "rubber stamping" process has landed many of these mortgage companies and their employees in hot water.

In the Attorney General's introductory paragraph of this complaint it states that these companies and individuals have "committed frauds and unfair, deceptive and unconscionable acts and practices on Ohio consumers and the courts of Ohio, through among other ways, the signing of and causing filing in Ohio courts of hundreds of false affidavits and assignments of notes"

By processing their foreclosure paperwork in this unprofessional manner they were forcing people out of their homes without following the letter of the law and denying consumers their right to due process!

What this could mean to some homeowners who are facing foreclosure is that there will be a stay on many foreclosures until the issue can be ironed out with these banks. The wording of the complaint is very strong and he has indicated that each incident will be treated as a single infraction with a $25,000 penalty for every one that was submitted improperly.

I know this woman who is doing temporary work at a local lawyers office, who spoke on the condition of her anonymity, her name could be changed to Xavier, said that the stacks file folders regarding Ohio foreclosures are so high that you can barely see the lawyers behind these desks.

Sadly the one thing that this action will not be able to do is to offer any help to those unfortunate people who have already been foreclosed on. The tension on this topic can run high and as I am speaking from personal experience I can tell you it can bring you to your knees when that letter arrives saying you are in foreclosure.

I survived having my mortgage company tell me that I was in foreclosure when in fact I was in the middle of receiving a loan modification! That was the worst day I have had in a long time.

It took about three weeks of constant calls, e-mails, and faxes to get my mortgage company to recognize that a mistake on their part was made, and after this they reversed their decision in writing. I have kept every shred of information on this process and used a lot of it to present my side of this story. My advice is to maintain excellent records, and make sure you note every single person you ever speak with regarding your mortgage.

It is my hope that this action taken by Mr. Cordray can hold off the process long enough that many of these people in the middle of this foreclosure debacle can find a way to get a loan modification or perhaps find some other form of relief.

It is a very positive thing to see our government standing up to these mortgage companies and saying to them that we will not take it anymore! On behalf of everyone who is having a hard time with the entire mortgage mess, I would like to say thank you to Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray! Good job.

Sources:

www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/GMACLawsuit