Just a week after Bank of America halted foreclosures in 23 states, the largest US bank announced a freeze on foreclosures in all 50 states.
I personaly saw this coming since Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and GMAC have all been accused of illegaly foreclosing on thousands of properties accross the nation. Pressure from Congress, state and federal law enforcement and regulatory officials forced all three lenders to pause foreclosures for 23 states where courts have juristiction over foreclosures.
“We have been assessing our existing processes,” Bank of America said in a statement.
The nation wide halt on foreclosures was expected, as the largest US bank makes sure their i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed.
Many banks used what is called “robo signers” to put their signatures on hundreds of thousands of foreclosure applications in 23 states swearing that they had reviewed each document to make sure the action was proper and valid. Of course that was a lie since one person can’t possibly review thousands of applications, as bank employees have testified recently under oath. Renee Hertzler, an employee for the bank, admitted that she signed 7,000 to 8,000 foreclosure papers per month without reading them. Hertzler admitted that she did not read the papers because of the volume she received. The banks appear to have not verified documents required as part of the foreclosure process, and in some cases, forgery is even suspected, since signatures do not appear to match.
It seems as if there is a lot of work ahead for these banks so don’t be surprised if JPMorgan Chase and GMAC follow suit in the next couple of days.
For the affected homeowners, it is unlikely their foreclosures be overturned but if anything will buy them a few more months to find other options.