The people of New Jersey work hard to support their families and achieve the American dream. Home ownership is a crucial part of that dream. Owning a home can provide a family with a sense of financial security, community and responsibility. But through the economic downturn over the past six years, thousands of people have lost their homes to foreclosure.
If this was simply due to the tough economy, that would be one thing. However, many of these foreclosures have been due to abusive practices by mortgage servicing companies. That has made it necessary for states and the federal government to seek justice against certain mortgage service companies for bad practices.
In 2012, a major settlement between the federal government and five of the country’s largest mortgage service companies made national headlines. Now, a similar settlement has been reached by SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. to reimburse consumers for wrongful mortgage servicing and foreclosure practices.
While these settlements, which are holding companies accountable, are certainly a step in the right direction, many New Jersey homeowners continue to struggle with unmanageable mortgage payments and the possibility of foreclosure. There are options to decrease your debt burden and the danger of foreclosure. A bankruptcy attorney may help explain those options to you.
The SunTrust settlement will provide about $6.5 million in relief for New Jersey borrowers. These benefits will come in the form of mortgage principal reductions, loan modifications, and mortgage refinancing. The settlement also requires the company to refrain from engaging in abusive practices in the future.
Source: NorthJersey.com, “New Jersey joins lending-abuse settlement with SunTrust,” Jim Norman, June 17, 2014
