AG Pam Bondi's Office Begins Calls to Home Borrowers Eligible for Cash Payments

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondis office has begun calling Florida borrowers who may be eligible for cash payments under the national mortgage settlement. Live operators will call those who lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, and had their mortgages serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo.

We want every borrower who may be eligible for a cash payment under the national settlement to submit a claim," said Bondi in a press release. "Currently, approximately 44 percent of the people to whom claim forms have been mailed have submitted their claims."

The deadline for forms to be completed and returned is Jan. 18, 2013.

This $25 billion settlement between the nations five largest mortgage servicers and the federal government and 49 states and the District of Columbia, earmarked approximately $1.5 billion in payments for 2 million borrowers nationwide. In Florida, approximately $170 million is available for cash payments to Florida borrowers.

The servicers were sued by the U.S. and state governments for the practice of robo-signing documents pertaining to foreclosures. "Robo-signing" refers to the practice of routine mass-signing of documents without properly reviewing them to verify the authenticity of the information containedtherein.

Bondi's release says payments will be a minimum of $840, but higher payments to each eligible consumer are expected.

More information can be found at: www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com