Politics & Government

Maryland to Collect $88 Million for Victimized Homeowners

State officials accused Ocwen Financial Corp. of systematic misconduct in handling mortgages.

Maryland will receive about $88 million as part of a national settlement with one of the country’s largest mortgage servicers over allegedly questionable foreclosure practices, the Washington Post reports.

Maryland is getting a cut of a $2.1 billion national agreement between state attorneys general, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Ocwen Financial Corp.and its subsidiary, Ocwen Loan Servicing. Ocwen’s customers in Maryland who are facing foreclosure are expected to receive about $85.7 million in principal reductions, while about 2,500 Ocwen borrowers in Maryland who have been foreclosed on will receive a payment of up to $1,000, the newspaper said.

“Thousands more Maryland families will be able to stay in their homes and get relief from challenging financial circumstances as a result of this latest effort to hold mortgage servicing companies accountable for the abuses that led to the foreclosure crisis,” said Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Doug Gansler. “Our state was disproportionately impacted by the collapse of the housing market, which is why we worked doubly hard to make sure that the tough new servicing standards will ensure fair treatment for borrowers going forward and prevent future mortgage fraud.”

Maryland will receive the sixth-highest amount, or 4.3 percent of the relief available, according to the Baltimore Sun. There are also 2,461 Maryland loans eligible for cash payments, with disbursements expected to be more than $1,000 each.

Find out what's happening in Germantownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Sun says the settlement, which must be approved by a judge, is the biggest since the deal reached in 2012 with the nation's five largest servicers: Ally/GMAC, Bank of America/Countrywide, Citi, JPMorgan Chase/WaMu and Wells Fargo/Wachovia. To date, that settlement has provided about $1.5 billion in relief for more than 27,000 families in Maryland.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here