Brown to Address Wrongful Foreclosures
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – More than 4,000 people in the Mahoning Valley could see some degree of restitution under an agreement reached last week between the federal government and 10 lenders charged with unlawfully foreclosing on homes across the country.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, will host a press event here today to address the agreement that requires banks to pay $8.5 billion to settle the charges.
The senator will hold a press conference in the offices of Community Legal Aid, in the First National Tower downtown, at 11:30 a.m.
Joining Brown will be Patty Dougan of Legal Aid and a Mahoning Valley homeowner who could be eligible to share in the agreement, the senator's office said.
Under the agreement, homeowners would receive on average $2,125 in payments or loan modifications. Almost 96,000 Ohioans are eligible, Brown's office reported.
The foreclosure crisis rocked the housing market during the latter part of the last decade, and was one of the factors that plunged the country into the Great Recession of 2008-2009.
The high foreclosure rate across country and in the Mahoning Valley have since dragged down housing values and is largely responsible for the slow recovery, Brown's office stated.
Last week, federal regulators and 10 lenders reached an agreement to address the large number of unlawful foreclosures that occurred when banks used illegal practices such as "robo-signings" to initiate foreclosure proceedings or failed to offer mortgage modifications or other measures that would allow people to remain in their homes.
The senator plans to urge passage of the Foreclosure Fraud and Homeowner Abuse and Prevention Act. The legislation would expand access to foreclosure prevention services while increasing protections from homeowners and investors in mortgage-backed securities.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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