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Massachusetts AG Requires Mortgage Servicer To Provide Foreclosure-Related Relief
On June 16, Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Martha Coakley announced that a large mortgage servicer agreed to provide $3 million in borrower relief and pay $700,000 to the Commonwealth to resolve allegations that the servicer failed to provide certain notices to homeowners, as required by state law, and that it unlawfully foreclosed on certain properties. Specifically, the AG alleged that the servicer failed to send state-mandated notices to homeowners in default, and failed to execute proper mortgage assignments, filed in the Massachusetts Registry of Deeds, as required by Massachusetts law. The agreement also resolves claims that a servicer acquired by the settling servicer allegedly initiated foreclosures when it did not hold the actual mortgages, a violation of Massachusetts law, as established by a 2011 state supreme court decision. As described in the AG’s announcement, the agreement requires the servicer to properly execute documents filed in connection with foreclosure proceedings, and to mail to residents notices that are in compliance with applicable statutes and regulations.