Military Foreclosure Cases Up for Review

The US real estate industry is yet to recover. Foreclosures are still high, and the latest factor plaguing the economy is the allegations about banks faulty procedure of taking over properties.

Now in Charlotte, the government is considering if Wells Fargo, Bank of America and others have illegally foreclosed homes of many military families. Cases are now being reviewed. There is a law that protects military families from foreclosures. This is intended to help them focus on jobs.

Take, for instance, Dana Poole. She approached a counselor and said that her house was foreclosed upon while her married partner was working on active military duty.Poole said, “I think it's very unfair to be out serving your country and have to worry about this type of situation.” She talked about the law that protects military family members.

That law is known as Service Members Civil Relief Act. The Treasury Department's Comptroller of Currency said a consultant is going through many foreclosures of Wells Fargo and Bank of America. The process is illegal, said the consultant. The military groups are becoming concerned.

Frank Stancil of North Carolina American Legion, said, “Any reports that we have, we certainly want to report those to our local representatives so we can get the word back to Washington that the system is not working.” Bank of America has admitted that it has foreclosed upon 2,400 homes of military men between ’09 and ’10. However, it has admitted that there is no basis for the allegations that the foreclosures were handled improperly.

These reviews of foreclosures of the army are now part of a bigger review of at least 4 million mortgages that had errors.

A veteran serving in the Marine said, “You don’t want to go overseas and be thinking your home is going to be evicted (and) your wife is going to be evicted.” However,Poole is facing a similar situation now.Poole said that she is extremely worried.

Now the government wants to send letters to all the homeowners wanting to know if they wish their cases be reviewed. Perhaps what prompted the government to take up reviews are the protests that are spreading through the US. It may not seem a good idea for Obama to sit tight when he seeks re-election.