Homeowner's Blog

In a June 7 settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, Bank of America agreed  to pay $108 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of homeowners. Those homeowners who were charged excessive fees by Countrywide prior to its 2008 purchase by Bank of America. At its height Countrywide funded about 20% of all mortgages in the U.S. and serviced homeowners on 14 percent of all outstanding mortgages. Affected homeowners were charged inflated fees for property inspections, lawn mowing and other services after they defaulted on their loans. The homeowners were not provided the option of performing any of those services themselves or shopping for more competitive prices in order to reduce their debt. Countrywide's practices were the equivalent of kicking a helpless person while they were on the ground.

According to FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, 200,000 homeowners who defaulted on mortgages serviced by Countrywide may receive refunds under the settlement. This was an appropriate settlement, and should discourage similar gouging by mortgage lenders and servicers in the future. Eligible homeowners will receive instructions on how to apply for the refunds in coming months. More information is available at http://www.ftc.gov/countrywide.