LA VERGNE, Tenn.- Buying a home is a major investment Richard Bell works
hard to maintain.
"Every week you can see another house up for sale," Bell said.
"You're always seeing signs posted all the time."
For some of his neighbors in the Lakeforest subdivision in LaVergne it's an
investment many can no longer afford.
"It's disturbing. I hate to see people lose their homes," Bell
added. "Where do you go after you lose your house?"
That's why dozens arrived at LaVergne's city hall, pen and paper in hand,
looking for any information that could help ease the burden.
"We are both recently unemployed, just looking for options to help us
out," Smyrna Resident Lisa Hudson said.
Attorneys General in 49 states including Tennessee sued mortgage providers
Bank of America, Chase, Citi, GMAC/Ally Financial and Wells Fargo for various
lending abuses. They won a $25 billion settlement with $140 million coming to
Tennessee.
"A good part of that money goes to, benefits directly, to homeowners in
the form of principal reduction, interest rate reduction, and also payments to
foreclosed homeowners," Matt Tulle from the Tennessee Office of the
Attorney General explains to the crowd.
There are various eligibility requirements, and even after meeting them,
there are no guarantees. But state officials stress the money is available, and
it's definitely worth a try.
"I talked to one lawyer last week who has a client. She was rejected
for modification," Tulle explained. "She reapplied and she received a
$68,000 principal reduction. That's $68,000 on her mortgage that she doesn't
have to pay."
The settlement helped established a free mortgage hotline. Counselors with
the Tennessee Housing Development Agency will help homeowners who are
struggling with their mortgage determine if they're eligible for the
settlement.
For more information:
http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/cpro/mortgageservicing.html
