The nation's five major banks agreed to pay billions of dollars to 49 states as part of an agreement with the Federal Government. The agreement is designed to help homeowners who either lost their homes to foreclosures and other still struggling to keep their homes out of foreclosure. The deal was announced Thursday.
Kansas will receive about $50 million, which state Attorney General Derek Schmidt says will help approximately 4,000 Kansans.
To qualify for the aid, a homeowner needs to either have had their home foreclosed on, or is facing foreclosure from one of the five banks in the deal: Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo, and Ally Financial (GMAC).
But Ryan Deitchler of Consumer Credit Counciling says it may be difficult to determine if you qualify.
"Servers change," he said. "You can go from closing with one bank and have your first mortgage payment paid to a different bank."
"This settlement will not help every homeowner who suffered foreclosure during the Great Recession, nor does it resolve every claim of misconduct against lenders or mortgage servicers," Schmidt said in a press release. "But it’s a dramatic step forward that will help many Kansans and will hold major financial institutions that played fast-and-loose with people’s lives accountable for their actions."
When asked for more specifics about who qualifies for aid, Schmidt's office declined to offer specifics. Only saying customers should contact their bank if they think they qualify.
