A member of Vida Urbana’s North Side Bank Tenants Association
(NSBTA) helps an East Boston homeowner during an Independent Foreclosure Review event at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Paris Street.
Last Thursday, Vida Urbana’s North Side Bank Tenants Association (NSBTA) hosted an Independent Foreclosure Review information event for East Boston residents at the Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Paris Street.
The event was designed to help homeowners who were part of a foreclosure action on their primary residence in 2009 or 2010.
According to event organizer Dominic Desiata of Vida Urbana (City Life) many homeowners may be eligible for an Independent Foreclosure Review and may receive compensation or other remedy if the review finds that they were financially injured because of errors or other problems during their home foreclosure process.
Desiata added that many Eastie homeowners may not be aware of the foreclosure review and he and North Side Bank Tenants Association began a grassroots campaign to get the word out.
“We’ve gone door to door in East Boston handing out fliers and doing phone banks to let people know about this program,” said Desiata.
Desiata and Vida Urbana have also been hosting free foreclosure help on Wednesday evenings at the church.
“We are trying to get the word out to as many people as possible and it’s good to see some new faces here tonight,” he said.
In addition to helping consumers confirm their eligibility for a review, the North Side Bank Tenants Association worked with eligible homeowners to obtain and/or complete their official, bar-coded Request for Review Form, which must be submitted to initiate a review
“We have found that many consumers do not understand the Independent Foreclosure Review program and have not submitted a request for review even though they are eligible and may have been financially injured as a result of a servicer error,” said North Side Bank Tenants Association Ginett DiMaggio. ”We believe that by explaining the program and answering questions we can encourage the eligible borrowers to take advantage of this effort.”
The NSBTA, which is an initiative of housing rights group City Life/Vida Urbana, is an organization of homeowners and tenants fighting foreclosure and eviction.
They host meetings every Wednesday in Eastie where residents can get support with their own foreclosure issue through free legal help and a grassroots action approach to dealing with foreclosing banks and investors.
North Side members are fighting loan modifications with principal reduction, and to stop all no-fault evictions after foreclosure.
As part of a consent order with federal bank regulators, 14 mortgage servicers and their affiliates have identified homeowners who were part of a foreclosure action on their primary residence during the period of January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010. The Independent Foreclosure Review is providing these homeowners the opportunity to request an independent review of their foreclosure process.
The free review will determine if they are owed a payment or other compensation because of errors during the foreclosure process. The borrower gives up nothing by requesting a review and waives no rights by accepting compensation.
Cut lines
Event organizer Dominic Desiata of Vida Urbana helps East Boston homeowners during an Independent Foreclosure Review event at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Paris Street.
A member of Vida Urbana’s North Side Bank Tenants Association (NSBTA) helps an East Boston homeowner during an Independent Foreclosure Review event at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church on Paris Street.