Ally's GMAC Mortgage Halts Home Foreclosures in 23 States

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Bloomberg

Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit told brokers and agents to halt evictions tied to foreclosures on homeowners in 23 states including Florida, Connecticut and New York.

GMAC Mortgage may “need to take corrective action in connection with some foreclosures” in the affected states, according to a two-page memo dated Sept. 17 marked “urgent.” Ally Financial spokesman James Olecki confirmed the contents of the memo. Brokers were told to immediately stop evictions, cash- for-key transactions and lockouts, according to the document, addressed to GMAC preferred agents.

The lender will also suspend sales of properties on which it has already taken possession. The letter tells brokers to notify buyers that the company will extend closing dates by 30 days. Buyers will be able to cancel their agreement to purchase and get their deposit back, according to the letter.

Lenders and lawmakers have been trying to slow foreclosures and keep people in their homes as U.S. seizures set records. Bank repossessions climbed 25 percent in August from a year earlier to 95,364, according to RealtyTrac Inc., the Irvine, California-based data provider. Detroit-based Ally, the auto and home lender formerly known as GMAC Inc., is 56.3 percent owned by the U.S. after more than $17 billion of taxpayer bailouts.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-20/gmac-mortgage-halts-home-foreclosures-in-23-states-including-florida-n-y-.html

[Schema Thing]

1. Hurricane Elizabeth?

[madrchsod]

2. losing to much money and they are looking at...

thousands of homes that they`ll never sell. better to rent the home out to the mortgage holder than to gamble that the market will recover before the land is worth more than the house.

[Ikonoklast]

8. Could be they don't have a legal right to foreclose, as they don't hold the paper anymore.

An agent collecting funds on a monthly basis for God knows who really holds the mortgage cannot foreclose as they have no standing.

[askeptic]

11. Bingo! May not be able to prove ownership

In light of the Florida Judge's finding that WAMU/JPM had actually committed fraud on the court when they represented that they owned property that they didn't actually own. This is going on throughout the industry, and could lead to some real liability on the bank's part (not to mention criminal charges). This is why GMAC has suspended foreclosures - to make sure that they actually have a legal proof of ownership.

[madrchsod]

4. oh yes and Hurricane Elizabeth...

she`s not afraid to speak the truth.

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[kirby]

5. Cartoon

[KoKo]

6. Hopefully this is good news that will be followed through by ALLY Bank. I hate their commercials

because they remind me of smarmy child abuse. But, if they are serious then I will forgive them their "Bait and Switch Ads" with the little kids being treated so cruely to show they "really care" about their business.

:kick:

[kirby]

9. They used to be Ditech...

They had crap commercials too.

[CountAllVotes]

10. they were GMAC Bank

and then they became Ally Bank after GMAC went bust. They have quite a history interestingly enough (and it is not a good one - do a search on Cerberus and Milken).

I had an account there briefly. They were highly incompetent and rude. I closed said online savings account and what a mess that was.

I now have an online acct. with American Express. It seems to be a good online bank has been my experience and they don't advertise on the teevee constantly. They pay more than any of the other ones right now - a stunning 1.3%!

I wouldn't be sad to see Ally Bank disappear I will have to admit.

[Aaria]

7. Google: MERS Educate yourself before your home is gone.

[ProSense]

12. GMAC stops some evictions, foreclosed home sales

Source: Associated Press

NEW YORK – GMAC Mortgage LLC said Monday it halted certain evictions and sales of foreclosed homes as it corrects "a potential issue" in its foreclosure process.

The action highlights what is becoming a larger problem for lenders and servicers that may have illegally driven homeowners out of their houses. The issue is threatening to clog up an already overloaded foreclosure process.

Lenders took back more homes last month since the start of the mortgage crisis as they try clear out a backlog of bad loans.

GMAC, which is owned by Detroit-based Ally Financial Inc., did not identify the specific internal issue that prompted the moratorium in its statement, but it has been linked to lawsuits this year surrounding the alleged falsification of a key foreclosure document.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100920/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gmac_foreclosures_2

[tridim]

13. I tell you what, I'm doing a short sale right now 45 days before my foreclosure..

and it is really nifty how it works.

If it works, it will zero out my debt AND zero out the underwater-ness of my house AND possibly give me $3000 in relocation expenses. All for the low low price of zero dollars.

Apparently Chase is taking these offers, but BoA isn't. Honestly I don't know why any bank wouldn't participate. It's so much better than foreclosure.

Sorry for the off topic, but this is my life 24/7 right now.

[Book Lover]

14. Good luck! Hope it works out for you (nm)

[PassingFair]

15. I have heard that there will be a tax liability for you...

have you checked into that?

I have read and heard that people owe
taxes on the amount of difference in
short sales...

[tridim]

16. Not a problem unless you're flipping houses, which IMO should be taxed

If you short sell your _primary_ residence AND you can demonstrate actual hardship, the mortgage relief act protects you from getting taxed.

[Dappleganger]

17. Hope things go well.

Please keep us posted, ok? I hope you get a fresh start in a great place, too.

:hug: