Foreclosure Probes Launched

In an AP article by Alan Zibel posted on Yahoo.com just moments ago, it was announced that “officials in 50 states and the District of Columbia have launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage companies mishandled documents and broke laws in foreclosing on hundreds of thousands of homeowners.”

States' attorney generals and bank regulators will begin to examine whether mortgage company employees made false statements or prepared documents improperly.

This could mean that foreclosure proceedings across the nation could be subject to legal challenge, with the possibility that some foreclosures could be overturned. More than 2.5 million homes have been foreclosed since December 2007, according to RealtyTrac Inc.

Some banks have already halted questionable foreclosures, but others, including Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo have not stopped processing foreclosures, and have denied that they have done anything wrong.

Evidence will be reviewed that may show that legal documents were signed by mortgage co. employees with no knowledge of the information found in the documents. There is a possibility that many of these documents were signed without witness from a notary public, which violates most state laws.