Eye on the Market
After Robo-Signing Settlement, Homeowners Receive the Bulk of Bank Money through Short Sales
Snellville Patch's real estate columnist examines what the robo-signing settlement means to homeowners.
On February 9th, 2012, the United States Justice Department released the details of a $25 billion dollar settlement they reached with five major banks. The settlement occurred because the banks were accused of widespread use of robo-signing. The settlement was the largest government industry settlement since the $250 billion Big Tobacco settlement in 1998 and the largest settlement in consumer real estate history. Robo-signing was a practice employed by banks to automate the processing and approval of foreclosure proceedings against homeowners. In many cases, the banks were discovered to have processed thousands of foreclosures in a single day, all signed by one person. Now, almost nine months since the settlement date, over 80 …
