Foreclosure - Forced Homeowner's Insurance
I recently tried to provide advice to a lady whose home will be sold at Trustee Sale on August 24, 2007. She is down about 8 months, and the lender placed their own insurance on the property to protect their interest. She has no escrow account and allowed her policy to lapse about 4 months ago. Her premium was under $700/year. A mutual friend is trying to bail her out thrugh a cash purchase. In reviewing the papers from the lenders foreclosure agent I saw what looked like serious overcharges. The title company handling the proposed purchase found that the "forced" insurance premium worked out to about $6,900/year. While it is expected that lender provided insurance will be more expensive, this $6,900 figure is pure rape. My escrow officer confirmed that premiums in this range are common.
As we all know, the Mortgage Industry is going through a melt down, with the potential of bringing down the entire economy. This situation is the fault of the Mortgage Industry, which allowed anyone with a pulse to get a loan, and the raft of Disneyland loans that were foisted on unsophisticated borrowers. More borrowers will default, and many will lose their homes. Such rapaceous charges for forced insurance will just make the situation worse, and will prevent many borrowers from reinstating their loans, who otherwise might have.
If there are any of you who work in the foreclosure department of a Mortgage Servicer, or for an attorney who handles foreclosure, or some other job where you would have first hand knowledge of such overcharges, please post a reply. I am trying to find out if this is standard practice just in AZ or nationwide. I am ready to jump on my white steed and joust at windmills.