Sarasota hosts mortgage discussion

Sarasota County will host a panel discussion about the provisions of the $25 billion agreement between banks and 49 state attorney generals to revise existing mortgages that qualify under the program.

The program will be broadcast at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 7, by Sarasota County on Comcast 19 and Verizon 32. The discussion also will be available online on the county’s website at www.scgov.net.Circuit Court Judge Lee E. Haworth will moderate the discussion. Panelists will include attorneys Anne Weintraub, Nancy Cason and Scott Peterson.

The agreement includes the nation’s five largest loan services – Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The agreement is based on federal investigations that found banks had signed foreclosure-related documents without a notary public and without verifying that statements in the documents were correct. The agreement provides benefits to borrowers who have loans with the banks and borrowers with loans serviced by the banks.

The discussion will cover information on:
· Who is covered by the settlement and what claims can be pursued
· How homeowners can find out if they’re eligible, and how they can apply.

Additional information on the settlement is available online at www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com. For information on the panel discussion, contact the Sarasota County Call Center at 861-5000.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].