With the onset of increased foreclosures and the efforts of millions of homeowners fighting to save their homes through a variety of means such as loan modifications, short sales, deed in lieu of foreclosures, forbearance plans, and other loan workout plans one term that you may want to know about is the Forensic File Audit also known as the Forensic Loan Document Audit or the Mortgage Loan Audit.
Let's face it, getting a mortgage is a not rocket science, but it is a fairly complex process, that is heavily regulated by the U.S. Federal Government as well as individual state governments. As such, the loan document trail associated with getting a mortgage beginning when a mortgage loan applicant applies for the loan all the way through to the loan closing is rather long and complex. There are many places along the way for errors in the documentation. Inspecting loan paperwork and finding these errors are what a Forensic Loan Document Audit or Forensic Mortgage Loan File Audit are all about.
Save My Home With A Mortgage File Audit
A mortgage file audit can be a very effective way to get a lender to work with you on saving your home from foreclosure. Many mortgage loan modification companies or attorneys while they are preparing your file to present a loan modification negotiation with your mortgage lender will conduct a mortgage file audit, or Forensic Loan Document File Audit. This audit goes through all of the mortgage documentation that you got from the lender and the title company when you got your mortgage.
When you start a loan modification program, the loan modification company should ask you for most if not all of the paperwork you received when you got your mortgage. If they do not ask you for it, this could be a red flag for you to find another company to work with. Ask them about doing a forensic file audit. If they indicate that they do not do that, then you should go looking for another loan mod company to assist you. This audit is very important to your loan modification negotiations. (See below: Why Is A Forensic Mortgage Document Audit Important?)
What Is A Forensic Mortgage Loan Audit?
The Forensic Mortgage Loan Document Audit is a thorough review of your mortgage documents from your current mortgage. During the audit the person doing the audit will look for the following:
- RESPA - Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act - Federal Law Violations Fraud
- TILA - Truth In Lending Act - Federal Law Violations - This includes items like were the Initial and final APR, Financ Charge, Amount Financed, Total of Payments disclosed and disclosed properly. Were you given paperwork that gave you a way to rescind your mortgage during the 3 day right of rescission period following your loan settlement. Were you given the Good Faith Estimate and Truth in Lending forms properly within three business days of applying for your mortgage?
- Were you the victim of Predatory Lending?
- Did the loan officer violate Section 32 - in other words were the charges on your loan more than 8% of your loan amount and were you properly informed of the high cost associated with your mortgage?
- Did your mortgage company charge more for your credit report than it actually cost?
- If you received an ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) were properly informed of the caps, indexes, adjustment periods etc.? Did you know that you were supposed to get an ARM.
- If you got a stated income loan was the stated income an income that you stated, or was it made up by the loan officer?
- Was the Yield Spread Premium disclosed to you on your Good Faith Estimate if you got your mortgage from a mortgage broker?
Why Is A Forensic Mortgage Document Audit Important?
Discrepancies found in your loan documentation during the loan audit are important as they can lead to either the lender having to rescind your loan (essentially cancel your loan) and giving all of your money back that you have paid to them over time since you got your mortgage. This could be a lot of money that the mortgage company does not want to part with. Second, you could have legal grounds for some type of lawsuit against the mortgage company depending on the types of problems that are found in your loan paperwork.
For any of these problems found, the loan modification attorney may be able to use these discrepancies to negotiate with your lender to get you the loan modification that you need to save your home.
Get Help With A Forensic Mortgage Loan Document Audit
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