Housing Predictor reported today that Countrywide Mortgage has agreed to pay $108 million in fines to the Federal Trade Commission for their role in a scam in which they overcharged homeowners who were in foreclosure.
Countrywide — once the nation’s largest home lender — agreed to the multimillion-dollar settlement more than two years after the FTC charged the lender with collecting excessive fees from borrowers who were in foreclosure. According to the article, the lender jacked up fees for property inspections and clean-ups and even charged $300 to mow the lawn on a small-track home.
Countrywide has since been taken over by Bank of America. The takeover occurred at the height of the Wall Street meltdown.
Former homeowners who were victimized are expected to be reimbursed from the proceeds. Whether it will be a windfall for the homeowners remains to be seen: federal officials have yet to determine how much money they will get or when they will get it.
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