Utah Shorted On Mortgage Settlement Funds

Many homeowners were relieved to hear about the $25 billion mortgage settlement deal that was reached just a few short weeks ago. As many states prepared to accept the offer, homeowners have been waiting for their share of the payout. However, news broke last week that not all states would be getting their funds and many more wouldn’t be getting the share they once thought.

Unsettling News

As two of the hardest hit states by the foreclosure crisis, both Florida and Nevada have drawn much attention over the devastation they have faced.  Last week, Florida and Nevada homeowners were pleased to learn that their funding would for sure be on the way as promised. However, not all participating states are so lucky, many of which are left wondering whether they will be getting settlement funds at all.

Only a fraction of the original funds earmarked for Utah has been delivered so far. The funds that were supposed to be given as part of the settlement deal were lumped into the state’s general fund last week, meaning the funds cannot be directly traced. The Utah legislature is unsure at this point how much of their $23 million has been delivered and how much is still owed. State official are upset by the transaction stating, “People of the state of Utah were harmed, and I think we should have provided some relief to those who were affected by it. We shouldn’t treat this like a windfall.” For now homeowners are still waiting for more help by way of reductions in loan principals and mortgage modifications of terms or forgiveness of penalties.