New York Attorney General Letitia James settled a motion against Champion Mortgage for allegedly misleading its borrowers in need of assistance.
The court documents state Champion — the reverse mortgage servicer under Mr. Cooper,
In other cases, Champion allegedly failed to adequately notify its Home Equity Conversion Mortgage borrowers of making property tax payments on their behalf, resulting in double payments.
The two sides settled on Champion giving $500,000 to the attorney general’s Equitable Reverse Mortgage Assistance program. ERMA provides defaulted reverse mortgage borrowers or those at risk of default with low-cost loans to cover their inability to pay.
“No one should have to experience the threat of losing their home, and companies have a responsibility to provide transparency and fairness to at-risk borrowers and homeowners,” James said in a press release. “These funds will provide much-needed assistance to ensure our seniors have access to permanent housing, and this action puts companies on notice that we are holding them to their obligations to their customers.”
Champion cooperated with the attorney general and pledged to do a better job for its reverse mortgage customers.
"Champion is committed to providing a customer-centric experience and has taken steps to ensure we provide efficient and accurate information to our customers,” a Mr. Cooper representative said in a statement to NMN. “We look forward to partnering with the New York Attorney General and the Center for New York City Neighborhoods to promote and protect affordable homeownership for our New York customers."
As part of the settlement, Champion also agreed to improve its notifications to New York borrowers before making any property tax payments on their property’s behalf. It also pledged to simplify its language in preforeclosure communications, provide direct contacts for homeowners to access all available loss mitigation opportunities, and to stay in compliance with New York state law.
