GMAC Halts Evictions in 23 States...Viva Extend and Pretend

GMAC Halts Evictions in 23 States

The Bulls Will Love the ficticious Drop

in Next Month's Foreclosure Report

Extend and Pretend Lives!!

By Denise Pellegrini
Sept. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Ally Financial Inc.’s GMAC Mortgage unit told brokers and agents to halt evictions tied to foreclosures on homeowners in 23 states including Florida, Connecticut and New York.

GMAC Mortgage may “need to take corrective action in connection with some foreclosures” in the affected states, according to a two-page memo dated Sept. 17 marked “urgent.” Ally Financial spokesman James Olecki confirmed the contents of the memo. Brokers were told to immediately stop evictions, cash- for-key transactions and lockouts, according to the document, addressed to GMAC preferred agents.

The lender will also suspend sales of properties on which it has already taken possession. The letter tells brokers to notify buyers that closings will be extended 30 days. Buyers will be able to cancel their agreement to purchase and get their deposit back, according to the letter. Foreclosures won’t be suspended, according to a company statement.

GMAC Mortgage is reviewing procedures “to ensure that all foreclosure requirements have been fully met,” according to the e-mailed statement from James Olecki, an Ally spokesman. “GMAC Mortgage is committed to preserving the integrity of the foreclosure process and if any corrective actions are needed, we will take immediate steps to make sure they are implemented.”

Record Seizures

Lenders and lawmakers have been trying to slow foreclosures and keep people in their homes as U.S. seizures set records. Bank repossessions climbed 25 percent in August from a year earlier to 95,364, according to RealtyTrac Inc., the Irvine, California-based data provider. Detroit-based Ally, the auto and home lender formerly known as GMAC Inc., is 56.3 percent owned by the U.S. after more than $17 billion of taxpayer bailouts.

GMAC Mortgage ranked fourth among U.S. home-loan originators in the first six months of this year, with $26 billion of mortgages, according to Inside Mortgage Finance, an industry newsletter. Wells Fargo & Co. ranked first, with $160 billion, and Citigroup Inc. was fifth, with $25 billion.

The 23 States
Connecticut
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Nebraska
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Vermont
Wisconsin