Impact 5: Independent Foreclosure Review deadline

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - The deadline is approaching to apply for the Independent Foreclosure Review.  It's the government's effort to try and make it up to homeowners who were wrongly foreclosed upon.

Josh Bleil is a attorney with the Ticktin Law Group, the firm that unearthed robo-signing, where mortgage servicers were fraudulently signing foreclosure documents. He thinks the program has good intentions, but is flawed.

"It's multiple layered as to why I don't think it's necessarily going to be or have the impact or relief people hope it does," Bleil said.

The review is free, but only for homeowners who went through a foreclosure in 2009 or 2010. Your mortgage servicer also has to be one of the 27 participating. You're required to fill out an initial form, and will be asked to provide evidence that you were wrongly foreclosed upon. Bleil thinks that will just lead to more frustration for the borrower. And that’s not all.

"I think another problem with the program is that it's never been clearly defined what the homeowner who was wrongfully foreclosed on is going to receive.  From what I've read, they're not going to get their homes back.”

But Bleil said those who have already lost their home have little to lose by going through this process.

"For someone who wants to have their case reviewed by all means do it, just know what you're getting yourself into.”  

He also thinks there could be more relief on the way.

“I don't see this as the end, because the problem has not been solved.”

But it is close to the end for this program. The deadline to apply is July 31.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency did not return NewsChannel 5's request for an interview for this report.

For more on the Independent Foreclosure Review click here . bitly link: http://bit.ly/MtWGqf