Lenders Turn to FB to Deliver Foreclosure Notices
Jul 18, 2011 17:56:29 GMT -5
Post by PrisonerOfHope on Jul 18, 2011 17:56:29 GMT -5
Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices
by cassy82 | July 11, 2011 at 09:34 am
Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices
Foreclosures have numbered in the millions over the past five years in the United States, and thenumber rises even higher when you factor in foreclosures from overseas – from countries that have also experienced housing difficulties and collapsing markets.
One such country is Australia, and in light of their foreclosure crisis, officials there came up with a unique approach to sending out foreclosure notices to homeowners: posting them on Facebook.
Delivering a foreclosure notice can be a tricky proposition, because some homeowners are hard to reach and contact. In the U.S., homeowners are required to be given notice, but the law frequently does not specify exactly how that happens. A direct delivery to the property is the most common method, and lenders also try via phone and mail. But, Facebook is a new innovation that could make the process easier and less costly for lenders.
Of course, there is always the fear that relying on something online, like Facebook, can leave the owner and the lender both vulnerable to fraud and security breaches. The debate, though, is interesting because it highlights some of the themes found in the market with robo-signing and other scandals in the foreclosure process over the last year.
If some lenders cannot be trusted to even read mortgage files before foreclosing on them, is there any guarantee that being able to use Facebook would help?
In fact, according to some reports about the ongoing settlement, regulations for notification and procedure prior to a foreclosure may be less strict than they are now. We are following the ongoing settlement talks between the government and the lenders with interest because it will have a big impact on the market.
In the meantime, American homeowners shouldn’t expect to see notices delivered via a post on their Facebook wall any time soon.
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices | NowPublic News Coverage www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/lenders-turn-facebook-deliver-foreclosure-notices#ixzz1SV57um43
by cassy82 | July 11, 2011 at 09:34 am
Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices
Foreclosures have numbered in the millions over the past five years in the United States, and thenumber rises even higher when you factor in foreclosures from overseas – from countries that have also experienced housing difficulties and collapsing markets.
One such country is Australia, and in light of their foreclosure crisis, officials there came up with a unique approach to sending out foreclosure notices to homeowners: posting them on Facebook.
Delivering a foreclosure notice can be a tricky proposition, because some homeowners are hard to reach and contact. In the U.S., homeowners are required to be given notice, but the law frequently does not specify exactly how that happens. A direct delivery to the property is the most common method, and lenders also try via phone and mail. But, Facebook is a new innovation that could make the process easier and less costly for lenders.
Of course, there is always the fear that relying on something online, like Facebook, can leave the owner and the lender both vulnerable to fraud and security breaches. The debate, though, is interesting because it highlights some of the themes found in the market with robo-signing and other scandals in the foreclosure process over the last year.
If some lenders cannot be trusted to even read mortgage files before foreclosing on them, is there any guarantee that being able to use Facebook would help?
In fact, according to some reports about the ongoing settlement, regulations for notification and procedure prior to a foreclosure may be less strict than they are now. We are following the ongoing settlement talks between the government and the lenders with interest because it will have a big impact on the market.
In the meantime, American homeowners shouldn’t expect to see notices delivered via a post on their Facebook wall any time soon.
Continue reading at NowPublic.com: Lenders Turn to Facebook to Deliver Foreclosure Notices | NowPublic News Coverage www.nowpublic.com/tech-biz/lenders-turn-facebook-deliver-foreclosure-notices#ixzz1SV57um43
