MO Attorney General announces how state will spend mortgage settlement

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - As part of the national mortgage settlement, Missouri will get more than $195 million.

The five lenders, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial, will have three years to reimburse homeowners.

In Missouri, eligible homeowners will need to fall into one of three categories. The distribution of money is as follows:

• $86 million will help homeowners who are behind in payments and in danger of going into foreclosure

• $38 million will help homeowners who are current on their payments, but owe more than their house is worth

• $31 million will go to people whose homes were foreclosed on between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011

The remaining $40 million will go to the state to help bridge the budget shortfall.

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster plans to hold public forums in every county in the state to help educate homeowners on what comes next and answer any questions. Koster also established a mortgage hotline, and that number is 855-870-7676.

Related | What the foreclosure settlement means to you

The national settlement does not close the door on criminal charges or individual civil lawsuits, but it does mandate new practices for all mortgage lenders to follow.

Some of the changes include requiring lenders to help homeowners avoid foreclosure by discussing refinancing and loan modification options and homeowners now have the right to see any foreclosure documents before the foreclosure happens.

You can find more information on the settlement at NationalMortgageSettlement.com .