Texas mortgage holders who had loans with Countrywide and lost their homes to foreclosure could benefit from a $7.46 million restitution program recently announced by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, reports The Houston Business Journal (“Countrywide to Make $7.5M Available for Texas Foreclosures,” Feb. 11, 2009).

Restitution funds — part of a $345 million settlement between Countrywide Financial Corp. and the Texas Attorney General’s office — will be made available to Countrywide customers in the state who either lost their homes to foreclosure or who were 120 days or more behind on their mortgage payments as of Oct. 6, 2008.

The settlement was the result of a 2008 investigation by Abbott into Countrywide’s mortgage loan practices, in which Countrywide was found to have failed to fully disclose risky loans to borrowers, encouraged homeowners to accept loans they couldn’t afford, and extended loans to unqualified borrowers.

“With today’s announcement, we are implementing the final portion of our agreement,” Abbott said.

Countrywide has also agreed to make $335 million worth of mortgage loan modifications to help nearly 30,000 homeowners avoid foreclosure. For qualified mortgage holders, loan modifications may include freezing interest rates, extending loan terms, reducing principal loan balances, and transferring adjustable-rate loans into fixed-rate loans.

As part of the settlement, Countrywide is also offering $2,000 available to eligible homeowners — approximately 1,400 Texans — who are in danger of defaulting or have already defaulted on their subprime mortgages when they “voluntarily and appropriately” relinquish their homes to Countrywide.

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