Foreclosure settlement checks going to over 6,000 Iowans

More than 6,000 Iowans who lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2011, will be getting a check in the mail this month.

Borrowers who submitted a valid claim through the National Mortgage Settlement will receive a check for about $1,480, according to Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller's office. The settlement involves mortgages that were held by Ally (formerly GMAC), Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo.

Miller said the payments are part of a $1.5 billion payment pool that was negotiated by attorneys general as part of the settlement.

"These payments help compensate borrowers for the mortgage servicing abuse that they likely endured," Miller said in a statement. "I'm pleased that the final amount of $1,480 is much higher than the minimum amount we first announced, which was $840."

The payment does not limit a borrower from seeking relief through a separate lawsuit or other claims.

The settlement administrator notified 9,292 Iowa borrowers last year that they could be eligible for a payment. Borrowers representing 6,051 loans replied and were qualified, for a total of $8,980,954 in payments.

The payments will be mailed between June 10 and June 17.

In February 2012, 49 state attorneys general and the federal government announced the joint state-federal National Mortgage Settlement with the country's five largest mortgage servicers.  Preliminary data shows that the servicers have provided more than $50 billion in direct settlement relief to borrowers nationwide.

Some borrowers will get a check for less than the estimated $1,480 payment in situations where they are divorced or separated and no longer live at the same address. The full amount will be paid, but the payment will be split evenly between the borrowers.

A small number of borrowers who submitted a claim form, but do not have a valid Social Security number on file, will be delayed  receiving their payments.