While these numbers are down from their peak in 2009, they remain extremely high by historical standards and represent a trauma in the lives of millions of people affected. The most recent alarming development in the foreclosure process that has caught public attention involves improper activities by mortgage servicers.
But let’s remember that, for years, housing counselors and advocates nationwide have documented patterns of fraudulent and abusive mortgage servicing practices. Current attention is focused on socalled “robo-signers,” individuals who appear to have attested to the validity of documents in a number of foreclosure filings so large as to suggest that something may be amiss in the recording process.