Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has come to an agreement with the leaders of the Florida Legislature to use $260 million of the national mortgage settlement from big banks for homeowner relief in the state.
Bondi’s office helped secure $8.4 billion as part of the $25 billion settlement between 49 state attorneys general and the largest mortgage servicers. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Citigroup (NYSE: C) and Ally Financial/GMAC (NYSE: ALLY) were accused of filing foreclosure lawsuits with faulty information.

Most of those funds were allocated by banks directly to affected borrowers, such as for modifications and direct payments. Yet, $334 million was set aside for Florida to decide how to use.

Initially, $34 million of that was committed to the state’s general revenue fund. After meeting with Florida Senate President-designate Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) and Florida House Speaker-designate Will Weatherford (R-Wesley Chapel), Bondi agreed that another $40 million would go to general revenue.
The rest of the money will help homeowners. Bondi said $60 million will be used for down payment assistance, foreclosure-related legal assistance, improving case flow in state courts and enforcement efforts by her office.

Another $200 million will be used for foreclosure prevention, neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, home buyer or renter assistance, legal assistance, counseling and other housing-related programs.

“This plan gets much-needed assistance to the homeowners and communities suffering the effects of the foreclosure crisis, and ensures that the settlement funds are spent with the transparency, accountability and flexibility that comes from the legislative process,” Bondi stated in a news release.
The Legislature will have to decide which agencies get to distribute those funds.

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