From : Lila Hayes
Sent : Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Subject : OFRG weekly update

Meeting Reminder

Our next meeting is Sunday May 22 at 2PM. Frank Williams from the BIA is scheduled to meet, but has just contacted me to say he will not be able to meet on that day. He is looking into a possible replacement. I will keep you updated!

Lila Hayes
Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax

1. Do you have Insurance money in an escrow account with your Mortgage company?

2. Join a class action if you were insured by State Farm, Allstate, Farmers or Safeco

1. County of San Diego rebuild statistics on the internet

1. A green uprising, May 3, 2005, LA Times
2. Fire and Rain Lead to Dramatic New Landscape, May 8, 2005, LA Times
3. WATER CRISIS, May 28, 2004, SB Sun
4. As city fire victims settle in, backcountry beleaguered, April 26, 2005, San Diego Union Tribune

5. FOUR INSURERS SUED OVER CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE COVERAGE, May 5, 2005, Reuters

1. Do you have Insurance money in an escrow account with your Mortgage company?

If you had a mortgage at the time of the fire, your insurance company probably made at least some of your checks payable to both you and your mortgage company. At some point, the mortgage company probably kept part of that money in an escrow account and gave you specific procedures on how to get that money out.

In San Diego, some survivors were complaining because there was a large amount of money in that account that didn't seem to be accruing interest. Some investigation by a survivor in the San Diego area found the following.

So far, the bulk of the questions have been about Chase and Wells Fargo. Dian researched and found the best contact information for each bank as follows:

Chase:

Call Jennifer Fischer directly in the Escrow Administration office at: 614 422-7992.

Wells Fargo:

For customer’s who were affected by the fires, a specific numbers was set up.

If your account is with:

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, call: 800-853-8516

Wells Fargo Home Equity /Wells Fargo Consumer Credit, call: 866-236-4184

You should know that your mortgage institutions should pay interest according to the applicable laws (to follow). Please note that there is no differentiation between the first lien and the subordinate lien; the code applies equally. The two above mentioned banks do pay interest on the money being held. If your bank says it does not pay interest, try digging deeper.

Applicable California law regarding interest on an escrow account is as follows, although it is unclear if the same law applies for funds held for demand trust accounts, such as the ones for insurance funds held to rebuild a house. In any case, it seems like many people were able to get interest on this money if they asked for it in writing.

Ca. Civil Code, CCP §2954.8

Summary

All banks, including national banks, making loans secured by real property and holding money for purposes related to the real property, are required to pay interest on the amount in the “impound account” at the rate of 2% simple interest per year. Such interest is to be credited to the account at termination or annually whichever is earliest.

CA. Civil Code § 2954.8

(a) Every financial institution that makes loans upon the security of real property containing only a one- to four-family residence and located in this state or purchases obligations secured by such property and that receives money in advance for payment of taxes and assessments on the property, for insurance, or for other purposes relating to the property, shall pay interest on the amount so held to the borrower. The interest on such amounts shall be at the rate of at least 2 percent simple interest per annum. Such interest shall be credited to the borrower's account annually or upon termination of such account, whichever is earlier.

(b) No financial institution subject to the provisions of this section shall impose any fee or charge in connection with the maintenance or disbursement of money received in advance for the payment of taxes and assessments on real property securing loans made by such financial institution, or for the payment of insurance, or for other purposes relating to such real property, that will result in an interest rate of less than 2 percent per annum being paid on the moneys so received.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "financial institution" means a bank, savings and loan association or credit union chartered under the laws of this state or the United States, or any other person or organization making loans upon the security of real property containing only a one- to four-family residence.

(d) The provisions of this section do not apply to any of the following:

1) Loans executed prior to the effective date of this section.

2) Moneys which are required by a state or federal regulatory authority to be placed by a financial institution other than a bank in a non-interest-bearing demand trust fund account of a bank.

The amendment of this section made by the 1979-80 Regular Session of the Legislature shall only apply to loans executed on or after January 1, 1980.

2. Join a class action if you were insured by State Farm, Allstate, Farmers or Safeco

A homeowner in San Diego brought this to our attention.

If you have ,State Farm, Allstate, Farmers or Safeco there is a class action suit you can sign up for here if they charged you full premium payments with no home:
https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/state_farm

And if you live in San Diego and were effected by the Cedar fire there is a class action suit being prepared:
https://www.lawyersandsettlements.com/case/san_diego4

1. County of San Diego rebuild statistics on the internet

Free registration might be required on some sites

Volunteer Jim Nowatzki goes mano a mano with overgrown trails at Ed Davis Park. But with singed canyons recovering from the 2003 blazes, he wouldn't have it any other way.
By Hugo Martín, LA Times Staff Writer
May 3, 2005

5. FOUR INSURERS SUED OVER CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE COVERAGE

LOS ANGELES, May 5 (Reuters) - Some Californians who lost their homes in last year's deadly firestorms have filed a proposed class action lawsuit against four major insurers they say charged premiums for property that no longer existed. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court and names State Farm, Allstate, Farmers Group and Safeco as defendants. The proposed class action, if certified by a judge, would include those who lost homes and property in what state officials have called the "October Fire Siege of 2003."

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Old Fire Recovery Group
www.oldfirerecoverygroup.org
909-266-1459 vm/fax