Mr Cooper Forced To Pay The State Of Maryland $1.5 Million Over Illegally Charged Inspection Fees

Mr Cooper formerly known as Nationstar Mortgage will pay out more than $1.5 million to the state of Maryland. The state had accused the lender of illegally charged homeowners for inspection fees.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh alleges Nationstar passed certain home inspection costs on to homeowners despite it being illegal to do so in the state.

Nationstar acting as a mortgage servicer orders inspections on properties when the borrower goes into default on their mortgage payments. 

Maryland law prohibits passing the fees from these inspections on to the borrowers. Yet, Nationstar charged the inspection costs to borrowers until Jan. 1, 2014 on mortgages and until February 2016 for reverse mortgages.

Nationstar charged Maryland borrowers more than $1 million in improper fees.

Nationstar will return more than $260,000 in fees to the affected borrowers as part of the settlement. That’s in addition to the $827,759 that the company already returned during the state’s investigation into the issue.

Nationstar will pay a fine of nearly $490,000 to the state. They will also pay $10,000 to cover the costs of the investigation.

Additionally, Nationstar is also ordered to halt collecting inspection fees in the future.

According to Nationstar, the company discovered the issue in 2013 and “quickly updated” its procedures to address the issue.

Nationstar CEO told Jay Bray told HousingWire:

We have consistently made investments in new staff, training, and technology. We are committed to treating our customers responsibly and in full compliance with the law. Our customers are our top priority.