TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 25, 2013 – Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi on Thursday urged Floridians who believe they are eligible for a portion of the National Mortgage Settlement to continue to apply, even though the deadline expired Friday.

Bondi said about 50,000 Florida homeowners – just 51 percent of those eligible – had secured financial assistance totaling $3.6 billion under the $32 billion national settlement reached with mortgage lenders last year.

“If you feel you’re owed money, please, please just contact either myfloridalegal.com or look at the information you’ve received and please follow up on that, because there’s still many people who are owed money and I want them to get that money that’s well-deserved,” Bondi said.

A new deadline has not been set, but Jenn Meale, communications director for Bondi’s office, said the Multi-State Monitoring Committee made a determination that claims could continue to be accepted for a few weeks after the Friday deadline, “while certain necessary processing work was being performed prior to claims being processed.”

Qualified residents include those who had their mortgage loans serviced by Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The website is http://www.nationalmortgagesettlement.com/

Bondi said she’s hoping to get up to 65 percent of those eligible to apply.

The announcement came at a press conference with Bondi, House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, about the $334 million settlement that Florida received as part of the national mortgage fraud agreement between attorneys general and the nation’s five largest banks.

State coffers got $74 million of the $334 million, and last week Florida’s Joint Legislative Budget Commission approved a $60 million package of relief that will include $35 million in downpayment assistance to first-time homebuyers, who under federal guidelines have not owned a home in the previous three years. The maximum benefits of $7,500 can be used to help with closing costs on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages.

Weatherford and Gaetz said Thursday that the remaining $200 million is to go to housing-related programs at the discretion of the Legislature.

Weatherford and Gaetz vowed that the remaining $200 million will be spent on helping homeowners but said they do not know yet how they will divvy up the money.

“We’re not going to be spending this money on members’ favorite projects that have nothing to do with the crisis. The idea is to focus the resources on helping the people who are in the greatest needs,” Weatherford said.

Copyright © 2013 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.), Dara Kam. Distributed by MCT Information Services.