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$960M In Foreclosure Settlement Intended To Help Marylanders Keep Their Homes

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)— There's new hope for Maryland homeowners struggling to make ends meet. Nearly a billion dollars is coming our way as part of a massive settlement with five major U.S. banks.

Kai Jackson explains who this settlement can help.

For some, this kind of help can't come soon enough. For others, it's help that comes too late.

Maryland will get nearly a billion dollars to help struggling homeowners.

"We spent almost 14 months getting to this point," Md. Attorney General Doug Gansler said.

It's part of a $25 billion settlement by five of the nation's largest banks-- a deal made with the federal government that holds banks accountable for abuses that led to the housing collapse.

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, City Group and Ally Financial are all involved.

"Under the terms of this settlement, America's biggest banks, banks that were rescued by taxpayer dollars, will be required to right these wrongs," President Barack Obama said.

Gansler says this deal will help thousands of Marylanders stay in their homes through enhanced loan modifications and other services.

"We're getting more money than New York is," he said. "We were hit that hard."

To speed up evictions, workers sometimes signed documents they hadn't read or faked signatures, a practice called robo signing.

The $960 million is based on the number of Maryland homeowners impacted by the mortgage crisis.

Amanda Kelly says her father-in-law's home was foreclosed.

"It's definitely created a little bit of anger toward the whole practice of foreclosures in general," she said. "We've definitely become more educated on why all this is happening."

You can qualify if your home was foreclosed between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011.

The deal involves 49 states and is expected to help nearly one million households.

For more information on settlement assistance, click here or call Maryland hotline at 877-462-7555.

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