On July 8, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law SB 1137, which requires, among other things, that persons foreclosing on owner–occupied residential real property held as collateral for loans made between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2007 (1) satisfy certain due diligence requirements mandated by the statute including contacting the borrower and offering foreclosure avoidance options (Civil Code section 2923.5) and (2) provide residents of the property with notice in English, Korean, Vietnamese, Chinese, Tagalog, and Spanish that the property is subject to foreclosure sale.  (Civil Code section 2924.8)  For purposes of the statute, the term “borrower” includes not only the persons obligated under the note, but also any person who pledged the residential real property as collateral for the loan whether or not they are obligated under the note. 

If you are a “borrower” (as the term is defined above) in conjunction with a Pacific Western Bank loan made between January 1, 2003 and December 31, 2007 secured by owner-occupied residential real property and you wish to discuss foreclosure avoidance options, please contact us at (877) 245-4887 during the Bank's normal business hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 

Click here to see the foreclosure avoidance options available to you and the list of financial documents which must be presented to the Bank for consideration of these options. Depending on your particular circumstances there may be additional information which may need to be provided.

Please note that the existence of the Bank’s foreclosure avoidance program does not guarantee that foreclosure avoidance will be approved for all borrowers. Alternatively, you may contact the Department of Housing and Urban development (HUD) at (800) 569-4287 or TDD (800) 877-8339 for the housing counseling agency nearest you.

Finally, you should be aware that if any of the liens on the real property is a FHA insured loan, HUD may help you with a one time payment from the FHA Insurance Fund. This may offer an additional source of funds to assist with bringing your obligations current. You should contact HUD directly for a full explanation of this option.