A new barrier standing in the way of fire survivors in Altadena and the Palisades rebuilding - mortgage companies.
KNX News’ Karen Adams reported that for some people trying to rebuild, they can't because their mortgage companies are delaying or denying them access to their insurance money held in escrow.
Public insurance adjuster Demetrius Gray says he’s been working pro bono for families who can't access their insurance money because of their mortgage company.
“It's making it incredibly difficult because if a contractor sees that the mortgage company is holding on to the money, then they're less inclined to do business with the person,” he said.
Gray said more regulation is needed because mortgage companies all operate differently.
“It's unclear how much they're actually holding, but it's the banks that are really the ones that are benefiting,” he said. “They get to lend more money because that money's sitting in those bank accounts.”
The state has received more than 120 complaints from fire survivors, and the governor urges people to file a complaint through the state Department of Financial Protection.
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