Georgia mortgage lenders are under investigation for questionable foreclosure practices. The probe comes from 49 Attorneys General trying to determine the legality of thousands of foreclosures.

Georgia has one of the nation’s highest foreclosure rates.

State Attorney General Thurbert Baker says the investigation has to start by determining which lenders are improperly foreclosing on homes then a decision can be made about penalties.

“We’re going to gather as much data as we can, analyze that data and try and make some sense out of what is happening and how we might prevent it in the future but right now it is a little premature to say what if anything we’re going to do.”

Of the banks involved, only JP Morgan Chase and PNC have stopped foreclosures and evictions in 23 states, not including Georgia. Ally Financial’s GMAC mortgage unit and Bank of America have stopped throughout the entire U.S.

Baker says that Georgia foreclosures do not go before judges. This means lenders must sign documents certifying that they have taken the right steps in the process. This is the case in 27 states. Without court supervision, problems between lenders and borrowers are much more difficult to find.

Tags: foreclosure, Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Mortgage Lenders, Lender Investigations