1).   The banks have up to three years to distribute these funds, though it’s expected they will start reaching out to borrowers in the coming weeks.

2.)   Over the next one to two months, administrators will be picked to handle the distribution of the settlement, and they will have six to nine months to determine which borrowers     will get help at which point banks will send out letters to affected borrowers.

3.)   Only borrowers whose homes are underwater meaning they owe more than their home is worth and who are current on their loan payments will qualify for the refinance program. Banks will send information to homeowners in the coming weeks if they qualify.

4.)   It’s not yet clear who will qualify for principal deductions, but homeowners will have to be at “imminent risk” of defaulting on either a first or second mortgage. Loans that are both owned and serviced by the five banks will most likely qualify first.

5.)   Only loans serviced by Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial are eligible under this settlement. (That’s no small number: According to Inside Mortgage Finance, these five banks manage payments for more than half of all U.S. mortgages, a total about 25 million).

6.)   Only a small percentage of these loans will qualify for the settlement, however, and exactly which ones is still being determined because of the complexity of the agreement. (If you live in Oklahoma, by the way, you’re out of luck; yours was the only state not to agree to this settlement.)

7.)   The rest of the settlement will be distributed to the states and federal government for foreclosure prevention programs. How do you know if you qualify for some element of the relief under the settlement? And how do you claim your share? It depends on which bank services your loan and where you live.

8.)   Often loans are handled by a third-party servicer that doesn’t actually own the mortgage. If your mortgage is owned by one of these banks but not serviced by them, you do not qualify.

SOURCES
 How Homeowners Can Know Whether They Qualify for the $26 Billion Housing Settlement | Moneyland | TIME.com