Housing - Foreclosures
BASIC HUMAN NEEDS
It comes as no surprise that the housing issue most on the minds of our legislators is foreclosures. To date, 4 bills and a resolution have been filed on the subject.
SB 17 Real Property – Foreclosures – Notices to Record Owners - (Conway) requires that written notice be sent 60 days before the foreclosure action is heard by the court. Currently, the written notice must be sent only 2 days before the foreclosures is on the court docket. The bill had a first reading in JPR.
HB 58 Real Property – Foreclosures – Homeowner’s Right to Rescind Sales Contract (Barnes) provides the right to rescind a contract for sale of a home that is in foreclosure within 3 days of the signing of the sales contract. The bill had a first reading in ENV.
HB 59 Real Property – Foreclosure Consultants – Duty to Homeowner – Value of Residence in Foreclosure (Barnes) requires a foreclosure consultant to provide the homeowner with any research the consultant has regarding the home in foreclosure including sales of comparable properties or appraisals. The bill had a first reading in ENV.
HB 67 Real Property – Homeowners in Foreclosure Protection Act (McConkey) requires that the person authorized to make a sale in a foreclosure send a written notice to the property owner that includes in boldface: “For information on how to reinstate your loan, call the following phone number…”, and within one business day of receiving a request for reinstatement, the contact person shall inform the owner what action must be taken to reinstate the mortgage loan. The bill had a first reading in ENV.
HJ 1 Federal Legislation to Protect Homeowner and Banks (Stukes and Robinson) urges Congress to establish a federal agency that will protect banks by freezing all existing mortgages for a period of time, adjust values and restructure interest rates. Additionally, that agency should declare a moratorium on all home foreclosures for a transitional period.
Ruth Crystal