THIS IS GUERILLA WARFARE
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE
This information may or may not be up to date or accurate. It is not intended as legal advice. Please check with your local state to determine the current laws. Also, check with your local branch office or the National help center ACORN has set up.
Due to the unfolding crisis some states are adopting alternative policies. Please visit Senator Chris Dodd's website as he has unveiled a Statement of Principles which he has asked lender to use to mitigate losses. Help is available if you are in trouble.
As many as 130,000 homeowners in the United States are going into foreclosure each month - numbers which haven't been seen in 30 years! In addition to those affected families who have gone into panic mode to stop foreclosure and save their home, legislators have been aggressively seeking solutions to this foreclosure crisis.
National and local legislators have been trying to stop foreclosures through various legislative means, from attacking predatory mortgage lenders to assisting mortgage borrowers to even offering financial assistance to families who may have to stop foreclosure in the immediate future. Learn more about proposed national and state foreclosure laws and stay updated on the latest legislative efforts to stop foreclosure below.
In order for state officials to set up a refinancing fund to help homeowners who may need to stop foreclosure, Pennsylvania lawmakers have urged the subprime mortgage industry to enact a voluntary moratorium on foreclosures in the state. Such a moratorium would help those families with subprime loans that are set to kick in and adjust this year. These hikes could result in some families paying an additional $150 on their mortgage payments each month.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has called for the delay of foreclosure proceedings on a "case-by-case" basis for any homeowner in the state who has filed a complaint with the Commonwealth's Division of Banks. Massachusetts is the first state in the nation to stop foreclosure in the meantime with the goal of aiding families in need.
Arizona legislators have passed a bill that would stop foreclosure proceedings on property owners by home owners associations. This legislation would also limit associations from collecting on a lien unless the property owner makes at least $150,000 in profit. This legislation now heads to the office of Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano for her signature.
Four bills aiming to stop foreclosure in Colorado have moved one step closer to approval. Two of these Colorado foreclosure bills would specifically monitor the conduct of mortgage brokers while another one would make it a crime to pressure an appraiser or falsify a home appraisal. Recent Joint Economic Committee data revealed that Colorado leads the nation in the dubious distinction of having the greatest percentage of foreclosures per household. Last year, there was one Colorado foreclosure for every three households!
The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America is working with Bank of America and Citigroup to help combat foreclosures in Baltimore and throughout the country. This 18-year-old housing advocacy group plans to offer counseling sessions on subprime loans for Baltimore families in the next couple of weeks. A Baltimore Sun story says that there were more than 25,000 foreclosures in the city from 2000 through April of last year. The story added that one in eight subprime loans were delinquent in the state of Maryland from the end of 2005 to the end of last year.
U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Charles Schumer (New York) and Robert Casey (Pennsylvania) have introduced legislation that would aim to stop foreclosure throughout the country by helping struggling homeowners and bolstering the penalties for shady mortgage brokers and lenders. One aspect of his proposed foreclosure law includes allocating $300 million in federal funds to nonprofit agencies that are HUD-certified. These agencies would then use these funds to provide consumer counseling and help homeowners who may need to stop foreclosure by negotiating more favorable terms with lenders.
City Comptroller Bill Thompson has recently launched a foreclosure prevention hotline for families who may need to stop foreclosure in Queens. City residents can call the hotline, get advice about their situation and even be referred to non-profit organizations for more assistance. Queens is on pace for 15,000 foreclosure filings, numbers which two times more than what they were last year.
With more than 400,000 homes landing in Michigan foreclosure during the last three months, one organization is try to curb the foreclosure problem in the state. The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) has started a new outreach program that will provide housing counseling and loan restructuring assistance to families in Michigan who need to stop foreclosure. ACORN members say that they are aiming to reform lending practices and will go door-to-door over the next couple of months and offer their assistance. Read about the high number of foreclosures in Detroit, Michigan here.
U.S. Representatives Barney Frank (Massachusetts) and Spencer Bachus (Alabama) are seeking solutions to the increase in home foreclosures in the country and have thus called for a federal study of the subprime mortgage sector. Specifically, these U.S. Representatives want to examine what caused the recent surge of foreclosures, what communities have been decimated the most, and what can be done to stop foreclosure in the subprime mortgage sector. Frank added that the House Financial Services Committee will consider drafting future legislation on how to stop foreclosures from subprime loans.
In an effort to help families stop foreclosure in Massachusetts, Governor Deval L. Patrick recently announced several initiatives to achieve this goal. One of Patrick's measures includes educating homeowners who may soon need to stop foreclosure in Massachusetts via an enhanced hotline, new awareness campaign and referrals to honest loan counselors. Other proposals include drafting legislation to increase the penalties for mortgage fraud and bolster the protections for consumers, and initiating regulatory changes that would require even more licensing and education for mortgage lenders and brokers.
With North Carolina foreclosures affecting a record number of families, local legislators and consumer protection groups are looking to stop the foreclosure problem in the state. A recent story in The Charlotte Observer detailed how there were more than 45,500 foreclosure filings in North Carolina in 2006. With that in mind, proposed foreclosure laws in North Carolina would aim to stop foreclosure by attacking various related problems, including subprime mortgage lenders and illegal foreclosure actions. Read more about the efforts to stop foreclosure in North Carolina here.
In an effort stop foreclosure rescue and mortgage fraud schemes in Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley recently filed lawsuits against 19 individuals and businesses involved in unfair and deceptive business practices. One of the two lawsuits alleged that the defendants preyed on residents facing foreclosure in Massachusetts by tricking them into selling their homes after originally promising them to help stop foreclosure and keep their property. The mortgage fraud lawsuit claimed that the defendants altered the mortgage deed of a property by changing its purchase price by more than $150,000 and also modifying the name of its grantee.
U.S. Sen. Jack Reed (Democrat-Rhode Island.) recently said that he plans to draft a bill that would aim to stop foreclosures resulting from subprime loans. In March, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported how the number of new foreclosures on subprime loans in the fourth quarter of last year broke a 37-year record. With such disturbing information in mind, Reed said that he intends to stop foreclosure on subprime loans with a bill that would provide more financial counseling, education and support to both homeowners and mortgage lenders and also allocate more money for state homeownership protection centers.
With the Buckeye State having one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, Governor Ted Strickland recently formed a foreclosure task force to address the important question of how to stop foreclosure in Ohio. One proposed solution to stop foreclosure in Ohio pertains to allocating $100 million in taxable bonds for the financing of fixed-rated mortgages for current residents who may very soon face foreclosure because of subprime, adjustable rate mortgages. Read more about this proposed solution to stop foreclosure in Ohio here.
THIS IS MY OVERVIEW OF FORECLOSURE BY STATE
My grade is a personal opinion based on timeframe, redemption and deficiency allowed.
Kansas, North Dakota, and Alabama seem to have the best timeframes.
The worst are too many to mention. I gave them D and E grades.
My thoughts in seeing this were how could laws vary so much state to state, when many if not most lenders sell mortgages in every state. We need some kind of minimum standards from the Federal government. This is a stance I'm pushing. Not premption of states which have better laws, but minumum standards to cover states which have bad laws for the protection of the consumer. The lenders have all the advantages, they can choose the laws of different states to operate under. But the borrower can't choose the laws of another state under which they will be foreclosed on.
State (My Grade) Notice Timeframe Redemption Deficiency Allowed
Alabama (A) Publication 30-60 days Yes - 12 Months Allowed
Alaska (C) Notice of Default 90 days Non-Judicial Foreclosure Only Judicial foreclosure only
Arizona (C) Notice of Sale 90 days No Varies
Arkansas (A) Complaint 120 days Judicial foreclosure only Non-judicial foreclosure only
California (B) Notice of Default 111 days/ more Yes, judicial foreclosure only Yes, judicial foreclosure only
Colorado (B) Notice of Default 60 days Yes - 75 Days Yes
Connecticut (A) Complaint 60-150 days Court's discretion Yes
Delaware (C) No Complaint 90 days No No
DC (E) Notice of Default 60 days No Yes
Florida (A) No Complaint 180 days Yes-brief and subject to court procedure Yes
Georgia (B) Publication 90 days Yes Yes
Hawaii (E) Publication 60 days No Yes
Idaho (A) Notice of Default 150 days Yes Yes
Illinois (A) Complaint 210 days Yes limited Varies
Indiana (A) Complaint 150 days Yes - 3 Months Yes
Iowa (A) Petition 150 days No No
Kansas (A) Complaint 120 days Yes - 6-12 Months Yes
Kentucky (C) Complaint Varies Yes Yes, w/ restrictions
Louisiana (D) Petition 60 days No Yes
Maine (C) Complaint 90 days Yes Yes
Maryland (D) Notice of Default 90 days No Yes
Massachusetts (C) Complaint 90 days Yes, in foreclosure by possession No
Michigan (A) Publication 60 days Yes - 6 Months (30days if abandoned) Varies
Minnesota (B) Publication 60 days Yes - 6-12 Months (35 days if abandoned) Yes
Mississippi (D) Publication 60 days No No
Missouri (C) Publication 60 days Yes No
Montana (A) Notice 150 days No Judicial foreclosure only
Nebraska (A) Petition 180 days None, after confirmation of sale No
Nevada (B) Notice of Default 60-120 days Judicial foreclosure only Yes
New Hampshire( D) Notice of Sale 60 days No Yes
New Jersey (B) Complaint 90-120 days Unless Contested Yes, limited - 10 Days Yes, restricted
New Mexico (A) Complaint 120 days Yes Yes
New York (A) Complaint 12-19 months No Yes
North Carolina( D) Notice Hearing 60 days Yes Varies case by case
North Dakota (A) Complaint 90 days Yes - 60 Days -12 months Yes
Ohio (A) Complaint 150 days Yes Yes
Oklahoma ( D) Complaint 90 days None, upon confirmation of sale Yes, with time limitation of filing
Oregon (A) Notice of Default 120-180 days Yes, but only with judicial foreclosure Yes, Judicial foreclosure Pennsylvania (D) Complaint 90 days No Yes
Rhode Island (D) Publication 60 days Varies by process Yes
South Carolina (D) Complaint Varies No Yes
South Dakota (D) Complaint 90 days Yes, but various time periods Varies on case by case basis
Tennessee (D) Publication 60 days Yes-non-judicial foreclosure Yes
Texas (E) .50 Publication 60 days No Yes
Utah (B) Notice of Default Varies Yes Yes
Vermont (A) Complaint 210 days Yes Yes
Virginia (D) Publication 60 days Varies Yes
Washington (A) Notice of Default Varies (190 days) Available- judicial foreclosure, very rare Yes, judicial foreclosure
West Virginia (E) Publication 60 days No No
Wisconsin (A) Complaint Varies (90 days -12 months) Yes, if no court confirmation of sale Yes, unless waived
Wyoming (A) Yes Publication 90 days Yes - 3 Months Yes
HOW MANY HEADLINES
DO WE NEED FOR THE CRISIS TO END
“Even though foreclosure rates in Orange County had remained relatively stable, May showed an increase of approximately 27 percent,” said Serdar Bankaci, President/CEO of Default Research, Inc. “With an active hurricane season predicted, many homeowners are already at the brink of foreclosure and may not be able to weather the financial storm. One or two major storms could kick up energy costs even more, and families might not be able to pay their bills.”
Now, combine the rising energy costs with the sub-prime lending crisis and adjusting ARM loans, and Bankaci is certain foreclosures are going to continue in the Sunshine State.
“We leave the hurricane predicting up to the experts and they are saying between four and five major hurricanes can be expected this season,” said Bankaci, whose foreclosure leads arrive two to three weeks ahead of the competition. “What we can tell more accurately than any other foreclosure research company is that there is no calm in the eye of this foreclosure storm in sight.”
As Bankaci proudly points out the accuracy of his foreclosure statistics, interestingly enough, there is a debate brewing regarding the foreclosure data reporting of some other companies in the business. A recent Los Angeles Times article hinted that some foreclosure reporting firms may be inflating statistics for self gain.
“I have known for years that many firms report the same property in their statistics between five to ten times, which severely over inflates their numbers,” said Bankaci. “Default Research only reports a specific property once as it proceeds through the foreclosure process, and I know that this is a more accurate representation of the current market.”
Default Research is the national leader in real estate research. More information about Default Research can be found at their website: www.defaultresearch.com.
Minneapolis - A Story you must see.
http://biz.yahoo.com/seekingalpha/070507/34733_id.html?.v=1
U.S. Foreclosure Rate Surges 47 Percent
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2007/04/foreclosures_us.html
2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report - More then 1.2 Million
http://trendocracy.blogspot.com/2007/01/2006-us-foreclosure-market-report.html
Leading Nation in Forecosures - Florida
http://money.cnn.com/2007/03/23/real_estate/february_foreclosure_fall/index.htm
Wayne Co. foreclosure rate leads the nation
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070213/BIZ/702130339/1001
Philadelphia Foreclosure Rates Among the Nation's Highest
http://www.realtytrac.com/ContentManagement/pressrelease.aspx?ChannelID=9&ItemID=755&accnt=64847
Detroit foreclosures lead nation
http://money.cnn.com/2006/11/10/real_estate/Top_ten_cities_for_foreclosures/index.htm
INDIANAPOLIS, ATLANTA, DALLAS, MEMPHIS AND DENVER TOP LIST OF NATION’S TEN HIGHEST METROPOLITAN FORECLOSURE RATES
http://www.realtytrac.com/news/press/pressRelease.asp?PressReleaseID=112
Foreclosure Rate still Nation's Highest - Colorado
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_5151201,00.html
