Foreclosure reform measure passes
SB 1137 regulates mortgage lenders
The State Assembly Monday passed Senate Bill 1137 (Perata) to reform the home foreclosure process with a bipartisan 55-18 vote.
“Home foreclosures are raging across California – from San Diego to Shasta County. The crisis is real and it is the responsibility of the State Legislature to protect homeowners,” said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) who is a principal co-author of the bill with Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland). “The passage of SB 1137 shows that states have the right and ability to regulate how lenders can do business.”
SB 1137 improves communication between lenders and borrowers and broadens the ability to modify mortgage terms.
Speaker Bass said, “I look forward to both houses continuing in their pursuit of good policy that addresses the needs of homeowners. California, along with New York and North Carolina, will continue to make strides in protecting consumers. We cannot continue to rely only on federal regulations, particularly for something as important as home mortgages.”
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Standard home sales — the kind involving non-distressed properties — rose to a 5-year high last month, and pending home sales climbed nearly 15 percent above the previous month, the California Association of Realtors reported today.
Disappointed with the federal effort to reach the more than 4 million homeowners affected by the foreclosure crisis, a number of housing advocates are calling on the government to drop the Dec. 31, 2012, enrollment deadline for independent review of their cases, because the review program has so far reached only a fraction of those potentially eligible to receive compensation.
Six African Americans were among the State Assembly members sworn in recently during a ceremony in the state capital. Returning legislators include, top from left, Steven Bradford and Holly Mitchell.
Well over 4 million homeowners affected by the foreclosure crisis are eligible for an independent review of their cases—but only a small percentage of them have requested one through a recently available federal program, and the deadline to do so is looming.
The Independent Foreclosure Review allows eligible current and former homeowners to have their foreclosure files reviewed by independent consultants. Homeowners who were financially harmed by abuses or errors of their mortgage servicers will be eligible for compensation.
For 28 years Ronald and Valerie Jackson lived on Harlan Avenue in Carson. They raised their three children there, had started on the grandkids and had accumulated years of happy memories.
Valerie worked as a civilian employee for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and Ronald worked for the city of Los Angeles, before becoming a real estate investor.
Then the real estate market crashed, and “so did I,” said Ronald of his 2008 economic slump.
