Democrats Say Fairness for Homeowners Remains Focus for Senate

(SALEM, Ore.) - The Senate Commerce Committee today introduced a key piece of the Senate Democratic Agenda for February: legislation that they say will dramatically strengthen state oversight of mortgage loan originators.

Later this week, the House Consumer Protection Committee will introduce a companion bill that will crackdown on fraudulent and abusive rescue-mortgage scams aimed at homeowners facing potential foreclosure.

"With the nontraditional mortgage market now collapsing, the most immediate need is making sure Oregonians who are facing the prospect of foreclosure do not get victimized a second time," said committee member and Senate Majority Leader Richard Devlin (D-Tualatin).

To prevent further victimization of homeowners, Senate Democrats have endorsed three specific foreclosure reforms to be enacted in the February session: protecting homeowners from scams that promise a "rescue" from foreclosure, but actually take further equity from homeowners; a new requirement that homeowners facing foreclosure be provided with clear and understandable language about their rights and options; and new regulation of loan originators, who are currently unlicensed and free to target distressed homeowners with unsuitable refinancing offers.

"Homeowners facing a foreclosure crisis need to be protected from scams," said Sen. Ben Westlund (D-Tumalo), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. "We have an obligation to act."

The package of reforms being introduced by the House and Senate Committees this week follows efforts Senate Democrats made in early 2007 to get ahead of the mortgage meltdown in Oregon before it became front-page news. Senate Bill 965, which would have required sound underwriting standards for nontraditional loans, explicitly warned that:

"The recent increase in the use of nontraditional mortgage products has brought with it lending practices that have left many homeowners with loans they cannot afford to repay. With home prices falling in many areas of the country, and with millions of mortgage terms poised to reset, the national economy is threatened with the prospect of mass foreclosures. Oregon has not yet experienced the rapid rates of falling home prices and rising foreclosures seen throughout much of the nation, and there is still time to take effective action that will prevent thousands of Oregonians from entering into high-risk mortgages and facing unnecessary foreclosures in the future."

Unfortunately, during that unique window of opportunity for Oregon last spring, after the Senate passed SB 965, some in the lending industry took the mistaken position that our state would be immune from the problem and effectively ran out the clock in the waning days of session.

"The people who were telling us not to worry last year have a lot of explaining to do," said Devlin. "Now we’re dealing with the fallout of this crisis, and that fallout is having a real impact on real families in Oregon."

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Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 7:54 am (Pacific time)

To all: Here's another report from authoritative Ny Times, telling you the realities involved here. "See with own eyes", then cogitate a bit --and ask yourselves why N-N knowingly distorts figure he gave, when this solid information is minutes away on Internet: Mayors face test of spreading foreclosures Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:04pm EST By Martha Graybow TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - Mayor Douglas Palmer, meeting with visitors at City Hall, points to a large map peppered with dark dots. Each one represents a home or group of homes on the verge of foreclosure, and there are dozens all over the city. The dots represent only those properties that the sheriff's department of surrounding Mercer County has identified as being at risk. Many more they don't even know about, Palmer said. "Some people are even afraid to talk about it," he said of homeowners facing skyrocketing mortgage payments. "Half of them don't even call their lender when they run into problems, so they try to fly under the radar screen, which is the worst thing you can do." The challenge, said Palmer, is to prevent more homes from ending up as specks on the map, but the resources at his disposal are limited. The site of a pivotal battle in the Revolutionary War, this port city more recently has struggled with drugs, violent crime, joblessness and other urban woes. The latest crisis threatens to derail years of revitalization under Palmer, a four-term incumbent and the first black mayor in a predominantly black city of 85,000 people. Like many U.S. cities, it has seen foreclosures surge as people who bought homes in a real estate frenzy in the last few years face mortgage payments that have reset to higher rates they cannot afford." Do you really believe you can trust ANYthing N-N now reports to you, here ? The ONLY guarantee you can possibly have is responsibility, accountability, credibility, all established here via your own experience, using your own eyes and your own brain. NEVER, EVER trust anyone always screaming: "ME!! ME!! ME!! ME! -I'M your only and best source on ANYthing !" ALWAYS see multiple-source information "with own eyes" and THEN allow "own brain" to operate. Absolutely applies to my stuff, too, of course...

Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 7:11 am (Pacific time)

Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 7:32 am (Pacific time)

To all: Here's documentation for my previous comment, plucked in minutes from Internet, reported by Reuters, one of world's leading news agencies: Mayors face test of spreading foreclosures Sun Jan 13, 2008 8:04pm EST By Martha Graybow TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) - Mayor Douglas Palmer, meeting with visitors at City Hall, points to a large map peppered with dark dots. Each one represents a home or group of homes on the verge of foreclosure, and there are dozens all over the city. The dots represent only those properties that the sheriff's department of surrounding Mercer County has identified as being at risk. Many more they don't even know about, Palmer said. "Some people are even afraid to talk about it," he said of homeowners facing skyrocketing mortgage payments. "Half of them don't even call their lender when they run into problems, so they try to fly under the radar screen, which is the worst thing you can do." The challenge, said Palmer, is to prevent more homes from ending up as specks on the map, but the resources at his disposal are limited. The site of a pivotal battle in the Revolutionary War, this port city more recently has struggled with drugs, violent crime, joblessness and other urban woes. The latest crisis threatens to derail years of revitalization under Palmer, a four-term incumbent and the first black mayor in a predominantly black city of 85,000 people. Like many U.S. cities, it has seen foreclosures surge as people who bought homes in a real estate frenzy in the last few years face mortgage payments that have reset to higher rates they cannot afford." IF N-N meant to inform and share reliable information from reliable source, surely he, too, could have checked out Internet and used this rather than lying with distorted figure he MUST know is misleading when so used. As already mentioned" "Truth can free you, if you can recognize it and then also appreciate it when found."

Henry Ruark January 16, 2008 7:11 am (Pacific time)

To all: Again, N-N distorts fact and reality. Truth is that China, India, other overseas nations, tied tightly to U.S. trade for their own economiesm are now being forced to inject multi-billions in capitalizing dollars into our banks and other areas of financial action. Without that help --at high interest levels, naturally-- we now face near-sure and a very-threatening recession, which some authorities state is "already here". N-N does not source that "96%" figure, but even if he did, it would mean very little to the some-millions of Americans now facing --or already experiencing !- loss of their homes via manipulated subprime defraud via multiple mortgage agencies. The resulting consequences are sweeping across the entire national economy via impacts on every part of the building, real estate, and associated markets. Read "with own eyes" on both Internet and any standard daily newspaper, and then "use own brain"...and avoid that continuing "ME!! ME!! ME!!" insistence on role as ONLY source of "truth" for all... Paramount rule of media use is "seek multiple sources for your data --and then compare, cogitate and complete study, BEFORE reaching conclusion." Every opinion-professional follows that simple pattern, which is why it might well work to aid you in your own reliance on "the media" --always including seeking out byline for responsibilities and accountability --without which there is simply NO real credibility possible.

Jefferson January 15, 2008 10:28 am (Pacific time)

Fortunately approximately 96% of all mortgages are paid on time. The subprime market has caused considerable grief, hopefully future legislation in this matter will be thoughtfully constructed, and that professional's are called upon for their input. The last thing we need is another boondoggle like we have in other legislative actions...

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Democrats Say Fairness for Homeowners Remains Focus for Senate

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