After years of fighting to help keep Michigan residents in their homes, Senate Democrats voted today to pass vital foreclosure prevention bills agreed upon by the House and Senate. The package will protect homeowners from foreclosure for 90 days, and also includes important provisions that Senate Democrats fought for that require lenders to work with residents to negotiate payments and prevent home foreclosures.
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Democrats strongly opposed previous changes made by Senate Republicans that removed the ability to force banks to negotiate with homeowners before foreclosing, and the compromise passed today includes an important judicial enforcement provision to hold lenders accountable that Democrats demanded. Elements of the foreclosure protection package passed today include:
• Home loans that qualify for modification will qualify for judicial intervention if the lender chooses not to cooperate to modify payments.
• Lenders will be required to send a notice of foreclosure to all homeowners. Currently, the lender has no obligation to notify the borrower.
• Borrowers may request a meeting within 14 days of receiving a foreclosure notice, and once a request is made, the lender agrees to stop any foreclosure proceedings for 90 days.
Michigan just fell out of the top ten states in foreclosures, but in sheer number of filings, we still came in at number nine. This was all before the recent auto fallout too, which will probably push the numbers back up again over the summer. Homeowners now have a 90-day window to try and work something out with their lenders so they can stay in their homes.
If you need assistance, it's best to get help before you miss a payment. Call MSHDA to arrange to speak to a counselor at 1-866-946-7432. Or, visit them on the web at the "Save the Dream" web page for more info.
WTG Legislature. Ya done a good thing here.