Posted on August - 11 - 2010
When last was a State bill signed in a driveway?
The Governor visited Brockton on Saturday to make a statement
Was anybody in the lending industry listening?
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed a bill into law last Saturday that its sponsors hope will both keep house owners in their homes for longer, and protect tenants from eviction from foreclosed real estate. To make the point abundantly clear, the Governor authorized the legislation while standing in the driveway of a foreclosed home in Noyes Avenue, Brockton.
Governor Patrick chose that site to sign the bill known as an act relative to mortgage foreclosures because that part of Massachusetts has reported among the highest rates of foreclosures across the State, while at the same time displaying an exceptional level of resilience and community spirit. The guts and courage exhibited in trying times by grassroots communities were in fact what brought the foreclosure issue to the table, the governor said. “You don’t have to be a big shot on Beacon Hill anymore to move your agenda forward,” he concluded.
The Brockton Interfaith Community is a leading light for all those affected, and, in recognition of that, its 29-year-old organizer Diluvina Vazquez-Allard, was invited to join Governor Patrick, Attorney-General Coakley and Mayot Balzotti on the podium that Saturday afternoon. “I am very proud that the common person got together with other common people and achieved something,” the young hero said. His words were echoed by the Director of Brockton Neighborhood Housing Services, who added, “It’s been challenging, but today is so rewarding”
The new bill will keep tenants more safely in their homes even though their proprietor may default and face foreclosure. It also encourages lenders to make reasonable mortgage mediation efforts by legally preventing mortgage foreclosure for up to 150 days – that is, 60 days more than the federal limitation. “This will pressure banks to think about having face-to-face conversations with homeowners before a foreclosure,” Governor Patrick said.
Mortgage lenders are less enthusiastic about the legislation. John Skarin, for example, who is Director of Federal Policy at the Massachusetts Bankers Association, has commented that the legislation is light on detail as to exactly how to comply. He cited the fact that it is silent on how mortgages already in the foreclosure pipeline are affected. “People are trying to get their hands around it. They are trying to figure out how to comply with it in a very, very short period of time,” he said.
Annamarie Hewitt, Director of Loan Operations at Rockland Trust Company was similarly offhand. “While some people may need an additional two months to be able to prevent a foreclosure,” she commented, “generally, Rockland Trust doesn’t foreclose that quickly. We have folks that may be several months behind and we don’t foreclose on those people. Foreclosures take a long period of time for a lot of reasons.”
The website www.foreclosuredatabank.com has great lists of foreclosed property.
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