Give Texas homeowners foreclosure safeguards
February 23, 2009
When it comes to foreclosing on homeowners who fall behind on their mortgage payments, Texas is among the country's most heartless states. Mortgage lenders in Texas must give only 20 days notice before foreclosing on property. That's one of the shortest notice periods in the United States.
Written by Editorial, The Austin American Statesman
When it comes to foreclosing on homeowners who fall behind on their mortgage payments, Texas is among the country's most heartless states. Mortgage lenders in Texas must give only 20 days notice before foreclosing on property. That's one of the shortest notice periods in the United States.
Last fall, Attorney General Greg Abbott called for legislation to extend the notice period and build in safeguards for property owners facing foreclosure. He proposed the Texas Foreclosure Deferment Act to give people behind on their mortgages a better chance to save their homes.
Abbott sought legislation giving debtors 45 days to cure the loan problems. He also wanted to make it incumbent on the lender to make contact with the borrower and explain the 45-day period. And he proposed a "notice of foreclosure" form that lists options homeowners have to try and stay in their homes.
It was a good proposal to clean up the state's foreclosure process and give homeowners a fighting chance to stave off foreclosure. Some lawmakers agreed, and Abbott got his bill.
Legislation filed in the state Senate this session by Craig Estes, R-Wichita Falls, and Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, outlines Abbott's proposal. Senate Bill 472 includes the 45-day notice period and the requirement that lenders must contact debtors, or prove they tried to, and give them a written notice.
That bill also says homeowners must be given a description of the options to prevent foreclosure, a list of resources available and where the debtor can get assistance filing a complaint concerning the foreclosure process.
This is a bill that lawmakers should pass easily. Texas needs stronger laws to protect homeowners in this bleak economic climate. The property mortgage meltdown has thrown the country into a recession, and Texas needs to revamp its foreclosure process to help people stay in their homes when possible.
SB 472 also offers a touch of kindness for those who lose their homes to foreclosure. It gives them 31 days to vacate the property after it is sold in a foreclosure procedure.
Although there are millions of homeowners who purchased property they can't afford, there are also unscrupulous lenders who take advantage of buyers and bottom feeders who target people who fall behind on their mortgages. Abbott has gone after several such outfits operating in Texas.
The Senate bill won't halt foreclosures, but it will level the field for homeowners who fall behind in their mortgage payments. And it will give them more time to try and save their homes from foreclosure.
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