WATSON COLEMAN/GREEN/CAPUTO ANTI-FORECLOSURE MEASURE CLEARS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE

WATSON COLEMAN/GREEN/CAPUTO ANTI-FORECLOSURE
MEASURE CLEARS ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE
Bill Would Establish Direct Lines of Help to Lenders, Borrowers

(TRENTON) - Legislation Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman and Assemblymen Jerry Green and Ralph Caputo sponsored to provide assistance for homeowners facing impending foreclosure was released last night by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

"New Jersey's deepening mortgage crisis makes it imperative that we provide direct assistance to ensure families can stay in their homes and out of foreclosure," said Watson Coleman (D-Mercer). "We need to open lines for borrowers and lenders to work together to preserve the dream of homeownership that is quickly becoming a nightmare for too many families."

According to the foreclosure tracking service RealtyTrac, foreclosure activity in New Jersey in October increased 75 percent - a total of 8,473 filings - over last year. The state's rate of one foreclosure for every 410 homes ranked eighth nationally. October's figures also marked a nearly 11 percent increase in foreclosure activity from September 2008.

Nationally, 279,561 foreclosure notices were filed in October, an increase of 25 percent over the same month last year.

"As the number of New Jersey homeowners facing foreclosure increases, so must our vigilance to provide a means for these families to keep their homes," said Green (D-Union).

The bill (A-3506) would establish the Mortgage Stabilization Program and Mortgage Stabilization Fund in the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA) to provide loans of up to $25,000 to homeowners and lenders willing to refinance a first mortgage that is in imminent danger of foreclosure. Loans would be available to lenders who agree to modify or refinance mortgages for qualifying homeowners to provide for more manageable monthly payments or to calculate a new loan amount.

The measure also would create a $15 million Housing Assistance and Recovery Program Support Fund within HMFA to assist state-certified foreclosure prevention and counseling groups, many of whom are dealing with record numbers of new cases.

The sponsors noted a provision that would require banks to maintain foreclosed homes to prevent against neighborhoods becoming blighted by rows of empty houses and unkempt properties.

"The worsening mortgage crisis is forcing the state to navigate uncharted and increasingly turbulent waters," said Caputo (D-Essex). "It would be a failure of leadership to sit idly by and let entire neighborhoods fall overboard."

The bill was released 8-3 with one abstention.

On the Web: www.assemblydems.com