Accessibility menu
State Representative Tim Mahoney
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4277
For more information contact: Matt Swenson 651-297-8406
NEWS COLUMN
EVERYONE HAS A STAKE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST FORECLOSURE
Mortgage foreclosures in Minnesota have increased over 150 percent in the last year. The ongoing housing crisis is hitting the City of Saint Paul particularly hard. In fact, there are over 1600 vacant residences in Saint Paul alone. If the Legislature does nothing to address this problem, more Saint Paul families will be forced into foreclosure, and more homes will sit empty in our community.
Empty houses and homeless families aren't good for anybody. Foreclosed properties are often left vacant for months, sometimes for more than a year. These vacant properties present public safety concerns, attracting crime, theft, arson, and more. Foreclosures depress home values throughout entire neighborhoods – directly impacting those living near foreclosed properties. By helping Minnesota families keep their homes, we can get to the root of the problem that is feeding Minnesota's current recession, and preserve the health and integrity of Saint Paul neighborhoods.
That's why I am supporting the Minnesota Subprime Foreclosure Deferment Act of 2008 (HF 3612). HF 3612 is a foreclosure prevention plan that will help save the homes of fifteen thousand Minnesota families. If enacted, the plan would suspend the foreclosure process one year for eligible homeowners with subprime mortgages – giving Minnesotans the opportunity to avoid foreclosure. Homeowners would still have to continue making payments, but would be able to buy some time to solve the problem before being forced into foreclosure.
While the Minnesota Subprime Foreclosure Deferment Act moves through the legislative process this session, I want to remind all Saint Paul residents that help is available right now if you are at risk of foreclosure. Waiting to seek help only increases the risk of losing your home. That's why I am encouraging any homeowner facing foreclosure to contact me as soon as possible.
My office is prepared and capable of exhausting all available resources to help homeowners through this housing crisis on a case-by-case basis. Not everybody will be able to avoid foreclosure during these troubling times. But in some cases there are things that can be done so that families in our communities don't have to lose their homes. Stopping foreclosure before it happens is good for homeowners, and good for our community. You can reach me by phone at (651) 296-4277 or by email at rep.tim.mahoney@house.mn.
The Home Ownership Center is also an excellent resource for finding help in the face of foreclosure. The HOC website, detailing foreclosure resources by county, can be found at http://www.hocmn.org/map.cfm?pageID=7.
By acting now, we can start to address the housing crisis right here at home, and protect our citizens and neighborhoods from the devastating effects of mortgage foreclosure.
News Items
- DFL Legislators Introduce the “Contraceptive Equity Act” - (Posted: 2012-03-07 00:00:00)
- DFL Jobs Initiatives to be Heard in House Jobs and Economic Development Committee - (Posted: 2012-02-29 00:00:00)
- REP. MAHONEY, DFL LEGISLATORS BUILD ON DFL JOBS PLAN WITH NEW INITIATIVES - (Posted: 2012-02-01 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.