Accessibility menu
State Representative Leon Lillie
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-1188
For more information contact: Ted Modrich 651-296-5809
Column/LTE
SUPPORTING RESPONSIBLE HOMEOWNERS AND STABILIZING NEIGHBORHOODS
One of the biggest contributors to our recession was the bursting of the housing bubble. Even as the economy has become to improve, homeowners continue to feel negative effects from the national home foreclosure crisis. Several DFL legislators recently introduced the “Supporting Responsible Homeowners and Stabilizing Neighborhoods" Act, which would expand, refinancing options for responsible homeowners, prevent needless foreclosures, and ensure greater transparency from banks.
A recent report showed that Minnesota has the 17th highest foreclosure rate in the nation with over 21,000 foreclosures in Minnesota in 2011. These totals are down 17 percent from 2010, but are still three times higher than foreclosure rates in 2005. Ramsey County alone had 2,078 foreclosures last year.
Too many Minnesota families are still at risk of losing their homes and more foreclosures are the last thing we need. We may have turned a corner, but we shouldn’t pretend there isn’t more to be done. There are ways we can prevent needless home foreclosures and we should work together to accomplish this worthy goal.
These measures offer support for responsible homeowners through a range of provisions that do not cost the state any money.
The “Supporting Responsible Homeowners and Stabilizing Neighborhood” Act includes the following provisions:
Supporting Responsible Homeowners
• Expand refinancing options for responsible homeowners who are current on their mortgages, but face barriers, such as being “underwater,” which prevents them from taking advantage of historically low interest rates.
• Prevent needless foreclosures by providing a 12-month stay of foreclosure proceedings for unemployed homeowners who have lived in their home for ten years.
• Increase transparency for homeowners applying for loan modifications by requiring banks to provide clear and straightforward eligibility criteria, and protect homeowners against unnecessary foreclosure, including right of appeal.
• Make “dual tracking” illegal so that banks are not allowed to foreclose on a house while a loan modification is pending.
Holding Banks Accountable
• Require banks to notify homeowners of each and every loan modification option available to them so that no one is needlessly foreclosed upon when another solution available.
• Prohibits lenders and brokers from charging fees for services not performed
I fully support these measures to help our communities and hope that members of the majority party will join us in passing these measures this session.
Finally, I’d like to offer my condolences to the family of Jerry Markie, who passed away recently. Mr. Markie was the longtime host of Education Update, a local TV show focused on District 622. Mr. Markie was a tireless advocate for education and made us all better and more informed. He was also kind enough to know that I wasn’t an expert on every intricacy of education policy and would leave me a tape of the show to watch nearly every week.
This is a true loss for Minnesota and I will miss him dearly. Please keep his family in your thoughts and prayers.
As session moves along, please feel free to contact me with your questions, suggestions and concerns. My office is room 281 in the State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-1188 and by email at rep.leon.lillie@house.mn. You can also monitor activities at the House, track bills, watch live video and sign up for my email update list by going to http://house.mn.
Leon Lillie
State Representative
District 55A
News Items
- SUPPORTING RESPONSIBLE HOMEOWNERS AND STABILIZING NEIGHBORHOODS - (Posted: 2012-03-01 00:00:00)
- Email Update -- Feb. 16, 2012 - (Posted: 2012-02-16 00:00:00)
- 2012 LEGISLATIVE SESSION PREVIEW - (Posted: 2012-01-26 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.