California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced today that the final components of the Homeowner Bill of Rights have been signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, to take effect January 1, 2013.
“California has been the epicenter of the foreclosure and mortgage
crisis,” said Attorney General Harris. “The Homeowner Bill of Rights
will provide basic fairness and transparency for homeowners, and improve
the mortgage process for everyone.”
Designed to prohibit numerous unfair bank practices that pushed many thousands of Californians into needless foreclosures, the law restricts lenders from initiating foreclosure on a homeowner while simultaneously negotiating a loan modification on said home...a wildly popular practice in our experience.
The new law also guarantees distressed homeowners a single point of contact with their lender, thus avoiding the temptation for lenders to simply pass borrowers around the horn of bureaucracy from department to department, lulling them into complacency while initiating foreclosure proceedings.
The final components enacted today include:
SB 1474, giving the Attorney General leeway to use a statewide grand jury to indict financial criminals with victims in multiple counties,
AB 1950, extending the statute of limitations on mortgage-related crimes to three years,
and AB 2610, requiring buyers of foreclosed homes to give tenants at least 90 days notice prior to starting eviction proceedings.
All steps in the right direction for sure, but one wonders why such regulations are only being considered AFTER such a crisis...
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