NC General Assembly Acts to Curb Foreclosure Crisis

submitted by Al Ripley, NC Justice Center 

Three bills critical to protecting homeowners and tenants from predatory mortgage lending, abusive servicing practices, and the damaging effects of home foreclosure have passed both chambers of the NC General Assembly and now head to Governor Easley for his signature.

North Carolina is meeting the challenges of the foreclosure crisis head-on. The annual number of foreclosures in North Carolina has nearly tripled over the last nine years. These bills will help us begin to address this trend. Representative Dan Blue was the lead sponsor of all three bills:

• House Bill 1374 makes the foreclosure process fairer and helps protect homeowners from abusive mortgage loan servicing.
• House Bill 1817 protects home buyers from predatory lending practices and ensures they can afford to repay the loans made to them
• House Bill 947 protects tenants who live in a property going through foreclosure. Currently, there is no requirement that tenants be informed that foreclosure is pending.