Consumer Law

Minnesota lawmakers consider three foreclosure bills

By Sam Glover

The proposed bills would work together to address the deepening foreclosure crisis in Minnesota. From the StarTribune:

1. One would prod homeowners facing foreclosure to get help, even forwarding their phone numbers to foreclosure prevention counselors. It would also give tenants notice of pending foreclosures and spell out the terms for owners to get their homes back after a sheriff’s sale by paying off the entire mortgage and foreclosure fees.
2. Another bill would erase eviction notices from the records of renters removed from foreclosed properties.
3. The third would help authorities to declare vacant properties abandoned so new owners could take over faster.

I think many homeowners could use a bit of prodding to take action, and tenants in foreclosed properties need help, as well. And it only seems logical not to punish tenants with an eviction when their landlord could not keep up with their mortgage properties. But while I sympathize with the sentiment behind the third bill, I wonder whether how prone to misuse it will be.

Full post as published by Caveat Emptor on March 03, 2008 (boomark / email).