California Home Owner Bill of Rights

Today let’s talk about the legislation recently passed by the California Senate and Assembly.

 

Sponsored by CA AG Kamala Harris the Foreclosure Reduction Act and Due Process Rights Act were passed by both houses and sent to Governor Brown where he is expected to sign them into law. If signed, both would take effect January 1 2013

The Foreclosure Reduction Act would prevent what is referred to as “Dual Tracking” in a loan Mod or West Sacramento Short Sale. Dual tracking is where a borrower is pursuing a Loan Modification and at the same time the lender or servicer is proceeding with the foreclosure. All too many times a home owner thought they were working on a loan mod or West Sacramento Short Sale only to be denied and lose the house in the same week. This law will prevent that type of action.

The Due Process Rights Act will require the lender or servicer to have one person or team for single point of contact. Meaning the borrower calling in to follow up on their loan mod would always speak to the same person with the anticipation of getting less run around.

While these may sound great, and I agree, if used property will be a good thing, there are always those who will game the system. To stall a auction date a borrower with no intention of getting a loan mod or West Sacramento Short Sale could initiate the process right before the foreclosure was to happen. Under this law the foreclosure would be stalled until a decision was made on the file which could take months. The new bill also allows for the borrower to file a law suit against the bank and if nothing else they would get their attorney fees paid for - a real boon for the trial attorneys.

It is a start and something needed to happen. There are those who say the law will make mortgages tougher to get in California and delay the housing slump for years to come. Only time will tell and we’ll keep you updated.

To get a better idea of when your West Sacramento home will be worth what you owe, log in to www.shortsaleandloanmod.info for a free estimate or call me today for a free no obligation consultation or for the latest West Sacramento short sale information. Call me today and sleep better tonight; you’ll be glad you did