FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Monday, April 16, 2012
Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, 415-554-6131
*** STATEMENT ***
MAYOR LEE’S STATEMENT ON CALIFORNIA HOMEOWNERS BILL OF RIGHTS TO PROTECT
FAMILIES AGAINST FORECLOSURES
Mayor Edwin M. Lee today expressed his strong support for California
Attorney General Kamala Harris’ California Homeowners Bill of Rights and
urged members of the State Assembly Banking and Finance Committee to
support Attorney General Harris’s package of foreclosure reform bills
including support for AB 1602, a bill to end “dual tracking” foreclosures
by preventing banks from foreclosing on a borrower’s home while the
borrower is in the process of negotiating a loan modification, being heard
today:
“Too many San Franciscans have been devastated by the mortgage crisis and
too many families have lost their homes due to deceiving banking practices
right here in some of our most vulnerable communities. Thousands of
foreclosures have happened and are happening in neighborhoods in our
cities. I applaud the leadership of Attorney General Kamala Harris for
standing up for families and using the powers of her office to protect
homeowners from mortgage fraud and abuse.
The California Homeowner Bill of Rights is designed to protect homeowners
from unfair practices by banks and mortgage companies, and I urge the
State legislature to do the right thing to protect families.”
Since 2008, there have been 3,181 foreclosures in San Francisco, according
to the Assessor-Recorder’s Office, with the highest concentration in
low-income neighborhoods such as Hunter’s Point, Bayview, the Excelsior,
the Outer Mission and Bernal Heights. San Francisco conducted the first
comprehensive audit of county land records. The audit conducted by
Assessor-Recorder Phil Ting and released in February shows that 84 percent
of sampled foreclosures contain at least one clear violation of
California’s foreclosure laws.
Mayor Lee joined Attorney General Harris in support of the foreclosure
reform package aimed to protect families in distress. This comes just
weeks after Attorney General Harris won California the lion’s share of a
$26 billion multistate settlement with big banks over foreclosure abuses.
The California Homeowners Bill of Rights consists of six bills designed to
guarantee basic standards of fairness in the mortgage process, including
an end to dual-track foreclosures, an increase in transparency in the
mortgage process, including a single point of contact for homeowners,
community tools to prevent blight after banks foreclose upon homes, tenant
protections after foreclosures, enhanced law enforcement to defend
homeowner rights – paid for by fees imposed on banks and creation of a
special grand jury to investigate financial and foreclosure crime.
California Homeowner Bill of Rights Legislative Package
Assembly Bill 1602 / Senate Bill 1470 – The Foreclosure Reduction Act of
2012
(Assemblymen Mike Eng and Mike Feuer; Senators Mark Leno, Fran Pavley, and
Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg)
· Require creditors to provide documentation to a borrower that
establishes the creditor’s right to foreclose on real property prior to
recording a notice of default.
· Require creditors to provide documentary evidence of ownership,
the chain of title to real property, and the right to foreclose, at the
time of the filing of a notice of default.
· Prohibit creditors from recording a notice of default when a
timely-filed application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation
measure is pending.
· Prohibit creditors from recording a notice of sale when a
timely-filed application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation
measure is pending.
· Prohibit creditors from recording a notice of sale while a
borrower is in compliance with the terms of a trial loan modification or
after another loss mitigation measure has been approved.
· Require creditors to disclose why an application for a loan
modification or other loss mitigation measure has been denied.
· Require that notices of foreclosure sales be personally served,
including notices of foreclosure sale postponement.
· Provide homeowners with a private right of action in instances in
which the requirements set forth in the legislation are not followed
Assembly Bill 2425 / Senate Bill 1471 – Due Process Reform Legislation
(Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell; Senators Mark DeSaulnier and Fran Pavley)
· Require creditors to provide a single point of contact to
borrowers in the foreclosure process who will be responsible for providing
accurate account and other information related to the foreclosure process
and loss mitigation efforts.
· Require creditors to provide a dedicated electronic mail address,
facsimile number and mailing address for borrowers to submit information
requested as part of a loan modification, short sale or other loss
mitigation option.
· Authorize borrowers to challenge the unlawful commencement of a
foreclosure process in court.
· Impose a $10,000 civil penalty on the recordation or filing of
“robosigned” documents, defined as documents that contain information that
was not verified for accuracy by the person or persons signing or swearing
to the accuracy of the document or statement.
· Require that certain documents be recorded in a county recorder’s
office.
Assembly Bill 2314 / Senate Bill 1472 – Blight Prevention Legislation
(Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter; Senator Fran Pavley)
· Prevent blight enforcement actions from being taken against new
purchasers of blighted property for 60 days, provided that repairs are
being made to the property.
· Require banks that release liens on foreclosed property to inform
local code enforcement agencies of the release so that demolition of
blighted property can proceed.
· Increase fines against owners of blighted property from $1,000 per
day to $5,000 per day, and allow the imposition of the costs of a
receivership over blighted property to be imposed directly against the
owner of blighted property.
Assembly Bill 2610/ Senate Bill 1473 – Tenant Protection Legislation
(Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner; Senator Loni Hancock)
· Require purchasers of foreclosed homes to honor the terms of
existing leases and give tenants at least 90 days notice before commencing
eviction proceedings.
Assembly Bill 1950 – Enhancement of Attorney General Enforcement
(Assemblyman Mike Davis)
· Impose a new $25 fee to be paid by servicers upon the recording of
a notice of default. The fee would be deposited into a real estate fraud
prosecution trust fund that would support the Attorney General’s efforts
to deter, investigate and prosecute real estate fraud crimes, including
the work of the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force.
· Extend the statute of limitations from one year to four years from
the date of discovery for violations of law commonly occurring in
connection with foreclosure-related scams, including acting as a
real-estate agent without a license and charging up-front fees for loan
modification services.
Senate Bill 1474 / Assembly Bill 1763 – Attorney General Special Grand
Jury
(Assemblyman Mike Davis; Senator Loni Hancock)
· Authorize the Attorney General to impanel a special grand jury for
the purposes of investigating and indicting multi-jurisdictional financial
crimes against the state.
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Francis Tsang
Chief Deputy Communications Director
Office of Mayor Edwin M. Lee
415.554.6467
francis.tsang@sfgov.org
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