Phil Ting: Stand Up for the Homeowner Bill of Rights

Sign the petition today.

It’s common sense that big banks and other lenders should need to prove they are owed the debt on the home – before they foreclose on a family. It might be common sense, but unfortunately, it is not California law. Please sign the petition today to support the Homeowner Bill of Rights.

The Facts on Foreclosure

Earlier in the year, I released data from California’s first in-depth look at problems with foreclosure documents. The audit released by my office showed pervasive problems with foreclosure documents. Our audit, which gained national attention, found that nearly 60% of documents were backdated in some fashion and fully 84% of documents contained at least one legal flaw.

That shocking fact is that in California families today face foreclosure despite the flaws in mortgage records so severe that the title is in question.

We all know the costs of the foreclosure epidemic – trillions of dollars in family assets whipped away after a decade of lending speculation. Nearly every reputable economist agrees: the continuing high rates of foreclosures are delaying full economic recovery, meaning they contribute to high unemployment and lower state tax revenues – which in turn trigger cuts to vital program like education.

There are so many things our state needs to do to get back on track. But restoring common sense and justice to our housing markets and foreclosure process is one of the first things we should do – because helping to avoid unnecessary and even unlawful foreclosures is a powerful economic stimulus.

Protecting California Homeowners from Foreclosures

The package of legislation, now commonly-referred to as the Homeowner Bill of Rights, would create long-overdue protections like requiring creditors to provide documentation to a borrower that establishes the creditor’s right to foreclose, prohibiting creditors from recording a notice of default when a timely-filed application for a loan modification or other loss mitigation measure is pending, and requiring creditors to provide a single point of contact to borrowers in the foreclosure process.

Common sense, right?

Let’s help Attorney General Harris, Senate Pro-Tem Darrell Steinberg, our own State Senator Mark Leno, State Senators Fran Pavley and Mark DeSaulnier, Assemblyman Mike Eng, Assemblyman Mike Davis, Assemblywoman Wilmer Carter, and other leaders in Sacramento pass this important package of reform to help avoid unnecessary and unlawful California foreclosures.

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