California Homeowner Bill of Rights Passes Legislature, Bringing Mortgage Reforms One Step Closer to Law
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John Wright Responds To The Homeowners Bill of Right Passing.
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July 4th, 2012
Written by John Wright
Well it looks like Californians will celebrate a very special 4th of July today after of the announcement of the Homeowner Bill of Rights yesterday being one step closer to becoming law now that it has passed the California Legislature. This is because the bills were approved 53 to 25 in the State Assembly and 25 to 13 in the Senate and are now on the desk of Governor Jerry Brown for consideration.
Now many California’s who are currently struggling with their home being foreclosed on are wondering just what kind of immediate relief — if any — this will bring to them – and so do I. I mean, I understand that the two identical bills passed by the conference committee contain key elements of the legislative package and provide protections for borrowers and struggling homeowners, including a restriction on dual-track foreclosures, where a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions over a loan modification to save the home. I also understand that the bills also guarantee struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender with knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers. I understand that, for the first time, the Homeowner Bill of Rights imposes civil penalties, of up to $7,500, on the repeated filing of foreclosure documents without verifying their accuracy, a practice commonly known as “robo-signing.” In addition, I also understand that homeowners may now require loan servicers to document their right to foreclose – and so on.
I know the California Homeowners Bill of Rights calls for the following:
- Fighting neighborhood blight and increasing fines against owners who don’t care for their properties.
- Tenant protections that honor existing leases or gives them 90 days before they can be evicted from a house that is foreclosed on.
- A $25 fee to be paid by mortgage services, or a bank, every time they record a notice of default.
- Creation of a special grand jury to investigate real estate crimes.
- It said that will help homeowners who have been unjustly foreclosed on, people who have tried to get modifications and help tenants.
- As well as the following: California Homeowners Bill of Rights
However, many Californians do not understand what this bill does for those who are currently foreclosed on now. For example, has the Homeowners Bill of Rights provided a process that will help stop the foreclosure and sale of a home where there have been multiple trusts and multiple beneficiaries existing where the bank is unable to accurately identify the actual owner of the debt? I ask this because that is pretty much the situation with almost every single loan in foreclosure out there. That is why I am going to spend the next few days trying to answer that question.
Nevertheless, make no mistake, because the California Homeowners Bill of Rights is a major step in the right direction.
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“The entire Homeowner Bill of Rights legislative package will create a level playing field for California homeowners,” said Attorney General Harris. “In addition, it will allow my office to continue to prosecute those who take advantage of homeowners who are desperate to stay in their houses.”
Assembly Bill 1950, authored by Assemblymember Mike Davis (D-Los Angeles), passed out of the Senate Judiciary today.
The bill extends the statute of limitations for prosecuting mortgage related crimes from one year to three years, giving the Department of Justice ample time to investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud crimes.
Two bills to provide additional protections to tenants who rent homes that are foreclosed upon also passed out of the Senate Judiciary and Assembly Judiciary Committees today.
Assembly Bill 2610 (Assemblymember Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley) and Senate Bill 1473 (Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley), will require purchasers of foreclosed homes to give tenants at least 90 days before starting eviction proceedings.
If the tenant has a fixed-term lease, the new owner must honor the lease unless the owner demonstrates that certain exceptions intended to prevent fraudulent leases apply.
Also passing out of the Judiciary Committees were Assembly Bill 2314 (Assemblymember Wilmer Carter, D-Rialto) and Senate Bill 1472 (Senator Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills), which provide additional tools to local governments and receivers to fight blight caused by multiple vacant homes in neighborhoods.
The final component in the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, AB 1763 (Assemblymember Mike Davis, D-Los Angeles) and Senate Bill 1474 (Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley), gives Attorney General Harris the ability to convene a special grand jury to investigate and indict the perpetrators of financial crimes involving victims in multiple counties. AB 1763 and SB 1474 passed out of the Senate Public Safety and Assembly Public Safety, respectively.
Two key parts of the Homeowner Bill of Rights passed Monday out of both houses of the Legislature and sent to Gov. Jerry Brown.
Those bills, which came out of a two-house conference committee, provide protections for borrowers and struggling homeowners, including a restriction on dual-track foreclosures, where a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions over a loan modification to save the home.
The bills also guarantee struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender with knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers.
For more information on the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, go to www.oag.ca.gov .
There has been a variety of positive responses from many people around the other states in our union here at Piggybankblog.com about the historic California Homeowners Bill of Rights being passed here in California — while wondering why their Attorney General does not do the same thing.
Pam Bondi (Aka Blondie) Must Be Bank Owned
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From the State of Florida: “What makes me mad as crap is why Pam bimbo is not helping the people of Florida? Why is Pamela Bondi (Aka Blondie) letting Floridians homes to just ROT! I live in the North Tampa bay area where there are so many empty houses rotting away. What makes California so different from Florida?” – Pam “Blondie” Piggybankblog Protest
I will tell you what makes California so different from Florida. Her name is California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris — AND SHE FOUGHT BACK FOR THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNINA AND WON!
That is why the People of State of California would not only like to thank their beloved California Attorney General.
We would also like to also thank the following:
- Senator Noreen Evans
- Senator Ron Calderon
- California State Assemblymember Mike Feuer
- California State Assemblymember Mike Eng
- Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg
And all those members who voted a YES for the Homeowners Bill of Rights.
Congratulations! You all just became Wall of Famewinnershere Piggybankblog!
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That is why I say Kamala D. Harris for Governor of the State of California!
The People Of California love and support you Kamala D. Harris!
You go girl! (Wink) You are a rock star baby! And I don’t mean maybe!
You will always be our California Girl!
That is why YOU HOMEOWNERS must never give in! That is why YOU HOMEOWNERS must never give up! That is why YOU HOMEOWNERS must never hate those who hate you! That is because in the day that you do — your enemy will have truly won!
Therefore — let them who have an ear — let them hear! The faith the size of a mustard seed shall indeed remove mountains from their place. I know that sometimes it is hard to have faith during these clearly hard times — because faith is based on unseen realities yet to come. Yet I must remind you that the very earth you are standing on was at one time an unseen reality.
Let it be done according to your faith — and in that day — you and I shall stand together pouring twice the measure into that cup these banks were about to have us drink from. YES! THAT IS WHAT I SAID! I SAID TWICE THE MEASURE!
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My name is John Wright AND I’M FIGHTING BACK WHAT USED TO BE THE LARGEST WHEN I STARTED — BUT IS NOW THE SECOND LARGEST BANK IN THE WORLD! BANK OF DESTROYING MY AMERICAN DREAM!
All Rise! The Honorable Judge Wright has left The Courtroom of Public Opinion!
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California Homeowner Bill of Rights Passes Legislature, Bringing Mortgage Reforms One Step Closer to Law
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Piggybankblog posted 07/03/12
Sacramento, CA…Attorney General Kamala D. Harris announced the California Homeowner Bill of Rights is one step closer to becoming law after key provisions passed the California Legislature today. The bills, which provide first of their kind protections for homeowners and reforms to the mortgage and foreclosure process, will now be sent to the desk of Governor Jerry Brown for consideration. The bills were approved 53 to 25 in the Assembly and 25 to 13 in the Senate….
“Passing these key elements of Homeowner Bill of Rights represents a significant step forward for struggling homeowners,” said Attorney General Harris. “These common-sense reforms will require banks to treat California homeowners more fairly and bring more transparency and accountability to their practices in our state. Responsible homeowners will have a better shot to keep their homes.”
. “Californians will finally have a fighting chance to keep their homes, as this measure brings fairness to the loan modification and foreclosure process,” said Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg. “At the same time, the protection gained by homeowners will help stabilize the housing sector of our economy. I applaud my colleagues for their hard work to protect consumers through this reasoned compromise.”
“The package approved by the Legislature today is a major victory for California’s consumers,” said Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez. “We impose tough new regulations on banks and lenders to stop the abusive practices we’ve seen since the collapse of the housing market, and this package will bring relief to hundreds of thousands of California homeowners.”
The California Homeowner Bill of Rights consists of a series of related bills, including two that were passed on June 26 by a two-house conference committee: AB 278 (Eng, Feuer, Pérez, Mitchell) and SB 900 (Leno, Evans, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Pavley, Steinberg).
The two identical bills passed by the conference committee contain key elements of the legislative package and provide protections for borrowers and struggling homeowners, including a restriction on dual-track foreclosures, where a lender forecloses on a borrower despite being in discussions over a loan modification to save the home. The bills also guarantee struggling homeowners a single point of contact at their lender with knowledge of their loan and direct access to decision makers. For the first time, the Homeowner Bill of Rights imposes civil penalties, of up to $7,500, on the repeated filing of foreclosure documents without verifying their accuracy, a practice commonly known as “robo-signing.” In addition, homeowners may require loan servicers to document their right to foreclose.
Homeowners will also have a clearly-defined right to access the courts to protect themselves from violations of these protections.
The Homeowner Bill of Rights also consists of four bills outside of the conference committee process. These will enhance law enforcement responses to mortgage and foreclosure-related crime, in part by empowering the Attorney General to call a grand jury in response to financial crimes spanning multiple jurisdictions. Additional elements will help communities fight blight related to foreclosure, and the crime that results, and provide enhanced protections for tenants in foreclosed homes. Please see the attached fact sheet for the status of these bills.
The California Homeowner Bill of Rights was introduced February 29, 2012 at a press conference featuring Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez and Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and bill authors from the Assembly and Senate. The Homeowner Bill of Rights codifies many of the core protections from the recent national mortgage settlement.
The California Homeowner Bill of Rights extends Attorney General Harris’ response to the state’s foreclosure and mortgage crisis. Attorney General Harris created a Mortgage Fraud Strike Force in March, 2011 to investigate and prosecute misconduct related to mortgages and foreclosures. In February 2012 Attorney General Harris extracted a commitment from the nation’s five largest banks to dedicate an estimated $18 billion to mitigate financial harm to California borrowers caused by bank misconduct in the foreclosure process.
More details about the California Homeowner Bill of Rights are found on the attached fact sheet. To learn more about how the bills impact California homeowners, review the slideshow at:http://www.oag.ca.gov/
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My name is John Wright AND I AM FIGHTING BACK!
All Rise! The Honorable Judge John Wright has left The Courtroom of Public Opinion!
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2 Comments
Sweet Sweet Victory!!
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I love you Kamala! Looks like I may get to remain a Californian! In my letters to the Senators on the panel, I promised to leave California forever never to return if I lose my home. I am native Californian!
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I pray that the action of Kamala Harris and the California legislature become an example for the rest of the country! After all, it is supposed to be “Justice for All” ! The American people have been robbed of so much!
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It is time to even the playing field against the corrupt banksters!
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Thank you Kamala Harris and to you John!
And John Wright for California Senator!
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JCMC
I still don’t know how this will turn out but it’s a start in the right direction. Sanctions collected for lack of compliance by banks should be substantial and put into a fund for homeowners legal fees.