In March, as a record number of homes were foreclosed on in metropolitan Phoenix, several pieces of Arizona legislation that would have helped homeowners
facing foreclosures or dealing with its aftermath died.
Unfortunately, the state's foreclosure crisis isn't over. There are many more struggling homeowners who need help and a growing number of other homeowners who are giving up and walking away because they don't see the housing market rebounding.
Last month, a record 5,556 homes across metropolitan Phoenix were foreclosed on by lenders, reports the Information Market. That's a 30 percent increase from February. Pre-foreclosures climbed to 8,045 last month, up from 7,604 the month before.
Six of seven bills that made up the proposed Foreclosure Rescue for Arizona Act were never even heard in the Legislature. The one piece of legislation from the package to be heard in the House will require landlords to give renters more notice and time to move out of foreclosure homes. This will help Arizona residents but not struggling homeowners. The bill is supposed to be heard in the Senate later this week.
There is legislation still alive that can help homeowners facing foreclosures.
House Bill 2626: Requires lender to contact homeowner to talk about their options to avoid foreclosure. This would apply to homes purchased between 2003 and 2008, and excludes investors.
House Bill 2309; Regulates the growing number of foreclosures consultants in the state. Many Valley homeowners have lost money and even their homes after paying firms to help them with government-backed loan modifications. There are reputable firms helping homeowners facing foreclosure, but hundreds of homeowners have been caught up in scams.
Homeowners can receive free help from counselors certified by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by calling the Arizona foreclosure hotline 1(877)448-1211.
Senate Bill 1130: Makes it illegal for foreclosure consultants to take up-front fees from homeowners.
These three pieces of legislation will help the state's foreclosure crisis. They are Republican-backed. The Foreclosure Rescue Arizona Act package of bills would have also helped. It was backed by the Democrats.
Foreclosure help shouldn't be a partisan issue. A record number of both Phoenix-area Democrats and Republicans are losing their homes now.
