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May 8, 2008 — ALBANY - The state Assembly yesterday passed legislation to impose a one-year delay on foreclosures when homeowners default on mortgage payments, while the Senate was poised to consider a related measure backed by Gov. Paterson.

Both are meant to limit the impact in New York of the national crisis in subprime lending.

The Senate Banks Committee will hold a hearing Monday on Paterson’s proposal to delay foreclosure for 60 days after lenders get an owner’s offer to renegotiate.

“There’s nothing wrong with the governor’s proposal,” said Assemblyman James Brennan (D-Brooklyn). “It’s a welcome proposal and would do a lot of good, I’m sure.”

But Brennan said his bill for a yearlong delay, which passed the Assembly, 118-10, is also aimed at stopping predatory lenders from trying to foreclose, while giving homeowners respite to refinance as other national, state and commercial relief measures get off the ground.

“The mortgage industry aggressively marketed mortgages with low ‘teaser’ interest rates . . . Other questionable loans include interest-only mortgages and mortgages made with little or no income verification,” said Assemblyman Darryl Towns (D-Brooklyn), who chairs the Assembly Banks Committee.

New York already requires a judicial process for foreclosure that can take an additional year once a second or third missed mortgage payment starts the process.

Join us for an exciting event entitled New Approaches to Stabilizing Homeowners and Communities in Western NY on May 19th from 10:45 AM – 3:30 PM. It is co-sponsored by the New York State Coalition for Excellence in Homeownership Education and the Empire Justice Center.  It will be held at the Red Cross, 75 College Avenue in Rochester.  Free parking is available across the street.  Lunch will be available at $15/person and is payable at the door.

The event is geared towards housing counselors, legal services organizations, lenders, public officials, community-based organizations, and anyone who is concerned with the impacts of the foreclosure crisis on homeowners and neighborhoods in the western part of the State.  Discussion topics include information about housing counseling standards, specialized foreclosure trainings, State programs addressing the foreclosure issue, and successful approaches to reducing foreclosures, among other topics.  In the interest of promoting an open exchange of ideas and information, time will be devoted to hearing about issues and concerns from those of you working in the field.  There will also be break-out sessions for attendees to convene with others from their geographic region. In addition,  Coalition members will present findings of an important study that it commissioned entitled The Current State of Homeownership Education and Counseling Services in New York State.

The Empire Justice Center is a not-for-profit public interest law firm that advocates for systems change to “make the law work for all New Yorkers” through policy advocacy and litigation.  Recently Empire Justice prepared a report identifying the areas of the state most impacted by subprime mortgage foreclosures, and at the May 19th event will illustrate the particular impact of the foreclosure crisis on minority homeowners and communities and describe effective advocacy systems for reducing foreclosures.

Advance registration is requested and should be received no later than Monday, May 12th.  To RSVP, please send an e-mail with your complete contact information to Ms. Jean Marie Lipani of Rochester Opportunities Inc. at jlipani@ruralinc.org.  Please put “May 19th event in Rochester” in subject line.

If you know of other professionals who may be interested in participating, please feel free to share this invitation.

We look forward to seeing you on May 19th!

An interesting report was released on Friday by the Empire Justice
Center of NYS entitled “Curbing the Mortgage Meltdown: The Impact of
Foreclosures on NY’s Economy and on Upstate and Long Island communities.
To view the press release and report, go to www.empirejustice.org
<http://www.empirejustice.org/>  and click on the link to “Curbing the
Mortgage Meltdown.”

Thanks to all of you who made your way to windy Albany! Both Priscilla Almodovar, President and Chief Executive Officer of the State of New York Mortgage Agency,  provided us with  comments delivered as did  

DHCR Commissioner VanAmerongen

Check this link  often for the latest in HUD training scholarships
being offered through NeighborWorks.
www.nw.org/scholarship

On behalf of Deborah Boatright and the NeighborWorks America Northeast District, please click on the link below)regarding a special Regional Place-Based Training Opportunity in Providence, Rhode Island to build and strengthen foreclosure intervention and default counseling programs.
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This  Report presents findings of a comprehensive research study on the delivery of homeownership education and counseling services by nonprofit organizations in New York State. This  research report includes the results of an online survey of 120 counseling agencies in the state;  results from a literature search on the effectiveness, benefits and costs of homeownership  education and counseling; results from key informant interviews with regional homeownership  service collaboratives in other states; attempts to quantify the needs for counseling in the state;  and concludes with key policy recommendations for improving the quality and coverage of  homeownership education and counseling services across New York State.

Become a Member

In May 2007, CXHE publicly endorsed the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling which were created by an Advisory Council for the National Industry Standards.  These standards are a set of guidelines for quality education and counseling services in the homeownership field.  Organizations are encouraged to adopt these guidelines and incorporate them into everyday practice.  The Advisory Council included HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Federal Reserve Board, National Council of State Housing Finance Agencies, lenders, and community groups and was staffed by NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling.

For more information about the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling and how organizations can sign up to adopt the standards, go to www.homeownershipstandards.com.