With Florida sitting at the top of the foreclosure hill, lawmakers have been making large efforts to reverse this stigma on their state’s economy. One such lawmaker is, Senator Darren Soto. According to the Tampa Bay Times, he says the situation is downright, “shameful.” So with the help of other fellow lawmakers, they have proposed 4 Bills that are aggressive in their movement to help Florida homeowners stay in their homes.
Senator Soto says, “These bills represent a vision for resolving the foreclosure crisis where we work with families to save their homes and make them more affordable as well as provide meaningful debt relief. This vision stands in stark contrast to the numerous bills filed over the past few years with the sole intention of kicking thousands of Florida’s working families out of their homes for the sake of expediency. We can and must do better,”
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1. <!--[endif]-->Senate Bill 1236 – Mortgage Price Reduction Act; will require the Florida Housing Financing Corporation to apply for $100 million of relief from the federal government’s “Hardest-Hit Fund” program to assist homeowners reduce their mortgages in order to be recuperate.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2. <!--[endif]-->Senate Bill 1226/House Bill 371 – Deficiency Judgment Relief; forgiving the deficiency from the debt not recovered for a period of 2 years. Currently, creditors are able to pursue a borrower for the deficient amount of the principal mortgage by charging additional debts for up to 5 years after the foreclosure judgment. Sen. Soto wants this to be 1 year. Banks would receive a 2 year period to collect as opposed to 20 years.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3. <!--[endif]-->Senate Bill 1228 – Short Sale Debt Relief Act; would make the deficiency judgment unenforceable for short sale cases where the mortgagee’s debt is higher than 20% of the property’s fair market value.
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4. <!--[endif]-->Senate Bill 1218 – Florida Mortgage Collection Fairness Act; will not allow mortgage debt collectors to falsify evidence in order to expedite the foreclosure proceedings.
Oh! I almost forgot one last thing… These bills and the funds requested do not include the $200 million that Florida already has received from the national mortgage settlement last year. Of course, one of the largest concerns is how to utilize these funds primarily for the wrongful foreclosures and minimize administrative and legal expenses, which can be burdensome.
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