Kerry Amendment Targets Mortgage Crisis

By Tammy Daniels
iBerkshires Staff
06:11AM / Friday, April 04, 2008

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Sen. John Kerry

NORTH ADAMS — An amendment introduced by U.S. Sen. John Kerry would aid homeowners across the state trapped in the fallout of the mortgage crisis.

Massachusetts would get $211 million in funding to help low- and middle-income families who are facing foreclosure because they can't keep ahead of ballooning mortgage rates as part of the $10 billion bond authorization.

"It will make it easier for families facing foreclosure and first-time homeowners to get access to a safe, fair mortgage," the Democrat said on the floor of the Senate on Thursday. "We want to provide assistance to those who need it most."

The amendment is attached to the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, designed to curb the effects of the tens of thousands of foreclosures, caused by subprime lending, on the housing market.

Kerry and Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Oregon, authors of the bipartisan provision, tried to attach it to the stimulus bill passed nearly two months ago but ran into opposition. This time around, it's likely to pass along with the foreclosure act, for which a compromise deal was struck between Democratic and Republican leaders on Wednesday.

A provision that would allow bankruptcy courts to reset mortgages was pulled from the measure as part of the compromise after Republicans objected. Sen. Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., is proposing it as an amendment. Smith said he would vote against it because it "puts all the risk" on the lender. Kerry said he was undecided.

In a conference call with the press later Thursday, Kerry said the effects of the bond bill would be felt "almost immediately."

It would provide housing agencies with $10 billion in tax-exempt private activity bonds to housing finance agencies; the interest on the bonds would be used to refinance subprime loans, first-time homebuyers and multifamily rental housing. Another $4 billion would go to Community Block Grant Development funds to help cities and towns deal with effects of foreclosures on neighborhoods.
 
Kerry said the reality of the mortgage crisis in Massachusetts hit him when he visited a forum for homeowners in Lawrence, which had seen 700 foreclosures last year.

"The room was full of people wanting to renegotiate their mortgages," he said. One woman had worked two jobs to maintain her home but after being hospitalized, found herself in foreclosure. The home she'd paid $225,000 for was being taken by the mortgage lender to be sold for $99,000. Yet the lender refused to renegotiate her loan despite the fact that she could meet the lower value, said Kerry.

Last January, foreclosures in Massachusetts alone were up 128 percent from the previous year, said the senator. While urban areas in the Bay State have been hit hard, foreclosures are rising in rural Berkshire County as well. ForeclosuresMass.com reported that foreclosures are up in 282 of the state's 351 communities; at least 74 communities had a 75 percent increase. The record rate of foreclosures is expected to keep rising this year.

The state Legislature is looking at bills that would require judicial review before a foreclosure is approved, call for a six-month moratorium on foreclosures involving subprime mortgages, and prohibit eviction of tenants when their landlord's property gets foreclosed.

Rising materials and fuel costs added to dropping property values is squeezing people who didn't have the "credit-worthiness" to take out loans. Subprime lending refers to loosening credit standards for loans; they often come with a low introductory rate that balloons after a year or two.

Housing agencies would be able to renegotiate those loans. "The new loan replaces the old loan," said Kerry, which would be based on a updated evaluation.

Both senators stressed spending on homes as essential to growing the economy, saying they produced jobs and revenue for state and local governments. "They're a real spark plug," said Smith.

The foreclosure bill also includes $100,000 in mortgage counseling and a provision to freeze foreclosures on servicemen and -women for a set period.

"Until we address the housing crisis, arguably the single largest contributor to our economic slowdown, we will have failed to tackle the greatest source of economic anxiety for most Americans," Kerry said in his speech.