House May Vote on Mortgage Modification Bill This Week
H.R. 1106, which would authorize judicial modification of mortgage loans, may go to a vote in the House of Representatives as early as tomorrow. The future of the bill is uncertain, with solid Republican opposition and a full-court press from banking industry lobbyists. While the Mortgage Bankers Association and others in the credit industry claim that the provision would ultimately mean more expensive mortgages, Senator Dick Durbin, who sponsored the companion bill in the U.S. Senate, estimates that about 1/3 of homeowners facing foreclosure in the next two years could be helped directly by this bill. Credit Suisse offers a more conservative but still substantial estimate of 20%. Given the projected 8 million + foreclosures in the coming years, that's a lot of homeowners. Just as importantly, it has the potential to slow the foreclosure spiral and help the housing market stabilize.
Obviously, the provision would put a powerful tool in our arsenals as consumer bankruptcy attorneys and allow us to help a sector of our clientele whose options have been sorely limited up to this point. Another important point is the key contrast between this and most other foreclosure-prevention plans: no taxpayer dollars are required to put this plan in motion. Careless lenders and underwriters will bear their share of the burden.
Versions of this bill have failed before, and this may be the "now or never" moment for the modification provisions.
NACBA has assembled this contact information to make it easy to weigh in on the bill:
Here's what you can do TODAY:
1. Phone 1-877-354-4958 between 9am and 6pm Eastern time only. You will be given specific suggestions for the substance of your phone conversation and prompted to enter your zip code.
Depending on your Congressional district, your call will be routed to the office of your Senator, your House Rep, or the White House.
2. Get word out to your clients, staff, family, friends, and colleagues who might also be interested in speaking in support of H.R. 1106. Please email your contacts today to ask them to phone in on our toll-free 877 number.
Tell them why their call in to their legislator is so important. We want word of this effort to spread.
3. If you blog, you may want to consider writing about HR 1106 and encourage readers to phone in support of H.R. 1106 using the toll-free line.
Thank you in advance for helping us to make this 11th-hour push for passage of H.R. 1106.
TOLL FREE LINE: 877.354.4958
There is also a contact form available on the NACBA website at http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=nacba&hotissue=1
Please take a moment to make contact today. The vote could take place as early as tomorrow.
