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July 22, 2008 - Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell signed a number of bills into law this month to protect homeowners and reform the state’s mortgage industry. The Governor’s office stated that the five new laws protect home buyers, strengthen oversight of the mortgage industry and end lending practices that leave homeowners vulnerable to foreclosure.
The bills are in response to recommendations in a 2005 study by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking titled Losing the American Dream: A Report on Residential Mortgage Foreclosures and Abusive Lending Practices in Pennsylvania. The bills require licensing of loan salespeople by the Department and allow the state agency to inform the public in a more prompt manner about enforcement activities against mortgage companies. The bills also restrict prepayment penalties, increase fines for misconduct by real estate appraisers and require mortgage companies to notify the state when they intend to foreclose.
“These measures will make tomorrow’s borrowers safer,” Governor Rendell said in a July 8 news release. “Unfortunately, we know there are scores of Pennsylvania families, today, who are worried about making the mortgage payments they already have. It’s in everyone’s best interest to keep people in their homes and to keep property values strong. We have state programs in place to help struggling homeowners stay in their homes and in their communities.”
To read more about the new laws, follow this link.
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