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Maine lawmakers tighten foreclosure rules in win for consumers
Source: Reuters
US | Wed Jul 1, 2015 4:37pm EDT
Maine lawmakers tighten foreclosure rules in win for consumers
AUGUSTA, MAINE | BY DAVID SHERWOOD
Homeowners in Maine gained stronger protection against bank foreclosures under legislation approved late on Tuesday over the objections of some of the United States' largest lenders in what consumer advocates called a win for homeowners.
The new law makes Maine one of few U.S. states to legislate over accusations nationwide that banks used suspect mortgage documentation in home foreclosures after the 2008 credit crisis.
The focus of the dispute is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), set up by U.S. banks before the housing bubble of the 2000s. MERS was meant to streamline the packaging of loans into mortgage-backed bonds. After the bubble burst, MERS was besieged by litigation.
MERS lists itself as holder of millions of U.S. mortgages, allowing lenders to bypass public records when mortgage loans are bought and sold. During the housing crisis, critics said, MERS helped lenders push out poorly documented mortgages, confused homeowners about the true owner of their loans, and contributed to wrongful foreclosures.
Republican Governor Paul LePage vetoed the Maine legislation, but the state legislature overrode the veto Tuesday night. The law effectively affirms a 2014 Maine Supreme Court ruling that challenged a MERS-related foreclosure, though limiting its impact to future cases.
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Maine lawmakers tighten foreclosure rules in win for consumers
AUGUSTA, MAINE | BY DAVID SHERWOOD
Homeowners in Maine gained stronger protection against bank foreclosures under legislation approved late on Tuesday over the objections of some of the United States' largest lenders in what consumer advocates called a win for homeowners.
The new law makes Maine one of few U.S. states to legislate over accusations nationwide that banks used suspect mortgage documentation in home foreclosures after the 2008 credit crisis.
The focus of the dispute is Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), set up by U.S. banks before the housing bubble of the 2000s. MERS was meant to streamline the packaging of loans into mortgage-backed bonds. After the bubble burst, MERS was besieged by litigation.
MERS lists itself as holder of millions of U.S. mortgages, allowing lenders to bypass public records when mortgage loans are bought and sold. During the housing crisis, critics said, MERS helped lenders push out poorly documented mortgages, confused homeowners about the true owner of their loans, and contributed to wrongful foreclosures.
Republican Governor Paul LePage vetoed the Maine legislation, but the state legislature overrode the veto Tuesday night. The law effectively affirms a 2014 Maine Supreme Court ruling that challenged a MERS-related foreclosure, though limiting its impact to future cases.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/01/us-usa-foreclosures-maine-idUSKCN0PB60O20150701
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
his own party is increasingly turning against him. He has been holding up several bonds for years now that were approved by referendum, by holding them hostage to his own legislation. Now the gop-led senate is pushing legislation to require that bonds be released with only 2 exceptions (one was they can be delayed if a better interest rate is forthcoming and the other was equally common sense type thing).
Here's to impeaching the lard-brained gasbag. 
