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On Wednesday, April 22, your League's Legislative Team spent the day in Augusta actively involved in many of the 8 foreclosure bills being heard by the Legislature's Judiciary Committee on that day. While your League testified on seven of the eight bills up for public hearing, much of your League's focus was on L.D. 846 - An Act to Refine and Streamline the Foreclosure Mediation Process, the bill that your League offered an amendment to expedite the foreclosure process.
Attorney Ben Marcus of Drummond Woodsum and your League's Legislative Counsel presented the amendment during his testimony on the bill. Marcus explained, "There are a number of Mainers that do not contest the foreclosure of their property. For these people, this amendment would result in a resolution more quickly that would benefit all parties involved. This amendment adopts all existing foreclosure law, including mediation and the redemption period, while speeding up the process in appropriate cases. When the foreclosure process is initiated, this amendment has safeguards in place that reasonably and responsibly ensure that the consumer's interests remain paramount and a top priority throughout the process."
Your League's President John Murphy said, "The most common complaint we hear from credit unions is the length of time and unnecessary delays that take place during the foreclosure process, even if the homeowner doesn't want to contest the foreclosure. We have committed significant time and resources in drafting this amendment as a solution and to provide an option for consumers and lenders. The reality is that for credit unions, foreclosure is the step of last resort; however, in the rare instances, when a foreclosure is initiated, it has been viewed as challenging to expedite the process even when the parties involved agree to that path. We offered this amendment to provide clarity and to streamline the process when that is the case. Ben did a great job explaining what this amendment does to the Committee, and responding to questions regarding its impact."
In addition to testifying on L.D. 846, your League also testified on six other bills heard by the Committee. Your League testified in support of L.D. 276 - An Act Regarding Maine's Power of Sale Foreclosure Law, which is sponsored by Rep. Ken Fredette, House Minority Leader and Board Member at Sebasticook Valley FCU. The bill makes several changes to the power of sale mortgage foreclosure law in order to clarify certain provisions, improve notice to interested parties and ensure the marketability of titles. Your League also offered support on L.D. 321, An Act To Protect Consumers against Residential Real Estate Title Defects, a bill that would cure title problems resulting from a recent Law Court decision. Your League testified in opposition to the other four bills including L.D. 401 - An Act To Create Transparency in the Mortgage Foreclosure Process; L.D. 920 - An Act To Require Mortgage Servicers To Act in Good Faith in Dealings with Homeowners; L.D. 1147 - An Act To Clarify the Mortgage Foreclosure Sale Process; and L.D. 1203- An Act To Address the Detrimental Effects of Abandoned Property.
"During the past few months, your League has developed a strategy for these bills, and an opportunity to create meaningful changes that our credit unions have communicated to us they would like to see made. In the coming weeks, working with our member credit unions, we will remain actively involved in speaking with committee members and legislators to work toward a favorable outcome," added Murphy.
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