Grassroots Efforts To Stop Flood Of Repo Properties

Massachusetts cities and towns have stepped up their grassroots efforts to address the growing number of repo properties in the state and stop foreclosure from further ruining neighborhoods.

Roxbury City Councilor Chuck Turner said that both state and federal governments were reluctant in passing laws that will help delinquent homeowners save their homes from foreclosures and protect tenants of foreclosed homes from eviction.

He said that he is angry that no efforts have been made on the federal and state level to stop the flood of repo properties in the area.

In 2008, Worcester, Lawrence and Boston city councils passed home-rule petitions designed to prevent the spread of foreclosures and to boost recovery in urban neighborhoods severely affected by the crisis.

One measure passed by the city council of Boston called for the establishment of a mediation system for distressed homeowners, mortgage providers or lenders.

Meanwhile, city councilors in Chelsea and Springfield have passed resolutions to support legislation aimed at providing protection to tenants of foreclosed properties.

Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending coordinator Grace Ross explained that the legislation would protect tenants from any eviction by a foreclosing lender, implement a foreclosure moratorium on predatory subprime mortgage loans for six months and require a court approval for foreclosure proceedings.

In Brockton, a rally was held by the Brockton Interfaith Community to urge members of the city council to support a home-rule petition. Fitchburg Mayor Lisa A. Wong and Somerville Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone have sent letters to Massachusetts lawmakers to urge them to implement a statewide foreclosure legislation.

According to Ross, efforts have been made by various organizations to push for a state legislation that would help communities severely affected by the flood of repo properties. He believed that the problem is the legislature's slow reaction to the foreclosure crisis which he claimed is spreading so fast.

Massachusetts lawmakers have deliberated a bill aimed at protecting tenants of foreclosed houses from eviction. Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino's housing adviser Pat Canavan pointed out that there is no sense of urgency concerning the foreclosure problem at the state level, which is different at the municipal level.

Data from the Warren Group showed that 755 repo properties were recorded in Massachusetts in April, a decline of 43.8 percent from the same month last year. However, with the soaring unemployment rate, industry experts are expecting a second wave of foreclosure.