Mortgage bill aims to chop foreclosures

March 21, 2003

Legislation would assist homeowners who are at least two months delinquent


Inman News Features

Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) today introduced The Homeowners' Emergency Mortgage Assistance Act (HEMA), a bill that would establish a program to assist homeowners experiencing unavoidable, temporary difficulty in making payments on mortgages insured under the National Housing Act.

The legislation would grant assistance to homeowners who are at least two months delinquent on their mortgage payments and have been notified by their lender of intent to foreclose.

Repayment of the assistance with interest would be required after the homeowner regains financial stability, a period not to exceed three years.

Congressman Fattah aided in enacting the policy at the state level in Pennsylvania, where it has already helped 30,000 homeowners, according to Fattah's office.

"The downturn of the economy has forced many hardworking Americans to the unemployment line," Congressman Fattah said. "Along with the other sacrifices they will have to make, they shouldn't have to give up their homes."

Copyright: Inman News Service


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