Looking to provide relief for cash-strapped homeowners, Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, has lobbied the Idaho Legislature for a bill that would offer the chance for advice and mediation to people facing foreclosure.
However, half the 16-member House Business Committee disagreed with Jaquet, killing the bill before it even got the chance to find an audience with the rest of the Legislature.
In her weekly report from the Capitol, Jaquet said she presented a bill to the Business Committee on Wednesday, Feb. 17, that would expand upon the current code regulating foreclosures.
The bill would have required that the name, address and a toll-free number of the person or organization with the authority to modify the terms of the mortgage be provided to the homeowner. In addition, lenders would have had to provide a list of housing counselors approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The real sticking point for the bill's opposition in the committee, however, was the inclusion of the opportunity for mediation. As written, the bill would have given borrowers a 60-day window to participate in mediation with lenders, who would have to pay for the process.
"One real frustration people have is that they don't feel like they can sit down and talk to someone about their loan," Jaquet said in an interview. "I understood that the mediation would be a sticking point, but I was hoping to get it printed so that other people could come in and make a more compelling argument for it than I could."
Jaquet and the bill's co-sponsor, Carlos Bilbao, R-Emmett, were the only two allowed to speak at the initial presentation, known as a hearing of introduction. Had it passed in that meeting, the bill would have been brought back to the committee for a full hearing. The committee would have then voted on whether to recommend that the House approve the bill or have it amended first.
Jaquet said she believes mediation to be a better alternative for lenders, given that the cost of a foreclosure is well above that of mediation. According to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association, the average cost of a foreclosure for lenders is more than $50,000, compared to $1,900 for a mediation.
"It just goes back to whether we want people to be able to stay in their homes," Jaquet said.
Jaquet said real estate industry lobbyists had garnered enough votes to kill the bill.
"One of the legislators told me he had promised the Realtors Association that he would not support the bill for introduction," Jaquet said in her weekly report.
On the positive side, Jaquet said, subsequent discussions with the Idaho Bankers Association indicated that the organization would implement an internal, voluntary campaign to make sure foreclosure counselors would be made available.
Jon Duval: jduval@mtexpress.com
Wendy Jaquet
