Democrats In State Senate Urge For Foreclosure Moratorium
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- May
- 14
The Senate Democrats urged the Republican majority today to bring legislation to the floor that would place a moratorium on foreclosures resulting from subprime mortgages.
“In the first quarter of 2008 the rate of foreclosures throughout the state has increased by 40 percent,” said Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith. “Let’s keep people in their homes.”
Smith argued that the bipartisan legislation could prevent up to 125,000 foreclosures in the next year.
Without the moratorium and other reforms, foreclosures could result in an average property value decline of $18,000—leading to a $65 billion tax base decline, Smith said.
A subprime loan is made at a high rate, usually made by people who do not qualify for prime-rate financing.
The Legislature and governor have already set aside $25 million to provide grants for non-profits to counsel and provide legal representation people with subprime loans.
The Democrat-controlled Assembly passed a package of bills last week to tackle the subprime crisis, yet the Senate Republicans, who are in the majority, have not come on board.











The Senate Republicans ” have not yet come on board?” Safer on shore than on a sinking vessel. Who’s left to pay for all of this? The guy who’s struggling and somehow succeeding to pay his own mortgage?