A Message to Homeowners

Dear Constituent:

From Venice to the Harbor Gateway, we all know friends and neighbors struggling to stay in their homes because they can no longer afford their mortgage payments. I have sponsored homeownership workshops throughout our congressional district and have seen the pain and frustration many are feeling.

The stories I’ve heard are heartbreaking: the single mom who lives with her child in her car because she was laid off; workers delaying retirement because their savings took a major hit; and the families who are rationing health care because they simply can’t afford the bills. As a mother and grandmother, this is devastating.

Keeping families in their homes is a top priority for me and the current Obama Administration. Congress is working with President Obama on his new plan that finally focuses on making mortgage payments affordable. The bill that we passed in the House yesterday, which I strongly supported, is expected to save nearly 2,300 homes in the South Bay.

Key provisions in H.R. 1106, the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, can help you or someone you know by allowing bankruptcy judges to adjust terms of a loan for primary residences and providing a safe harbor to protect servicers who modify mortgages. All this will encourage more banks to negotiate directly with struggling homeowners before they file for bankruptcy.

The legislation also improves the HOPE for Homeowners program, which refinances mortgages into federally backed loans; prevents predatory lenders from participating in the Federal Housing Administration’s loan program; and opens more access to credit by making permanent the increase for FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund.

I’ll be appearing at a homeownership preservation fair in Compton this weekend sponsored by LA County Neighborworks. Lenders and legal aid experts will be there to provide individual counseling and answer questions on what can be done to help homeowners. For more information about the Compton event, or if you or anyone you know would like to be connected with experts or attend financial literacy workshops (services available in several languages), please call my El Segundo or Wilmington office at (310) 643-3636 and (310) 549-8282, respectively.

Modifying a home loan is a daunting task for any homeowner. I encourage you to reach out to us with questions. My staff and I are eager to help.

Regards,

JANE HARMAN