June 20, 2008 | Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

Considering that there were 14,000 foreclosure filings in New York state in the first quarter of this year, it's imperative that lawmakers enact the strongest anti-predatory lending and foreclosure prevention legislation possible. A deal with leaders was struck Thursday; final action is pending.

By last October, 28 percent of all subprime loans made in Monroe County were 30 or more days late or in foreclosure. Areas with high foreclosure rates are threatened with housing abandonment, blight and the loss of millions in tax revenue.

The governor's bill provides strong, comprehensive consumer protections against abusive mortgage lending practices and aggressive foreclosure action.

The bill includes an update and expansion of the state's anti-predatory lending law; requires lenders to verify a borrower's ability to pay; requires brokers to act with good faith and fair dealing in the borrower's interest; requires lenders to send an early notice to distressed homeowners with contact information for local nonprofit housing counseling agencies; and encourages lenders to work out settlements with homeowners in distress early in the foreclosure process.

If lawmakers give New Yorkers a fighting chance to keep their homes, they will earn the right to return to their own homes for the summer. A deal is on the table. Finish the job.

Maker is senior attorney for predatory lending, Rochester office, Empire Justice Center. This essay also was signed by Mark Winston Griffith, senior fellow for economic justice, Drum Major Institute for Public Policy in New York City.