New Foreclosure Legislation May Not Be Enough

Congress’ Hope for Homeowners plan was aimed at fighting the foreclosure epidemic, and it’s been a success for exactly one person. Now, lawmakers have put “patches” on the legislation—but some worry the fixes aren’t going to do the job, ProPublica reports. Instead, it needs “some major, wholesale changes, since no one is using it at all,” says an analyst.

Before, he notes, Congress “put in so many restrictions it was unusable.” Homeowners faced limited eligibility and high costs; lenders were required to voluntarily cut mortgage balances and had to grapple with a complicated process. New rules may provide more homeowner relief, but leave some issues unresolved, like the nuisance of background checks. There may be “more iterations” to come, says a banker. (More foreclosures stories.)