Posted on March 17, 2023
HARTFORD— After a favorable public hearing in the Banking Committee on February 10th, a bill that State Representative Brian Lanoue (R-45) introduced at the beginning of legislative session (formerly H.B. No. 5207 An Act Concerning the Delivery of Mortgage Modifications Under the Ezequiel Santiago Foreclosure Mediation Program), passed unanimously through the committee. The concept of Rep. Lanoue’s bill will now be included in H.B. No. 6688 An Act Concerning Financial Transactions, which will await further action in the House of Representatives.
The bill is aimed to help protect homeowners that have recently restructured their loan agreement or have a repayment plan. It would require that the first payment due date would be no sooner than fifteen business days after the agreement’s finalization. The intent is that this will offer some help to those who are trying to get back on track with their finances. The bill is an important step to assist in defend Connecticut’s homeowners and safeguard their financial futures.
“This legislation will ensure that homeowners who are getting back on their feet after a financial hardship has every opportunity to succeed. There have been too many examples where homeowners have been forced into predatory modification agreements where they must produce several monthly payments in a matter of days or a couple of weeks. Without sounding self-serving, I was one of these people that had this experience,” said Rep. Lanoue. “However, this legislation is not just about me. This is about the family man who was laid off from long term employment, causing his family’s home to go into foreclosure, then finding new employment, getting back on their feet and then being victim to a forced modification that is setting them up for failure from the beginning. Or the recent widow who has young children facing a similar scenario. This legislation’s objective is to level the playing field and protect those who are working hard and trying to do the right thing. This will also untie the hands of the foreclosure mediators to ensure these aggressive modification attempts from lenders are prohibited. I want to thank the members of the Banking Committee for unanimously voting to move this legislation forward.”
State Representative Brian Lanoue represents the 45th General Assembly District which includes the towns of Griswold, Ledyard, Lisbon, Preston, and Voluntown.