Great news! Foreclosure activity in Massachusetts has ground to a halt!
Petitions to foreclose in the Bay State dropped precipitously in May after 28 months of steady increases. Massachusetts Land Court recorded 390 foreclosure petitions in May, about one-tenth of the 3,327 petitions filed the month before, according to statistics from The Warren Group, Banker & Tradesman’s parent company.
This is wonderful. And a relief. I guess we can …
Wait, what?
Mortgage industry experts say the “right to cure” law, which took effect May 1, is the reason for the drop-off. The law prohibits lenders from proceeding with a foreclosure until the borrower has been given 90 days to attempt to resolve the loan default.
What are you talking about?
The new law, part of an omnibus foreclosure-prevention bill passed last November, requires lenders intending to foreclose upon a delinquent borrower to give the borrower 90 days to “cure” a default free from attorneys’ and other administrative and late-payment fees that typically pile up once a foreclosure petition has been filed.
Right. Because if you can’t afford your monthly loan payments now, you’ll magically be able to afford them in three months, I guess.
So, if you’re doing the math, foreclosures dropped 90%, in May.
Experts expect foreclosures to increase 90%, in August, 90 days from then.
Source: Right to Cure Law Slows May Foreclosures – By Amy Wyeth, Banker & Tradesman
