Imagine you and your family have leased your home or apartment for years, paying your rent and utilities on time each month. Your home is near to your child’s school, near to your job, and meets your needs for both space and cost. You have no idea your landlord is in foreclosure until a police officer knocks on your door and tells you you’re being evicted. You have little time to pack up your life, and may even be expected to leave with only the clothes on your back.

Foreclosure situations are traumatic for everyone involved, but can be especially heartbreaking when a renter is not told that the landlord is in foreclosure and is completely innocent. A renter who has never missed a rent payment is suddenly uprooted with no notice and no time to find a new place to live. Banks and mortgage companies are supposed to conduct a basic due diligence investigation before requesting eviction of a renter, but it is not required by law.

Sudden foreclosure evictions hurt families, and I want to make sure renters are given notice and have time to find a new place to stay before having to leave their homes. I’ve introduced two new bills to provide relief for renters who might otherwise be sideswiped by news of a landlord’s foreclosure.

SB 1644 will require that renters be given 90 days notice before an eviction when a property goes into foreclosure. SB 1645 will require a landlord to notify renters of a pending foreclosure, and when a new owner, bank or otherwise, takes over the property, they must honor the terms of the renter’s original lease until the lease expires if the renter has kept those terms. A renter may only be evicted if the new owner can prove that the current occupant has no legal right to be there. Currently, the lease would dissolve at the time of foreclosure and the renter would lose their home.

My battle against the foreclosure crisis has been long, but I refuse to give up. Too many Michigan residents are losing their homes, and once-vibrant neighborhoods are slowly turning into ghost towns. I am still fighting for a hearing for SB 1306, a bill I introduced earlier this year that would place a two-year moratorium on home foreclosures and help people stay in their homes, making reduced mortgage payments, until they can get back on their feet.

Michigan has reached a state of foreclosure emergency. Rising costs of food and gas have left less money in household budgets to make bill payments, and increasing mortgage rates are bleeding us dry as we see more houses in our neighborhoods succumb to foreclosure and blight. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, the number of mortgages that fell into foreclosure hit an all-time high in the first quarter of this year, and our country is at its highest foreclosure rate since the Great Depression.

Michigan has seen foreclosure rates rise 25% since last year, and boasted one of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation this summer according to a RealtyTrac report. We need to do something now to keep our citizens from losing their homes. Homes in foreclosure don’t generate any revenue through property taxes, and municipalities are suffering because of this. Essential safety services like police and fire face budget cuts as the tax base dwindles. Foreclosure hurts families, hurts neighbors, and hurts investors stuck with a vacant and damaged property they can’t sell.

Congress just passed the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, which aims to reduce the number of home foreclosures and limit their impact. This will help greatly in the long run in tackling the problem of predatory lending and helping families before they reach the point of losing their homes. But what about families who are already there? How do we keep them in their homes while they work to get back on their feet?

Some of our greatest lessons come from history. During the Great Depression, the State of Michigan implemented a moratorium that halted foreclosures for a few years, allowing homeowners time to recover from financial hardship and stay in their homes. Times were tough back then, and the moratorium provided much-needed relief for families on the verge of losing their homes.

I am the proud author and sponsor of Senate Bill 1306, a bill that would allow homeowners facing foreclosure to ask the court for a two-year stay on all mortgage foreclosure proceedings until the period of redemption. During this two-year period, the court will consider the situation of the lender and the property owner’s financial status and ability to pay in determining the new payment amount. Property owners must make payments in the interim to maintain the property in order to benefit from the moratorium.  Those who do not have the resources to make reduced payments will need to consider other options.

My goal is to give homeowners some relief as they tackle financial challenges. A moratorium will keep homes occupied and help communities thrive, preventing neighborhoods from becoming vacant, boarded-up ghost towns.

The Moratorium NOW! Coalition to Stop Foreclosures and Evictions will march in Lansing this Wednesday, September 17, at 11:00 a.m., and I encourage you to join me at the Capitol for this event. For more information about the march, or to find out how you can support the passage of my bill, visit Moratorium NOW!’s website at http://www.moratorium-mi.org.

Last Friday, I had the privilege of participating in the Habitat for Humanity Legislative Build. With this project, legislators from across the state went back to their districts and worked to build or renovate houses for families in need. I went back to Detroit and worked on a house only a few miles from the home I grew up in.

A half-century of urban development policy focusing on downtown development has been great for the growth of downtown areas, but I feel the best way to truly revitalize a city is to work in the neighborhoods where families live. Rebuilding neighborhoods block by block, home by home, will have a direct impact on the quality of life of the people of Detroit. I want to be actively involved in rebuilding the city I spent most of my life in, and working with Habitat for Humanity on Friday (along with most of my office staff!) was a fun, fulfilling way to contribute.

Here's the whole crew!

Hauling materials to the build site.

View of the house... that's pretty high up! 

Making sure it's the right length.

Yes, they let us use power tools.

My day with Habitat for Humanity was an experience I think everyone should have. To find out about volunteering with your local affiliate, visit www.habitatmichigan.org.

There's been a lot of talk lately about housing. Mostly, it's been focused on mortgages, foreclosures and bailouts. That concern is based on a belief that people from all walks of life deserve affordable housing in safe, stable and thriving communities.

But there's another side to housing and community development. It's about reducing blight and keeping our existing neighborhoods clean. Clean up/fix up programs foster pride, cultivate dignity and bring out community spirit. When neighborhoods are improved they become more desirable and make us proud to live there. And reducing blight improves safety for the residents as well.

We also need to provide help for those who don't have access to adequate housing, and bolster downtown development to attract both residents and visitors. To attract residents and workers alike, we need to develop viable downtown districts and livable neighborhoods.

That's why last May, bipartisan colleagues and I from both chambers joined Ken Bensen, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Michigan, in kicking off the statewide 2008 Legislative Build project. And we invited all 148 members of the Michigan Senate and House to participate in housing and community development projects in every legislative district in Michigan. That means hands-on participation in at least one project for one day in their home districts. And we'll be joined by thousands of organizations, associations, non-profits, for-profits and individuals in support of the Build.

Projects include downtown renovations, housing for various income groups, neighborhood clean-ups, and lots of other events.

And just to show that I walk the walk, on July 7 ^th I visited a home in High land Park to do my part in the Build project. At the invitation of a community organization called Moving in New Directions (MIND), I joined up with Project MARC (Making a Remarkable Comeback), which was a rehabilitation project at a home in a historic residential area on Moss Street. The team was doing work on both the interior and exterior of the home that included painting both inside and out, clearing brush and debris, and planting shrubs and flowers. I spent most of my day inside putting fresh coats of paint on walls and window trim.

I went home paint-spattered and tired, but feeling just great at what I'd accomplished during that day. (You can see a portion of our efforts on the Senate Democrats’ website: http://www.senate.mi.gov/dem)

I hope you'll volunteer for a project in your local community. Opportunities for participation will extend through early August. A statewide Celebration Day will be held in each district on Tuesday, August 19^th where legislators will be on hand to celebrate.

You can contact Michelle Smith at Habitat for Humanity of Michigan at 517/485-1006, ext. 15 to learn about volunteer opportunities. Michigan will surely be a better place because of your efforts!

Earlier this month, Governor Granholm announced that the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) is helping finance five brownfield redevelopment projects in Lansing, East Lansing, Flint, and Redford Township. Combined, the projects are expected to create 6,917 new jobs and generate $231.2 million in new investment in the state. These projects will benefit from state brownfield tax credits provided by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA). Michigan brownfield programs give incentives for buildings used for industrial, commercial, or residential purposes to be turned or returned into productive sites.

In Redford Township in Senator Glenn S. Anderson’s district, Southfield developer JNCC LLC—a partnership of Farmington Hills-based Triangle Development Co. and Southfield-based Jonna Construction—will use a state brownfield tax credit valued at $4.6 million to build 188 units of single-family housing, 150 senior independent living units and 20 multi-family condo units on 50 acres at the site of the old Catholic Central High School.

Senator Gretchen Whitmer has several brownfield redevelopment projects in her district that also received grants. In East Lansing, Strathmore Development Company through affiliate City Center Two Project LLC will use a state brownfield tax credit valued at $10 million for a large-scale development on 5.46 acres bordered by Grand River Avenue, Abbot and Evergreen roads and Albert Street. The overall mixed-use project will include a total of six new commercial and residential buildings, a pedestrian overpass and 520-space parking deck.

A $10 million state brownfield tax credit will support conversion of the Ottawa Power Station on the Grand River between Ottawa Street and Grand Avenue in downtown Lansing by Phoenix Development Partners LLC into a new world headquarters campus housing the Accident Fund Insurance Company. The $182 million project will bring 500 new jobs downtown.

These brownfield redevelopment projects are among 19 economic development projects announced by the Governor in July, and are critical to repairing and revitalizing Michigan cities.

Last November Gov. Granholm and Michael R. DeVos, Executive Director of the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), launched the "Save the Dream" campaign to protect Michigan families and keep consumers in their homes. This public awareness campaign is intended to help citizens avoid foreclosure and stabilize our state’s turbulent housing market.

As the Democratic Vice-Chairman of the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee, I recently helped usher the bills implementing the Save the Dream initiative through the committee process.

One of the main goals of the Save the Dream campaign is to establish an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) Refinance Program that will help homeowners switch to a lower-interest, fixed-rate loan. These ARM’s have been one of the major factors contributing to our state’s foreclosure crisis, which is why I am proud to have sponsored Senate Bill 948 to make sure homeowners in this state can transition into a stable, long-term mortgage that they can actually afford.

The Rescue Refinance Program, another important feature of the initiative, will assist individuals who have a delinquency on their mortgage and face foreclosure. With the recent news that several major equity firms were writing off billions in losses because of the foreclosure crisis, it’s clear that everyone has a vested interest in keeping consumers in their homes. By stabilizing the housing market, we can also stabilize the mortgage industry.

In order to qualify for these new loan products, homeowners must meet the same income and sales requirements as other MSHDA programs. While homeowners will still be responsible for paying off the full value of their refinanced mortgages, these programs will be aggressively priced below market rates, benefiting the most at-risk families.

I have been working diligently with my colleagues Sen. Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit), and Sen. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) along with many other Democratic Senators in combating this housing crisis for more than a year. Each of us has introduced legislation that will protect consumers from fraudulent lenders, improve financial literacy and restore professionalism to both the lending and the appraisal process. Governor Granholm has shown a willingness to sign these bills as fast as we can pass them, so the sooner we act the better.

I appreciate the cooperation of Sen. Richardville (R-Monroe) and my colleagues on the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee as we lead a bipartisan effort to stem the tide of foreclosures. Protecting the American dream of home ownership is critical to the future of our state. The tasks of revitalizing Michigan’s economy and creating jobs will be even more challenging if we do not take aggressive action to protect the families by helping to keep them in their homes.

It was good to see the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee today take testimony on my Senate Bill 951. This bill is a part of a 10 bill package (five House bills, five Senate bills) that would allow the Michigan State Housing Authority (MSHDA) to help homeowners refinance their mortgages. Specifically, MSHDA would focus on two groups of people:

• People who have an ARM mortgage;
• People with a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage ARM if they have problems with their credit.

Both will focus on low to moderate income people and both will offer a job security clause, that would assist those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own (in other words, people who did not screw up at work and get fired.)

Currently MSHDA assists families to purchase their homes, but MSHDA cannot assist those that already have a mortgage or have mortgage problems. Our bills would give MSHDA the ability to help those that have a mortgage and have difficulty paying it. The other interesting policy aspect of these bills is that it will not cost the state any money. MSHDA will use bonds to raise the money to assist families.

We all have seen stories about the mortgage crisis in the U.S. and heard that it is affecting money markets throughout the world. It is interesting to learn how a housing crisis the U.S. can have a detrimental affect in Tokyo and London, and I am not going to pretend that my bill will affect these markets, but I do think that it would help Michigan’s families keep their homes.

We need to offer relief ASAP to homeowners and when it comes to the sub-prime loan crisis Detroit is one of the hardest hit cities in the nation. MSHDA says that these bills, dubbed Save the Dream, could assist thousands of people throughout Michigan.

Since the Committee only took testimony today they said they would vote on them next week, February 6, at 9:00 AM in room 210 Farnum. The five House bills already passed the House and these bills need to pass the Senate soon.