Advocates Demand Foreclosure Protection Law ALBANY, NEW YORK (WXXI) - A coalition of groups , which include advocates for the poor and senior citizens, say time is running out in the legislative session and there's still no agreement on a bill to help New Yorkers caught in the sub prime loan crisis and who are losing their homes.

Sarah Ludwig, with the Neighborhood Advocacy Project, says there are over 150 new foreclosures a day in New York, and she says Governor Paterson and leaders of the legislature need to "get in a room" and "hammer" out a solution quickly.

"Anything short of that would be scandalous," said Ludwig.

JoAnn Farrell is one of many New Yorkers affected by the crisis. She says she's going to lose her home in an Albany suburb at a foreclosure sale June 11th, if nothing is done. And she feels bitter about it.

" They sold my mortgage to scumbags," Farrell said. "And the scumbags treated me like dirt."

Farrell says she lost her job and needed money for her children, and agreed to what she admits was a bad loan. She hoped to pay it back in a year, or refinance, but says the bank accused her of falling behind on her payments and she was unable to change the terms of the loan or find a new lender. She says she was desperate, and put the house up for sale.

"They foreclosed so fast, that when I found my buyer, we couldn't get the paperwork done in time," said Farrell.

Governor Paterson has already proposed a bill that would require lenders to hold a settlement conference, to try to work out new loan arrangements with lenders, and allow them to keep their homes. It would require a 60 day cooling off period before any actions could be taken against the borrower. The groups say they support the governor's plan.

The state Assembly passed a one-year moratorium on home foreclosures. The groups say they aren't as interested in a moratorium as they are in permanently fixing laws that they say don't protect borrowers and offer them little recourse when loans go wrong.

The State Senate is considering the governor's legislation, and has held hearings.

The groups say they fear that the powerful banking industry will delay any agreement.

"They do not want this legislation to go through," said Bill Ferris, with AARP. "We think that's really unfortunate, due to the fact that we are in a foreclosure crisis right now."

At a senate hearing earlier this month, the President of the New York Bankers Association testified about reforming mortgage lending practices. Michael Smith said that while bankers want strong laws to eradicate predatory lending practices, they don't think that Governor Paterson's bill will accomplish those goals. Smith warned that the measure could end up limiting home lending credit to qualified New Yorkers, and sinking the state's economy even further downward.

In the meantime, Joann Farrell says he's living in an apartment and trying to put her life back together.




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