Enhanced Title  : Congress May Add to Relief For U.S. Military Personnel.
Accession       : 03703623
Original Title  : Congress May Add to Relief For U.S. Military Personnel.
Source          : Mortgage Servicing News, 7(3):1, April 2003.
ISSN            : 1093-1252
Document Type   : Journal
Pub. Country    : United States
Language        : English
Record Type     : Fulltext
Word Count      : 286

With 200,000 troops massed on the Iraqi border, lawmakers in Congress are 
looking for ways to express their support for servicemen and women, and one 
possibility is lowering the interest rates on their mortgages.

Under the Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, all mortgage lenders are 
required to reduce mortgage interest rates to 6% for active duty reservists 
and guardsmen during times of war.

But with current mortgages at 6% or below, SSCRA is not providing much relief.

So Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., asked Department of Housing and Urban 
Development secretary Mel Martinez for any suggestions at a recent Senate 
Banking Committee hearing.

With current mortgage rates at 6%, "it would now be appropriate to have 
something lower than that," secretary Martinez said. The HUD secretary 
promised to confer with Defense Department officials about any changes and to 
work with the committee to provide meaningful relief under the SSCRA.

"So I would welcome any suggestions by the committee on how we might work 
together," the secretary said.

In other legislative news, Rep. Robert Andrews, D-N.J. has introduced a bill 
that would give consumers recourse if servicers fail to make timely payments 
from escrow accounts for homeowners insurance and taxes.

A real estate attorney, Rep. Andrews said he has received complaints from 
constituents who have received notices of policy cancellations because the 
servicer is not paying the premiums on time.

"The holder of the escrow has a fiduciary duty to the mortgagee to make these 
payments promptly and not cut it so close," he said.

His bill (H.R. 650) would allow consumers to sue servicers for treble 
damages. Rep. Andrews introduced the same bill last year.

The bill would have to pass both the House and Senate to become law.

Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2003 Thomson Media

Concept Terms   : All government; New laws
Industry Names  : Banking; Financial services
Product Names   : Federal and federally sponsored credit agencies (611000); 
                  Mortgage bankers and brokers (616000)
Geographic Area : North America (NOAX); United States (USA)