News-Record.com

Thursday's No. 2 editorial.

All some homeowners need is just a little more time to forestall credit-ruining foreclosures. A reprieve benefits both them and the banks because refinancing is better than repossession.
Legislation being debated in the General Assembly and backed by Gov. Mike Easley could help stabilize a shaky housing market by buying time.

Eligible borrowers would get 45 days’ notice before mortgage holders initiate foreclosure proceedings. And the state banking commissioner could issue another delay of up to 30 days.
That may not seem like much, but it can keep the wolves at bay while home­owners use welcome breathing room to renegotiate their ballooning, and often confusing, subprime loans.

Despite faring better than hard-hit states like Florida and California, North Carolina still has experienced hundreds of foreclosures. In 2007, almost 50,000 were reported in the state, up 9 percent from the previous year.

Particularly at risk are home buyers chafing under adjustable subprime mortgage rates offered between 2005 and 2007. Tough lending rules approved last session were too late to protect many of those borrowers from possibly losing homes.

Equally important, $1 million is earmarked statewide to counsel home­owners facing eviction. In the past, such timely financial-planning advice might have helped evicted families stay in their homes.

There’s a limit, however, to what the states can do. Members of Congress and the Bush administration must end the partisan bickering and come up with a fair, workable plan that addresses mortgage inequities. Inadequate and outdated oversight of financial institutions by federal watchdog agencies bears much of the blame for the nation’s housing woes.

For now, the state is right on target by extending a helping hand.