---

---

Published: June 2008

Attorneys General fighting foreclosures across the country

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) released a report that scores the efforts of the attorneys general of all 50 states and Washington, D.C. to battle rising foreclosures in their regions. The report highlights the best practices and cutting-edge strategies they have implemented.

Download a copy of the report entitled "Attorneys General Take Action: Real Leadership in Fighting Foreclosures"

Many state attorneys general are leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure.  Record national delinquency rates are being driven by resetting rates on adjustable rate mortgages, negative amortization loans like payment option ARMs, widespread mortgage fraud, and lending without regard to the borrower’s ability to pay.  These delinquency rates, combined with inadequate loss mitigation activity from mortgage servicers and an illiquid market, have produced the record-setting levels of foreclosure in virtually every corner of the country.  The most aggressive attorneys general advocating for homeowners in this crisis are using every tool at their disposal, from cutting-edge legal strategies in curtailing predatory lending and equity theft, to advocacy for structural and regulatory improvements, to high-end constituent service that informs homeowners of their options and helps them navigate the system to save their homes.  This report, the first effort of its kind, seeks to collect stories of the work that all 51 attorneys general have done, highlight and recommend the best practices and cutting-edge strategies they have employed, and compare their efforts and willingness to engage in solving this crisis and preventing the next one with those of their colleagues around the nation.

All told, there were six attorneys general who particularly stood out for their aggressive and creative leadership in solving this crisis: Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, and Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson, who all earned an “A+” grade.  These attorneys general are actively seeking real data from mortgage servicing companies, pursuing cutting-edge cases against the industry’s bad actors, speaking out on matters of state and federal importance, putting their offices to work for distressed borrowers, cracking down on vulturine rescue scams, and pushing the industry to perform better for their constituents.

Many other attorneys general are doing great work and are paying increasing attention to the crisis, devoting additional resources to the issue, and collaborating together more often than in the past.  Still other attorneys general, either because of their state avoiding the worst of the crisis so far or ideological barriers, have not yet tuned in and turned the attention of their offices to meeting the challenges faced.  ACORN is pleased to see so much progress, and looks forward to working with attorneys general in continuing to pursue justice and protect the American dream of homeownership.

For More Information

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)

---

Download File

No Download Available

Category

Consumer Protection   ♦   Housing   ♦