The Washington Post reports on a recent announcement by Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley calling for an emergency work-session with mortgage loan servicers and the institution of new requirements on loan servicers.

O'Malley Issues Emergency Foreclosure Regulations

Citing an "alarming" rate of mortgage foreclosures in Maryland, Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) today announced emergency regulations that would require loan-service companies to let the state know when residents are at risk of losing their homes, so that state agencies can offer assistance.

O'Malley also called on all mortgage providers to meet in an emergency work session next week with government officials.

This comes as O'Malley said the rate of foreclosure actions has soared across the state, with the numbers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties doubling between the third and fourth quarters of 2007.

"The greatest threat to the strength and the growth of our middle class is the growing number of foreclosures in the state of Maryland," O'Malley said. "It is an escalating national crisis that threatens our way of life."

Joined by Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown (D), Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez, Housing Secretary Raymond A. Skinner and two nonprofit housing leaders, O'Malley had particularly strong criticism for loan-service companies. O'Malley said homeowners trying to renegotiate their mortgages find it difficult to communicate with their lenders and said the state will commit "significant" resources to help families avoid foreclosure.

"We can't do this unless we get the loan servicers to be more customer-responsive and better partners with us to mitigate against this damage," O'Malley said. "We need the loan servicers to join with us, and not from Topeka, Kansas, from some 1-800 number, but here in Maryland so that we can reach out and do a better job."

Maryland became the second state after California to institute emergency regulations requiring loan servicers to provide detailed data to the state government about homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages that are about to reset to higher interest rates. This allows the state to identify residents facing default and foreclosure and help them avoid losing their homes.

O'Malley said about half the people going through foreclosure never ask the state for help or try to fight it.

"They're ashamed," O'Malley said. "They put their head in the sand and they assume that it's all beyond their ability to control it and never reach out for help."

But the state has programs to help. O'Malley urged homeowners who believe they are at risk of foreclosure to call a toll-free state hotline, 877-462-7555. He said counselors at that number will help connect residents to nonprofit housing advisers or direct them apply for the state's "Bridge to Hope Loan Program," which provides gap loans at zero interest to homeowners who are behind in their mortgage payments.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, there were 9,722 foreclosures in Maryland, up from 7,001 the previous quarter, according to data O'Malley's office released today. Prince George's continues to have the highest number of foreclosures in the state, with 2,732 in the fourth quarter, followed by Montgomery with 1,310 and Baltimore with 1,268.

To view the online article, please click here.

To view the Press Release from the Governor's office, please click here. 

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Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, OH  and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 450 employees.  Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.