RESOLUTION NO. RS2008-552

A resolution requesting the Davidson County Delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly to consider the introduction and support of legislation that would require ninety days written notice to a homeowner prior to a lender initiating foreclosure proceedings.

WHEREAS, the current economic conditions in the United States have dramatically increased the number of households facing foreclosure on their homes; and

WHEREAS, many of these homeowners were pressured into loans they could not afford and/or did not understand; and

WHEREAS, the increase in the number of foreclosures can be tied to adjustable rate mortgages whose interest rates have reset at a much higher rate, thus causing the payment amounts to substantially increase; and

WHEREAS, Tennessee had 4,600 foreclosures during the month of August 2008, with Davidson County ranking second in the state in terms of the total number of foreclosures; and

WHEREAS, Tennessee Code Annotated § 35-5-101 requires that notice of foreclosure be sent to the debtor prior to the first date of publishing the foreclosure notice, which publication must be at least twenty days prior to the foreclosure sale; and

WHEREAS, the Tennessee Home Loan Protection Act of 2006, codified at Tennessee Code Annotated § 45-20-101, et seq., prohibits local governments from enacting any ordinances regulating financial and lending activities; and

WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the General Assembly provide homeowners ninety days in which to catch up on the mortgage payments or refinance the loan prior to facing foreclosure.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That the Metropolitan County Council hereby goes on record as requesting the Davidson County Delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly to consider the introduction and support of legislation that would require ninety days written notice to a homeowner prior to a lender initiating foreclosure proceedings.

Section 2. That the Metropolitan Clerk is directed to send a copy of this Resolution to each member of the Davidson County Delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly.

Section 3. That this Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Lonnell Matthews