A retired Oakland nurse who got poor treatment from a mortgage company is behind some tough changes.
"Mortgage companies do not have a heart," said retired Oakland homeowner Dorothy Hicks.
Dorothy Hicks and many others facing foreclosure, don't like how they've been treated by lenders. The retired operating room nurse says someone hung up on her as she tried to discuss her payment problem.
State lawmakers have taken notice.
"If we don't act now, the American Dream will be lost. It will become the American nightmare," said state senator Ellen Corbett (D) San Leandro.
State senator Ellen Corbett is joining Senate President Don Perata in sponsoring a bill to give sub prime loan victims a fighting chance.
They want notices to go out as early as 120 days before an interest rate reset, notices to be in English and Spanish and face-to-face meetings so a borrower and the lender can try to work things out to avoid foreclosure.
"We want to make sure that people who are being hurt, people who have been hurt, who may be hurt, have the benefit of meeting face-to-face with someone who is trying to throw them out of their homes," said senate president Don Perata (D).
Dorothy Hicks' family intervened to help the 74-year-old keep her home of 39 years. But others say they get a cold shoulder when they seek help.
Sergio Mesa is a painting contractor having trouble making $4,700 dollars a month payments.
"We tried to talk to them to see if we can arrange any kind of payment, and sometimes they don't really want to talk," said Oakland homeowner Sergio Mesa.
Lawmakers recognize that regulating lenders is more of a federal than state issue. However, senate President Perata says bullying lenders will pressure them into working with, not against borrowers.
There can be one other kind of victim of foreclosures -- a tenant whose landlord is being foreclosed. The Oakland city attorney says one such case is brewing right along those lines right now. He's looking into seeing what can be done.
