Priorities
Urging lenders to give drywall victims a break
Oct 20 2009
Senator Warner sent a letter to banks and mortgage lenders today, urging them to work cooperatively with Virginia families dealing with health and safety issues linked to the use of Chinese drywall.
The letter follows Senator Warner's trip last week with the chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Inez Tenebaum, to meet with homeowners in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.
During that visit, many of the homeowners complained that they were still required to make mortgage payments even though their homes are uninhabitable.
In his letter, Senator Warner wrote:
“I ask you to consider temporarily suspending collection of mortgage payments from these homeowners, or other mortgage modifications that may be appropriate. At the very least, I strongly urge you to delay foreclosure proceedings on homes constructed with contaminated drywall until the CPSC drywall tests are complete and publicly available.”
Senator Warner also received a response today to a July letter asking the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development to review its federal mortgage assistance programs to see if any might be helpful to Virginia families battling the drywall issues.
The letter from Assistant HUD Secretary Peter Kovar says that some of the programs may apply pending on the results of the scientific tests, currently being conducted by CPSC.
You can read both letters below.
