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SENATOR DARREN SOTODeputy Democratic Whip

14th District

THE FLORIDA SENATETallahassee, Florida 32399-1100

COMMITTEES:Judiciary, Vice ChairAppropriations Subcommittee on Criminal and

Civil JusticeAppropriations Subcommittee on General GovernmCommunity AffairsEnvironmental Preservation and ConservationEthics and Elections

SELECT COMMITTEE:Select Committee on Patient Protection

and Affordable Care Act

REPLY TO: 220 Senate Office Building, 404 South Monroe Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-1100 (850) 487-5014

Senates Website: www.flsenate.gov

DON GAETZ GARRETT RICHTER

President of the Senate President Pro Tempore

For Immediate Release: February 27, 2013

Contact: Christine Aleknavich, 850-487-5014

Aleknavich.Christine@FLSenate.gov

Soto Continues to Fight for Floridas Families in Foreclosure

TallahasseeAs Florida continues to maintain its shameful distinction as first in the nation for

housing foreclosures, state Senator Darren Soto (D-Orlando) announced Wednesday his filing offour bills intended to better help Floridians save their homes and protect them from unscrupulous

foreclosure practices.

These bills represent a vision for resolving the foreclosure crisis where we work with familiesto save their homes and make them more affordable as well as provide meaningful debt relief,said Senator Soto, who last year spearheaded efforts to crack down on foreclosure mills. Thisvision stands in stark contrast to the numerous bills filed over the past few years with the sole

intention of kicking thousands of Floridas working families out of their homes for the sake ofexpediency. We can and must do better,

Soto filed Senate Bill 1236, the Mortgage Principal Reduction Act, which would require theFlorida Housing Finance Corporation to apply for $100 million of the federal governmentsHardest-Hit Fund program in order to begin a mortgage principal reduction program forFloridians whose homestead properties are in foreclosure.

Senator Soto and Representative Joe Saunders (D-Orlando) also filed Senate Bill 1226 and

House Bill 371 aimed at giving homeowners relief after having their homestead propertyforeclosed upon. Currently, lenders are able to file a deficiency judgmentadditional debtsassessed by creditors against homeowners to make up for any loss in property value from the

original mortgage amount - up to 5 years after the final judgment of foreclosure. Senator Sotoproposes to change that length of time to only one year. Additionally, lenders would have only

two years to collect the outstanding debt, sparing homeowners from collectors current license tohaunt them for up to two decades.

Soto will also be introducing the Short Sale Debt Relief Act (SB 1228), along withRepresentative Fullwood (D-Jacksonville). This bill will make deficiency judgments

mailto:Aleknavich.Christine@FLSenate.govmailto:Aleknavich.Christine@FLSenate.govmailto:Aleknavich.Christine@FLSenate.gov

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unenforceable for short sales where the original mortgagees debt is greater than 20% of the fairmarket value.

Finally, Senator Soto and Representative Jose Rodriguez (D-Miami) are working on the FloridaMortgage Collection Fairness Act (SB 1218), which would prohibit mortgage collection firms

from falsifying evidence in foreclosure proceedings.

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