Posted on Tuesday (April 28, 2009) at 6:52 pm to Bankruptcy Legislation
Written by Craig D. Robins, Esq.
Long Island homeowners with under-secured mortgages will have to wait longer to strip down mortgages in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases.
Yesterday, Sen. Richard Durbin, (D-Illinois), said that the cramdown provision would be stripped out of a wider housing bill that will come to the floor of the Senate later this week.
The cramdown provision, also known as a mortgage strip-down, will instead be offered as an amendment to the bill. However, with Republicans remaining united in opposition to it, and some moderate Democrats indicating they may vote against it, it is likely to be defeated.
This is most unfortunate. Senator Durbin, the number-two ranking Senate Democrat, first introduced cramdown legislation two years ago. He has been unable to convince the mortgage industry to support the measure, and lend their significant lobbying weight behind his efforts.
The Chapter 13 bankruptcy cramdown provision has been a major priority of congressional Democrats as well as the Obama administration in its drive to tackle the housing crisis.