Media release | Rep. Robert Herkes, Hawaii House of Representatives

Honolulu, Hawaii – The House Joint Committees on Consumer Protection & Commerce and Judiciary advanced a bill this afternoon which places a moratorium on all non-judicial foreclosures in Hawaii. The moratorium would last 5 months from the effective date of the bill’s enactment.

HB894 was passed with amendments and will go straight to the House floor for voting.

“This bill is needed to stop mortgagees who want to rush into foreclosing on homes in Hawaii before appropriate legislation is enacted to deal with the mortgage foreclosure problem,” said Rep. Bob Herkes, chairman of the Committee on Consumer Protection & Commerce. “We don’t want to shut down the mortgage market, but I think we need a timeout.”

Hawaii has one of the worst foreclosure rates in the country. In January, mortgage fraud was cited as the reason why the state’s foreclosure rate is the 11th highest in the nation.

Rep. Herkes emphasized that the legislature will be working on a reasonable solution for the mortgage foreclosure problems in the state during the moratorium period.

HB894 was introduced by Representative Mele Carroll. If passed by the full House, it will cross over to the Senate for consideration.

Follow this bill at  http://capitol.hawaii.gov