It’s getting to be that time of year again… That’s right; it’s that special time of year when the federal and state governments start to get back in the legislating mood.

 It’s that wonderful time when they dust off failed legislation and whip up some new laws in order to prove to people how much they are doing to help.  They do this by passing extremely broad laws under the guise of helping prevent mortgage fraud.

 They pass these laws without doing the proper due diligence to realize the terrible impact that their vanity bills will have.  They name them things like “Mortgage Fraud Protection Act” and other loaded names so that they look good when newspapers and cable news shows report about them, but say nothing of the content.  After all, all most people hear is “mortgage fraud protection”.

 They don’t see that these laws increase the rates of foreclosure by limiting the options for homeowners who are behind on their payments.  They don’t see all of the hard working and honest Investors who are forced out of business because they are no longer allowed to talk to people who are in the foreclosure process.  They don’t see that how some industries that are backed by large lobbies are shaping this legislation in order to benefit themselves by forcing their competition out of the business.

 Now more than ever it is extremely important that you are completely up to date on the changing laws in your state and nationally.  These reckless laws could very well be making you a criminal simply for sending out a postcard to a list of pre-foreclosures.  They could be making you a criminal if you do not wait exactly four days to contact a seller who is in preforeclosure after they sign a contract with you.

 For example, in Arizona, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Tennessee and Wisconsin, the state legislatures will be picking up old legislation that died in 2008.  Florida is working on a foreclosure moratorium effort, as well as adjustments needed to fine tune the anti-Investor laws that passed earlier in 2008.

 These laws dramatically changed the ways in which investors are allowed to communicate with homeowners who are in the preforeclosure process as well as how they must proceed in order to satisfy the liens on a home in preforeclosure.

 North Carolina is trying to pass an all out ban on “subject to” transactions. 

 Texas is one example of a state that has realized the damage that far-reaching and unfocused “mortgage fraud prevention” acts can do, and there is legislation in the works that would make lease options legal again.

 On the federal level, things are just as scary.  Congress is considering tax credits for banks who rent out foreclosed properties.  $4 Billion was allocated earlier this year for banks to purchase abandoned properties.  There are talks of a 90-day foreclosure moratorium.  There is a strong push to allow judges to change the terms of a mortgage during a Chapter 13 filing.

 The bright side is that there are always ways to get around the laws in a completely ethical and honest way.

 Go to www.NARHRI.org for more information on the changing laws all around the country.