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Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has sued the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for allegedly violating the state’s 2012 foreclosure prevention law.
The lawsuit alleges the federal housing regulators and the mortgage giants are refusing to engage in the state’s foreclosure buyback programs and are unfairly and illegally causing Massachusetts families to lose their homes. The complaint was filed June 2 in Suffolk Superior Court.
Coakley alleges in the lawsuit that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, currently under FHFA conservatorship, are refusing to comply with the August 2012 Massachusetts law, “An Act to Prevent Unnecessary and Unreasonable Foreclosures.”
This first-in-the-nation law was proposed by Coakley and passed by the state legislature in an effort to prevent unnecessary foreclosures. Among other provisions, the law prohibits creditors from blocking home sales to non-profits simply because the non-profit intends to resell the property back to the former homeowner.
One example of a buyback program, as cited in the complaint, is Boston Community Capital’s (BCC) “Stabilizing Urban Neighborhoods” Initiative (SUN). As part of the program, the organization buys foreclosed, bank-owned homes at their present market value and sells the properties back to the original homeowners if they qualify for affordable financing.
Coakley said buyback programs like SUN prevent needless displacement of families that, through an arrangement with a non-profit, can afford to stay in their homes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have continued to block buybacks even though they lose money in the process, the Attorney General’s office said.
Since 2012, Coakley has encouraged principal reduction by Fannie and Freddie as a critical foreclosure prevention tool.
In the complaint, citing the case Suero v. Freddie Mac, Coakley argued that two of FHFA’s policies violate Massachusetts state law. She said Fannie and Freddie’s “arm’s length transaction” policy prohibits property sales to non-profits who resell to the original homeowner.
Additionally, she said, the “make whole” policy has the same effect because it prevents Fannie and Freddie from accepting anything less than the outstanding loan amount from the former homeowner or anyone seeking to resell or rent to the former homeowner.