Rally planned against foreclosure bill

TAMPA - Lawyers and consumer advocates from across the state headed to Tallahassee Wednesday morning to fight against a controversial foreclosure bill.

One bus left Tampa around 3 a.m.; one of many, as organizers say they expected hundreds, and possibly thousands, to attend the 9 a.m. rally in the state capital.

Those planning to attend gathered in the middle of the night, saying they are on a mission to help solve a current crisis.

The bill up for debate in the House would speed up foreclosures, allowing lenders to skip legal proceedings during a foreclosure unless the homeowner requests that the foreclosure go through the courts.

"We do not trust the banks, we do not trust this proposed legislation that the rich bankers are trying to push that would allow foreclosures to take place without any judicial oversight," said Mark Stopa of the Stopa Law Firm. "We trust judges more than we trust the bankers. There is fraud that is abundant in these cases and if there were no judicial oversight at all, it would only be worse."

Currently, a lender with a foreclosure must go to a judge, but there are 500,000 pending foreclosures in the state, meaning it can take months or even years to foreclose on a house.

Supporters say the bill will take a burden away from judges, but critics say the bill will only make it more difficult for troubled homeowners to save their homes, and that it will not help the backlog because it would only be applied to new cases.

"I want to try to make a difference, and help the people that are in foreclosure," said concerned citizen Elizabeth Frey before she headed to Tallahassee. "I think something has to be done. If we don't start doing something, nobody else is going to do it."

"We're hopeful to keep this legislation shelved," Stopa added. "I'm confident that it will not pass and we'll continue to keep foreclosure cases ajudicated through the court system as I believe that they should be. I'm confident that we can get up there and speak to anyone who will listen to us in order to achieve that result."

Florida is one of the worst states in the nation when it comes to the number of foreclosures.

The rally at the State Capitol was scheduled to start at 9 a.m.

Here is a link to learn more about the group of lawyers and consumer advocates going to Tallahassee to fight House Bill 1523:

www.lawyersforhomeowners.com