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Foreclosure Proposals Up For Debate In Md.

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Mar 10, 2008 8:45 am US/Eastern

Foreclosure Proposals Up For Debate In Md.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) ― Maryland lawmakers will start debate this week on several bills inspired by rising foreclosure rates.

The Senate is scheduled to consider a bill to make it harder for borrowers to get home loans they can't afford. The bill would also ban prepayment penalties on subprime mortgages, or fees for homeowners who seek to pay off a loan early, often to secure a loan with lower interest rates.

The Senate will also take up a controversial measure aimed at state banks. The banks are pushing a bill to protect them from a recent court ruling banning some refinancing fees.

That measure was approved by the House last week but has a powerful opponent -- Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, a lawyer who wants to seek fees returned to homeowners.

Mortgage lending is a major topic of debate this term as lawmakers look to respond to a rising foreclosure rate. By some counts, foreclosures in Maryland last year went up more than 600 percent from the year before.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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