BY SALVATORE PIZZURO

COMMENTARY

After many months of negotiations and revisions among members of the State Legislature and the Governor’s office, it has been announced that Assemblyman Gary Schaer’s bill, designed to protect homeowners facing foreclosure from unscrupulous consultants, has been signed into law.

The "Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act." was initially introduced by Schaer in response to distressed homeowners who were swindled out of their remaining savings by consultants who pretended to offer assistance in keeping their homes and the few resources they had left. An original version of the bill was conditionally vetoed by Governor Christie and was sent back to the Legislature for revisions. According to the Democratic Legislative office, the revised bill, A-359, is a “revamped measure that will help protect homeowners from unscrupulous foreclosure consultants without strangling the real estate market.”