McAuliffe Rolls Out Homeownership Plan

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe unveiled a plan today to encourage residents to buy home and keep homeowners in their houses.

His plan includes educating consumers on financial issues, creating savings accounts and a commonwealth-funded revolving loan program for homebuyers and protecting consumers from predatory lending practices.

"The severity of the current financial crisis overall, and the mortgage crisis in particular, undermines the most basic part of the American dream: homeownership," McAuliffe said. "Much is happening at the federal level to address the mortgage crisis and under Governor Kaine, Virginia has taken bold and aggressive steps to address the issues raised in the current crisis. We need to look beyond the crisis and keep our eye on the long-term goal: increasing homeownership for all in a sensible and realistic way."

McAuliffe also proposes limiting mortgage companies' ability to collect high-spread premiums and charge prepayment penalties, prohibiting foreclosure rescuers from gaining power of attorney from a homeowner, establishing a foreclosure mediation program and creating a foreclosure prevention hotline.