Senate calls for new foreclosure moratorium

I think the lead really got buried on Senate votes today. People were talking about the FDIC changes but the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 has some pretty major changes that are flying under the radar. I will go into the biggest changes later but I'll start with a teaser:

(a) In General- It is the sense of the Congress that mortgage holders, institutions, and mortgage servicers should not initiate a foreclosure proceeding or a foreclosure sale on any homeowner until the foreclosure mitigation provisions, like the Hope for Homeowners program, as required under title II, and the President's `Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan' have been implemented and determined to be operational by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of the Treasury.
(b) Scope of Moratorium- The foreclosure moratorium referred to in subsection (a) should apply only for first mortgages secured by the owner's principal dwelling.

This isn't mandatory but these type of requests have a way of becoming demands overnight. The pressure on servicers is tremendous.