Update from the foreclosure trenches

Time for some good news: thanks to a little help from her friends and a lot of help from the collective action of many Californians, the Rev. Gloria Del Castillo is going to keep her home. Rather than put it up for auction on December 31, Citibank has negotiated a new mortgage at an affordable rate.

Del Castillo is not alone in finding a big bank more reasonable in the new year. The LA Times reports a 60 percent decline in the number of housing default notices issued in January compared with December. California lenders are now bound by a tough new Homeowners Bill of Rights passed last year thanks to the efforts of community housing organizers.

The California Labor Federation describes some provisions:

• Prohibiting banks from foreclosing until they give fair consideration to a loan modification.

• Requiring banks to give homeowners seeking a loan modification a single point of contact to make sure they don't get the run-around.

• Increasing penalties for filing false mortgage documents.

The new law doesn't solve all the inequities that happen when big banks have aspiring home buyers over a barrel, but it is a significant first step, won by aroused homeowners and their communities.