November 16, 2007 (LPAC)--Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine (D) yesterday announced the formation of a new state entity, the "Virginia Foreclosure Task Force," to address the worsening home mortgage and credit crisis. This is the latest in a number of state-level rearguard actions, given the fact that, so far, Congress refuses to face the full scope of the systemic financial breakdown since the speculative mortgage-bubble burst. In June, Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) likewise launched a taskforce. Speaking in Roanoke yesterday, at a housing conference, Kaine said, "My goal is to have policies in place that will help Virginians before they are faced with foreclosure."

By nature, the efforts of both Virginia and Maryland, are confined to buying some time for a few home mortgages in trouble in the future, and otherwise, giving advance warning to borrowers. The Maryland taskforce has issued such recommendations as mandating a 90-day grace period for homeowners who have defaulted on mortgage payments, etc. But nothing is yet implemented. Kaine did not give a timetable for what his new taskforce is to do.

As of June 30th in Virginia, 5,800 homes were already in foreclosures; 4,000 of those involved the "non-traditional" mortgages, with trick conditions. Overall, during the period covering 2005 and 2006, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, Virginia had 28,550 homes in foreclosure; Maryland had 38,352 in foreclosure. In Virginia, "It's getting worse and worse," warned Helen O'Bierne, director of the Center for Housing Leadership at the Richmond-based group HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal). As reported in today's Washington Post, O'Bierne also pointed out that, in its own terms, the new Kaine agency would not even be going into effect soon. The Virginia General Assembly will likely not get to considering the "emergency" taskforce until January, 2008, because no time is being made for it in the current session.