How have state legislatures responded?
Thirty-seven states regulate foreclosure rescue transactions, foreclosure notification and timing, or high-cost lending practices (see figure). In response to weakening housing markets and the rise in foreclosures, state legislatures have passed new laws to help current and future homeowners by preventing foreclosure rescue scams and equity stripping, lengthening the foreclosure process, imposing fair-practice duties on lenders, and regulating high-risk mortgages.
