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Housing Wire: San Bernardino County Residents Push Back Against Eminent Domain
Local residents and mortgage finance experts lined up at a San Bernardino County hearing Thursday to push back against the idea of seizing underwater mortgages through eminent domain.
The county set up a special authority committee to consider ideas for addressing the severe negative equity problem in the area. County officials did approve during the hearing Thursday the drafting of a formal request for proposals, which will be released at a future hearing.
The local government is considering using private capital led by Mortgage Resolution Partners to acquire current and underwater mortgages for less than fair market value, write down principal and refinance them into a Federal Housing Administration loan.
County CEO Greg Devereaux said they would consider many options, and signaled how unlikely the of use of eminent domain could be.
"I am certain this board would not approve a proposal that singles out eminent domain as an approach," Devereaux said. "We are not here to look for any one approach. We are here to look for ideas."
Residents in the area are suspicious of the eminent domain proposal and the investor group pitching it.
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