Foreclosure bill advances in Senate

A bill that would ban home foreclosures as a way to collect small debts in private California communities has easily cleared a key state Senate hurdle.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 4-1 to send the bill, which would affect more than one-fourth of the state’s households, to a full Senate vote later this spring. Sen. Denise Ducheny (D-San Diego) reintroduced her bill, which would end the long-standing power of homeowner associations to auction off a member’s home for failing to pay assessments that average about $200 a month in California. It would continue to allow foreclosures for amounts of more than $2,500 without a court’s review.

Lawmakers passed a nearly identical bill last year to require California’s 37,000 homeowner associations to use Small Claims Court to collect unpaid sums of less than $2,500, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the measure, saying it could force dues-paying homeowners to make up for lost money caused by those who don’t pay.

Briefly

* The 30-year mortgage rate last week rose to a nationwide average of 6.04% -- an eight-month high and the seventh consecutive weekly increase -- from 6.01% the week before, according to Freddie Mac. The 15-year fixed-rate averaged 5.58%, up from 5.56%. The average rate on one-year adjustable mortgages rose to 4.33% from 4.24%.

* Visitors to www.bejane.com, a resource for women seeking home improvement and maintenance advice and tips, will now find national listings of forsale byowner.com.

* Applications for mortgages increased in the week ending March 25 as higher home purchasing activity offset a drop in refinancing at a time when mortgage rates are rising, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. said.

From Times wire reports