Panel backs Easley's mortgage foreclosure plan

RALEIGH -- Subprime mortgage holders struggling tomake their payments may receive some help under a plan advancing in the House. An appropriations panel on Wednesday approved a plan that would require lenders to notify struggling subprime mortgage holders 45 days before they start foreclosure proceedings. The state's banking commissioner would be granted more power to negotiate between lenders and mortgage-holders to try to find ways to keep families in their homes. The committee altered the bill to make clear that only home mortgage holders would be granted the additional protections. Rep. George Cleveland, an Onslow County Republican, said the state's limited resources should go toward struggling families, not speculators. The proposal now heads to the full House. (Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) AP-NY-07-09-08 1122EDT