Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Title 33, chapter 6.1, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 33-810.01, to read:
START_STATUTE33-810.01. Stay of trustee's sale; affidavit; one‑year
period
A. On
receipt of a notice of sale, the owner of the property may deliver to the
trustee an affidavit for temporary stay of trustee's sale. The affidavit shall
be signed by at least one of the owners of the trust property and shall contain
the statement of that owner as follows:
1. The owner
is a natural person.
2. The loan
that is secured by the property was incurred primarily for personal, family or
household purposes.
3. The loan
is secured by a first or second deed of trust or a home equity loan on real
property that is improved with one to four residential units.
4. The real
property that is subject to foreclosure is the principal residence of the
owner.
5. The owner
owns no other real property.
6. The real
property is located in this state.
B. The
affidavit shall also include the owner's telephone number, mailing address and
any other contact information for the owner.
C. The
affidavit shall be sworn to and signed by at least one of the owners and the
owner's signature shall be notarized.
D. The owner
shall mail the affidavit to the trustee at the address provided by the trustee
in the notice of sale. On receipt of an affidavit that appears on its face to
be complete, the trustee shall postpone the sale for at least sixty days and
shall provide notice of the postponement of the sale to all persons who are
required to receive a notice of sale.
E. During
the sixty-day postponement period, the owner shall have the opportunity to
negotiate a revised payment or other revised terms of the loan and may accept
the assistance of a representative of a private nonprofit organization, a
representative of a city, town, county or state government or a representative
of a federal agency to assist the owner in meeting with and negotiating a
resolution with the lender. The trustee shall assist in providing information,
including lender contact information, and shall cooperate with any meetings and
negotiations that occur between the owner and lender.
F. During
the sixty-day postponement period, the owner shall make payments on the loan
that is in foreclosure in an amount that the owner and lender agree is just and
equitable. Failure to make the payment agreed to pursuant to this subsection
terminates the stay of foreclosure, and on notice from the lender of failure to
make a payment after the expiration of the sixty-day period, the trustee may
reschedule the trustee's sale. If the owner continues to make a
timely monthly payment in the amount agreed to pursuant to this subsection, a
trustee's sale may not be held any earlier than one year after the date of the
originally scheduled trustee sale. On completion of the one‑year period,
and unless the lender has revised the terms of the loan and directed the
trustee to cancel the sale, the trustee's sale may proceed as otherwise
provided by law. END_STATUTE
Sec. 2. Delayed repeal
Section 33‑810.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, as amended
by this act, is repealed from and after June 30, 2012.
Sec. 3. Severability
If a provision of this act or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions
or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are
severable.
Sec. 4. Legislative intent
The legislature declares that a serious public emergency exists
with respect to real estate foreclosures in this state due to widespread and
fundamentally unsound lending practices for mortgage loans, second mortgages
and home equity loans. These lending practices have skewed the real estate and
mortgage market in this state, have caused distress to consumers, neighborhoods
and communities and have adversely affected the economic health of this state.
The legislature declares that it is in the interests of this state that during
this time of serious economic strain, homeowners should be permitted an
opportunity to work with their lenders to reconfigure their obligations in a
manner that preserves neighborhoods and protects both consumers and lenders.
