To put a human dimension on the issue, Sen. Brickwood Galuteria asked Gilbreath, who represents the mortgage counseling organization Hawaiian Community Assets, about the counseling process: “Can you give a sense of what it’s like for the families, the diminished quality of life that happens when you might be losing your home?” asked Galuteria, D-Downtown-Waikiki.

AP-

Foreclosures in Hawaii have plummeted 53 percent since the Legislature passed sweeping mortgage legislation last year, officials said Thursday.

Hawaii had the nation’s 11th highest foreclosure rate in 2010, prompting lawmakers to establish a Mortgage Foreclosure Task Force to look into all aspects of judicial and nonjudicial foreclosures in the state.

The task force’s 2011 findings helped shape legislation that provides extensive protections to residents in danger of losing their homes due to unfair or deceptive practices.

[ABC]