In Nevada and elsewhere, interest only mortgages and less-than-honest foreclosure purchasing schemes have homeowners in the sub-prime market running scared.

Yesterday in Carson City the Nevada Assembly Commerce and Labor Committee lawmakers heard first-person accounts of wronged homeowners.

Several bills are being considered to counter fraudulent real estate deals.

AB440 establishes mortgage lending as a fraud crime. It applies rules to lenders who must follow standard loan procedures and sets guidelines for those who buy foreclosed properties.

AB329 requires regulations for nontraditional mortgage loans, such as interest-only loans and adjustable rate loans.

AB332 requires an appraisal for real estate transactions that are secured by a lien on another property and gets rid of an option to waive an appraisal.

Scott Bice, commissioner of the Nevada Mortgage Lending Division, said he felt that criminal penalties should be imposed. "It's my belief that until some of the people that perpetrate these actually go to jail, it's not going to make a big impact on the industry," Bice said.

Read the Associated Press article published yesterday titled Civil rights groups urge 6-month halt to foreclosures in the Houston Chronicle.