One of the best things state leaders can do to help keep our state's economic house in order is to to help homeowners keep their own houses and protect those trying to buy a house. Happily, a bill passed by the North Carolina legislature will do just that.

The North Carolina General Assembly is quiet once more as legislators have returned home following the busy 2010 short session. While the session saw the passage of some very important bills, one of the most important is Senate Bill 1015. This new law is particularly critical in addressing abusive real estate practices that have increased dramatically with home foreclosures and a worsening housing market.

The legislation, known as the "Homeowner and Homebuyer Protection Act," helps guard homeowners and buyers from abusive practices in transactions like "foreclosure rescue" agreements, "lease option" contracts, and "contract for deed" agreements.

In 2009, there were more than 63,000 foreclosure filings in North Carolina. Data from 2010 indicates that there will be more than 70,000 this year. This has led to an increase in scam artists who approach homeowners at risk of foreclosure with the promise (almost always false) that they will help them to keep the home.

In reality, these foreclosure rescue scams are designed to rob homeowners of any equity remaining in the home and transfer ownership of the home to the scam artist. For the unfortunate victim, this often results in homelessness.

Fortunately, North Carolina is now among a group of at least 22 states that have adopted legislation that prohibits or effectively regulates these abusive practices. As a result, law enforcement officials will now have stronger tools to crack down on these vultures.

Another similarly abusive practice involves targeting would-be home buyers with "lease option" contracts and "contract for deed" purchase agreements. In a lease option agreement, homeowners rent the property and pay extra for the option to buy the property at a later date. While these transactions can sometimes be legitimate, too often the "seller" knows the buyer will never qualify to buy the home and the seller is just milking the buyer for the payment of the option.

The "contract for deed" transactions can also be very abusive, with home buyers being told to pay a down payment and then monthly payments for 30 years — at which time they will be given the deed to the property. Too often the deed is never delivered after the buyer has paid thousands of dollars.

While threatening the economic well-being of our state, these unfair and unscrupulous uses of real estate transactions exploit and manipulate families struggling to pay a home loan and those who are having trouble obtaining a loan to purchase a home.

Fortunately, North Carolina lawmakers have acted by passing Senate Bill 1015, and the Governor has signed the bill. The bill creates valuable safeguards to homeowners and homebuyers.

It creates reasonable standards and protections for "lease option" agreements and "contracts for deed." It also prohibits the most abusive aspects of foreclosure rescue scams that gouge struggling families.

Most importantly, it will help protect the people of North Carolina who are investing in our common future by trying to secure the American Dream of homeownership.

This common-sense law builds a strong foundation for North Carolina's economic house and represents precisely the kind of law that we should expect from our elected officials. All of our state's families and communities will benefit.

Alfred Ripley is an attorney specializing in consumer protection at the North Carolina Justice Center