After seeing his Stone Mountain district ravaged by foreclosures, state Rep. Billy Mitchell says he will seek changes to the state’s foreclosure law to help level the playing field a bit for beleaguered home­owners.

Georgia is one of few states where a mortgage holder can start foreclosure preceedings within 30 days of a missed payment.

“Once it starts, you are at the mercy of your bank,” Mitchell said.

Mitchell, who represents House District 88 that also includes a portion of Gwinnett County, has pre-filed a bill to amend the law to give homeowners a 90-day grace period to catch up on all their payments before lenders can start foreclosure procedures.

Once the homeowner is current, Mitchell’s amendment calls for the debtor to be allowed to resume making payments under the original terms of their mortgage.

“If the bill passes, it give the opportunity for those who fall behind to catch up,” Mitchell said.

This is not the first time that Mitchell has introduced the amendment.

Last year, he received little support for it, but given the foreclosure crisis that has hit DeKalb County and the state, he is finding colleagues on both sides of the aisle more receptive.

Mitchell said the Georgia Black Caucus is backing the amendment and the Georgia Mortgage Bankers Association has shown interest.

“We’ve even had some favorable conversations with the more conservative members of the legislature,” Mitchell said. “They know this is not just a black problem. Foreclosure negatively impacts the entire community.”

Mitchell says foreclosures affect everyone.

“When your neighbor is foreclosed on it hurts your property values,” he said.