| New measure to ease Florida’s foreclosure pressure |
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| Thursday, 31 December 2009 00:00 | |||
Floridians facing foreclosure may have some good news coming to them, as the Florida Supreme Court has issued an order, the objective of which is to reduce the state’s foreclosure overload. The order, written by Florida’s Chief Judge Peggy Quince, creates a statewide program that requires mediation on all troubled home loans prior to a foreclosure hearing being held. The order guarantees that homeowners will be able to meet with the holders of their mortgage to discuss whether a loan modification or short sale is an option instead of foreclosure. This should be good news to homeowners faced with the possibility of foreclosure and who, despite initiatives announced by the Obama administration, have been having significant problems with lenders to modify their loans, so that payments will be easier to meet.Cindy Garfield, of Tamarac, says the news is an answer to her prayers, as she has been trying waiting for almost three months for her bank to respond to her request to modify her $2,210 monthly mortgage payment. “With this new order, I should be able to meet with the bank’s officers soon, and hopefully get something positive done,” Garfield says. The new order passes some of the cost for mediation to the lender, who will now be responsible for paying a maximum mediation fee of $750 per case. This fee will assist in paying the mediator and cover administrative costs. Over recent months, judges in South Florida have been complaining of a massive backlog in foreclosure cases. The aim of the Supreme Court order, particularly the mediation requirement, is that it will ease the pressure on the state (and local) judicial system. A Broward court clerk said that the pressure affiliated to foreclosure cases was “maddening” adding that, “I think the new ruling will bring order to the foreclosure process, save some people from foreclosures, and remove a whole lot of stress for a whole lot of people.” The main components of the Florida Supreme Court order are as follows: Every residential homesteaded property foreclosure will be referred to mediation, unless the lender and borrower agree otherwise. There are also waivers in the event a homeowner cannot be located or refuses mediation. The homeowner must be referred to foreclosure counseling prior to mediation. The mediation must take place no earlier than 60 days and no later than 120 days after a foreclosure suit is filed. The mediation must be provided by a nonprofit organization with mediators specially trained and court certified in mortgage foreclosure matters. According to RealtyTrac and the Mortgage Bankers Association 13 percent of Florida home loans were in foreclosure through September, six percent of home loans were at least 90 days delinquent in September, and in November, 53,000 foreclosures were filed on Florida homes.
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