In nearly 70% of the cases, the homeowner and lender are able to reach agreement.
Mediators are being called upon to ensure that lenders are making a “good faith” effort to re-negotiate loan terms, the Baltimore Sun recently reported in an article in the Florida Trend.
Like Nevada’s, Florida’s mediation program is beginning to mature. The kinks are getting worked out, and the players more in sync. Las Vegas Homeowners have completed enough mediation sessions to support a conclusion that foreclosure mediation pays. Other states are similarly showing signs that lenders and homeowners can actually work together to reach an amicable resolution.
In Florida, about a third of the time, the mediation reaches an impasse, and the foreclosure proceeds. In nearly 70% of the cases, however, the homeowner and lender are able to reach agreement on a modification of the loan that fits the homeowners’ financial circumstances. The lender, of course, avoids having to take back the house and ends up with a performing loan.
In the meantime, the center’s program isn’t costing taxpayers a dime. And by the time this appears in print, more than 1,000 Floridians will still be in their homes — and paying their mortgages — thanks to the program. Given the grim nature of the foreclosure statistics, any effort that’s successful at making the best of a bad situation is well worth noting.
