County Court Addresses Foreclosures with Mediation Program
County Court Addresses Foreclosures with Mediation Program
In the past year, the number of foreclosure filings in Ohio has reached a record 83,000. For this reason, the Stark County Common Pleas Court has initiated the launching of a mediation program that will bring together mortgage lenders and distressed borrowers so that both parties can avoid a foreclosure.
The so-called mediation program has actually started last April. Out of the 84 foreclosure filings for the first three months, over 50 percent of the homeowners were able to stay in their homes. It is funded by the filing fees gathered from the foreclosure cases and has roughly cost the court about $50,000 to date.
Troubled borrowers have various reasons for getting themselves in this unfortunate situation. Some of them were just irresponsible when it comes to paying their mortgage dues while others have fallen on hard times due to an illness or unemployment. In any case, the Common Please Court encourages these distressed homeowners to avail of the program in order to avoid foreclosure.
Basically, the mediation program requires the troubled borrower to fill out a particular form that will allow bank officials and lawyers to assess their financial situation and determine if they are qualified to negotiate the terms of their existing mortgage.
These mediation notice forms are sent by the court to foreclosure defendants together with the other documents. If interested, the distressed homeowner simply sends the completed form back. All paperwork, statistics and scheduling of mediations are attended to by the staff at the Community Mediation Center.
For the County Pleas Court, foreclosures can be avoided if the homeowners are aware of their rights and have been given sufficient information and facts about the foreclosure process to make informed decisions.
Although many mortgage lenders were initially wary of these mediations because of the cost and delay, most have agreed to sit down with the borrowers and negotiate. With the large inventory of bank foreclosures for sale in the market, this is probably the best option that they have to recover losses.