Posts (RSS)Florida Courts Carry Out Government Foreclosures Program
Because legislators in Florida have not passed significant laws to help facilitate the implementation of the Obama administration’s government foreclosures program, judges in several circuit courts in the state have taken the initiative to decongest the courts of foreclosure cases and at the same time help distressed homeowners.
Burton Conner, circuit judge of Treasure Coast, said that he is frustrated that nothing significant is being done to facilitate the federal government foreclosures program to cut down the number of foreclosure cases clogging the courts. Instead, he said, what was done was the reduction of court staff members and cutbacks on court budgets.
To help reduce foreclosure cases, Judge Conner has started requiring mortgage lenders and borrowers to meet and work out affordable payment schemes before lenders make their foreclosure filings. Conner said the effort has led to the settlement of many foreclosure cases and in effect, led to the implementation of the goals of the federal government foreclosures program.
Even with the top ranking of Florida in nationwide charts of foreclosure rates and foreclosure filings month after month and quarter after quarter, state legislators have not crafted a significant legislation that could have helped carry out the federal government foreclosures program.
In May this year, the total number of foreclosure filings across Florida is still more than 50 percent of foreclosure filings in May last year. Eleven percent of all mortgage loans in the state are in foreclosure, based on data from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
But the state legislature whose spring session ended last month approved only two bills related to foreclosure. Of the 15 bills introduced to help carry out the federal government foreclosures program, ten bills never reached the state of discussion, including several bills that proposed mandatory mediation between borrowers and lenders.
The Center for Responsible Lending said that one out of three distressed borrowers can save their homes from foreclosure if they are able to participate in mandatory mediation processes.
Instead, state legislators approved only the bill that would increase court filing fees and the bill aimed at complying with a federal regulation.
In Treasure Coast, where mediation was ordered by Judge Conner, 22 of the foreclosure cases initially processed through mediation were successfully renegotiated.
In Palm Beach, Circuit Court Judge Kathleen Kroll required lenders to revise homeowners’ loans. Amy Borman, court general counsel of Palm Beach County, said that the courts want to help homeowners through mediation and other options under the government foreclosures program.