The Miami Herald is reporting that many South Florida facing foreclosure are having to overcome yet another hurdle in the fight to save their homes, their lenders are not providing the necessary, required paperwork to begin the mediation process. When the Florida Supreme Court created the Residential Mandatory Foreclosure Mediation program in 2010, it set forth requirements that each side must complete before a mediation can take place. Lenders must provide four essential pieces of information to the mediation program manager before a mediation can take place: (1) documentary evidence the plaintiff is the owner and holder in due course of the note and mortgage sued upon, (2) a history showing the application of all payments nu the borrower during the life of the loan, (3) a statement on the plaintiff's position on the net present value of the mortgage loan, and (4) the most current appraisal of the property available to the plaintiff.
According to the Herald, many of the scheduled mediation sessions in Broward and Palm Beach counties are having to be cancelled because lenders can't provide even this most basic of paperwork. This is a troubling trend not only because it leaves struggling homeowners in limbo but also because when borrowers do not comply with foreclosure rules they are kicked out of the program but when lenders don't comply nothing is really done. An attorney who represents Florida "foreclosure mill" Shaprio and Fishman says that the failure to provide required paperwork is not purposefully done to delay mediation, it happens because lenders are overwhelmed and "paperwork is not easy to find and not always clean."
A December release from the Florida Supreme Court showed that only about 6 percent of cases referred to mediation are actually resulting in settlements between homeowners and their lenders. A Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer hopes that the Florida Supreme Court doing what other state supreme courts are doing, making the necessary changes to get mediation programs working as intended in order to help besieged homeowners. If you are facing a Florida Foreclosure Lawsuit, contact a Jacksonville Foreclosure Defense Lawyer today.
