By Elliot Njus | oregonlive.com
“An expanded state foreclosure mediation program is showing far more promise for homeowners than its 2012 launch, a virtual nonstarter.
In the first six weeks since the expansion took effect in August, the program has received 456 requests for face-to-face meetings between mortgage borrowers and lenders, the Department of Justice reported on Wednesday. Many of the requests came from banks as part of the foreclosure process.
The Department of Justice and Oregon Housing and Community Services are also reporting on the state’s foreclosure response to legislative committees this week.
In the six weeks after the program mediation program initially launched in July 2012, it received only one mediation case referred by a private lender, and only 286 in the entire 13 months it was in effect.
Banks were already nervous wary about participating in the mediation program when a state appellate court decisions blocked their preferred out-of-court method of foreclosing. In response, most banks routed their foreclosures through the court system, where the mediation law didn’t apply.
Most banks also ignored requests from homeowners to meet, despite the fact that the law required a response.
The Legislature voted in May to tweak the program, addressing many of the concerns raised by lenders, and expand it to include in-court foreclosures.
Homeowners in foreclosure eligible for a resolution conference receive a notification with instructions from the Oregon Foreclosure Avoidance Program. They have 25 days to respond and must pay a fee to participate.”