Nevada recently passed a bill that requires all lenders to appear for mediation prior to foreclosing on a property. The bill has now been utilized to force lenders to the mediation table before they foreclose.
The Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program has received its first three requests for mediation as the homeowners work to save their houses.
Two requests came from Clark County residents and the third came from a Carson City homeowner. Mediations have not yet been scheduled, but will be within 80 days of the filing of the foreclosure notice under Nevada law and Supreme Court rules. The first mediations are expected to occur in August.
In the first three weeks of the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program, which began on July 1 under Assembly Bill 149, more than 2,400 foreclosure notices have been filed in Nevada. More than 2,000 of those originated in Clark County. Those default notices include commercial and non-owner-occupied properties as well as the owner-occupied homes eligible for the mediation program.
The initial mediations will be conducted by Senior District Judges or Supreme Court Settlement Judges in addition to experienced mediators and some attorneys. These will participate in the program’s initial training sessions on Aug. 5 in Reno and Aug. 6-7 in Las Vegas. The media is invited to attend the training.
More than 400 attorneys have offered to become mediators, but are not yet trained. Under AB-149, the Nevada Supreme Court was responsible for adopting the rules for the program, which is being operated by the Administrative Office of the Courts. The rules require that the parties to mediate in “good faith.”
While the program will offer homeowners the opportunity to sit down with their lenders, mediation will not be the solution for everyone and some homes inevitably will be lost to foreclosure. AB-149 only affects single-family, owner-occupied housing in Nevada and currently applies only to foreclosure notices (formally known as Notice of Default and Election to Sell) filed on or after July 1, 2009.
A request form and easy to understand instructions will accompany the foreclosure notices when they are served. That form, along with other forms and information, is available on the Supreme Court website.
The Administrative Office of the Courts has established hotline phone number for questions about the program. The number in Carson City is 775-687-9816. The number in Las Vegas is 702-486-9380. Questions may also be directed over the Internet to foreclose@nvcourts.nv.gov. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The foreclosure mediation program is self funded through fees and will not require the expenditure of any taxpayer dollars. Lenders pay an increased fee for filing a foreclosure notice, which is used to fund administrative costs of the program. Homeowners and lenders will share the $400 costs for the mediators, with each party paying $200 prior to the mediation.
Forcing the lender to the mediation table is a great step in the right direction to help homeowners protect their homes from unethical and wrongful foreclosures.
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Source: National Loan Auditors, Inc.
http://www.NLAudit.com