The Delaware Mediation Program Steering Committee announced an administrative directive establishing the Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program. This program allows homeowners to participate in a court mediation process with their lenders to find an agreeable alternative to foreclosure action.
The state reconizes that many families did everything the right way, but still felt the recessionary pinch. This program will help families stay in their homes and will help ebb the flowing tide of foreclosures and reduce the glut in the REO market.
The Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Mediation Program gives homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments an opportunity to meet with a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)-certified housing counselor and request mediation with their lenders under the guidance of Delaware Volunteer Legal Services.
Homeowners will work with a counselor and prepare a proposal under which they can reasonably sustain their monthly mortgage payments, including taxes, interest, insurance and other fees.
Delaware averages nearly 2,000 foreclosures a year. In 2008, the number rocketed to about 4,500 filings. This year, the pace continues to grow and filings in Delaware are projected to exceed 6,000. This mediation program will be the first comprehensive tool designed to keep families in their homes and thereby stabilize our state's economy.
As a REALTOR, I am pleased to hear of this new program. Perhaps with everyone's cooperation, we can stem the tide and reverse this epidemic. If more states are able to follow suit, then perhaps we can change the foreclosure picture on a national level. I guess that's why we are The First State!
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