Last year, Oregon created a dispute resolution program for non-judicial foreclosure cases. The program didn’t work as well as hoped. The program’s start coincided with an appeals court decision that pushed foreclosures into the judicial system. That, along with some issues with the legislation enacting the foreclosure dispute resolution program and lender reluctance to participate, led to very few cases being mediated. A lot of work has been done since then to find ways to encourage use of dispute resolution. The effort that appears to have gained the most traction is to expand the foreclosure dispute resolution program to include cases going through the judicial process.
The state senate has recently passed a bill that would do just that. The bill requires lenders to request a “resolution conference” prior to filing a notice of default, with an exemption for lenders who filed fewer than 175 foreclosures in the state during the prior year. This requirement holds whether the foreclosure is filed judicially or non-judicially. Homeowners can also request a resolution conference, but only after meeting with a housing counselor.
Read more about the backstory of the bill at House Keeping Report.
Tags: foreclosure, foreclosure mediation, Oregon
