A lot of the cases that go through RSI’s foreclosure mediation programs end with a temporary loan modification – a trial payment plan in which the homeowner pays a new mortgage amount for a few months. If the homeowner makes the payments on time and in full during the trial period, the homeowner and bank agree to make the modification permanent. This means that a temporary loan modification doesn’t necessarily mean that the homeowner has averted foreclosure. Because of this, I was interested to find out if homeowners in our programs were able to convert their temporary loan modification into a permanent one. Now that a significant number of temporary payment periods have come to an end, I have finally been able to delve into that question. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘court programs’
What Happens to Temporary Loan Modifications Reached in Foreclosure Mediation?
Jennifer Shack, January 26th, 2015Foreclosure Mediation Programs Helping to Retain More Homes
Jennifer Shack, October 24th, 2014I’ve just completed the quarterly statistical report for foreclosure mediation programs in Illinois in the 16th, 17th, 19th, 20th and 21st Judicial Circuits. If you’re a regular reader of the blog, you might remember that I wrote about the first statistical report back in August. The latest report, which covers all cases opened through September 30, shows that the programs in the 16th, 19th, and 21st circuits now have significantly higher home retention rates than at the end of June. (more…)
Settlement Smarts for Self-Represented Litigants
Susan M. Yates, August 12th, 2014Julie Macfarlane has written a useful guide for self-represented litigants participating in court-related settlement efforts, including settlement conferences with judges, mediations and direct negotiations with the other party’s lawyer. This could be a handy reference for court ADR programs to provide to parties.
The guide, “Settlement Smarts for Self-Represented Litigants: How to Use Settlement Processes Knowledgeably and Effectively,” is produced by the Canadian National Self-Represented Litigants Project. Thanks again to Richard Zorza’s great blog on access to justice issues for the heads up about this.
Grievance Procedures and Mediation Policy Goals
Jennifer Shack, August 6th, 2014Here’s something I wrote for RSI’s e-newsletter this month that I thought would interest our blog readers as well:
Parties to court mediation in Florida have the opportunity to submit their complaints regarding a mediator to a robust grievance process. The structure includes four stages: committee review to determine whether a complaint is facially sufficient; a preliminary review of rules that may have been violated and the mediator’s response to the complaint, which are used to determine probable cause; a meeting between mediator and complainant; and a formal hearing. In “Mediator Ethical Breaches: Implications for Public Policy” (Penn State Yearbook on Arbitration and Mediation, Vol. 6, p. 107 (2014)), Sharon Press examines this grievance process and finds that the burden of proof required at the formal hearing stage has the potential to undermine the policy goals of mediation programs. (more…)
