In the summer of 2013, RSI received a grant from the Illinois Attorney General to incubate foreclosure mediation programs throughout the state of Illinois. Through the grant, RSI is directly responsible for helping to develop and staff programs in Lake, Kane and Winnebago counties. We have also been tasked with training foreclosure mediators and developing a cloud-based online case management, monitoring and evaluation system for all foreclosure mediation incubation programs throughout Illinois. RSI and our program partners have been busy expanding the reach of foreclosure mediation and we would like to share some exciting progress with you. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘foreclosure’
Illinois Foreclosure Mediation Updates
Just Court ADR, March 19th, 2014Notable Updates from the World of Foreclosure Mediation
Just Court ADR, August 15th, 2013There have been some interesting new developments in the arena of foreclosure mediation recently. These developments and rule changes signal that jurisdictions continue to recognize the important role that mediation can play in the housing crisis recovery and that programs are being refined to ensure greater efficacy and efficiency.
First, in the Chicago area, the Chancery Court of Cook County has amended its rules that affect mortgage foreclosure mediation. Effective August 1, 2013, these new procedures are designed to streamline the foreclosure mediation process and make it more effective. For example, parties are now required to exchange and review all documents prior to referral to mediation. Homeowners must submit financial documents and the lender must review them in a timely manner in order for the process to move forward. The goal is that when mediation occurs, both parties have the information they need to make decisions and work toward an outcome. (more…)
Thinking about Mediation’s Role in Mortgage Modification Success Rates
Just Court ADR, August 6th, 2013On July 24th a report was released by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) that gave an update on the success rates of homeowners participating in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). HAMP is a federal government program designed to help homeowners impacted by financial hardship by modifying their monthly mortgage payment. For homeowners who are eligible, the modification permanently changes the original terms of the mortgage. The report shows that of 1.2 million homeowners who received a HAMP permanent modification since the beginning of the HAMP program, 26% had redefaulted. Moreover, the more time that had passed since a homeowner had received a HAMP permanent modification, the more likely they were to have redefaulted, with the oldest HAMP modifications from 2009 at a 46% redefault rate. (more…)
Oregon Senate Passes Bill to Expand Foreclosure Dispute Resolution
Jennifer Shack, April 24th, 2013Last 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. (more…)
