A lot of the trouble homeowners fail to avoid foreclosure because they did not take the most important step in saving their home— talking to their lender. They say that they do not trust their lenders that much.
What they do not know is that what their lenders present (short sale, loan modifications, etc.) are their options on how to keep their homes.
So, the Florida Supreme Court thought of a creating a task force that will gather information from trouble homeowners, lenders, lawyers and judges and come out with a solution on how to help more people avoid foreclosure and slow down the pile of foreclosure cases flooding the courts.
With the 28,000 pending foreclosure cases in Miami-Dade alone, how can the courts handle all the foreclosure cases?
One suggestion that they are considering is to require homeowners who are in the early process of repossession to have foreclosure counseling so that they will know what they can do to avoid foreclosure. If the counseling is successful in helping the homeowners deal with their lenders on finding a way to avoid foreclosure, the problem will not have to end up in a court case.
It has been found out that the lack of communication between the lender and the homeowner is common, although both sides want to avoid foreclosure.
Homeowners think that it is such a hassle to call their lender. And when lenders call them to present their situation, the only thing that the homeowner understands, and dislikes, is the need to settle their debt. And nobody would want to hear that.
Homeowners also complain that lenders usually explain in a language they do not understand.
But with the help of a foreclosure counselor, the homeowner will hopefully listen to someone who appears trustworthy. The foreclosure counselor would also want to mediate the gap between the lender and the homeowner.
Foreclosure counseling may be worth $30- $125.
The task force would want this to be mandatory, but banks would only agree if they do not have to shoulder the whole burden of the counseling fee.
The survey that will hopefully find a way to avoid more foreclosure is expected to be completed mid-July.