For those who always claim the states do best, here a prime example of a "feel good" consumer program with no teeth.
Many programs are deliberately designed to fail in order to protect the banks!!!!!
This was a typical "going through the motions" program that is a complete waste of time, much like the federal HAMP program has been far less effective than needed due to the "voluntary/discretionary nature" of a lender's response:
Posted on Mon, Dec. 19, 2011
Florida’s foreclosure mediation program ends
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com
Florida’s mandatory foreclosure mediation program has been terminated, according to a letter signed Monday by Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Canady.The program, established in 2009, required lenders to participate in a mediation process with struggling borrowers prior to repossessing a home. In October, a task force of judges recommended that the program be ended, due to its low success rate.
Earlier this year, a report showed that only 4 percent of cases eligible for mediation ended in a settlement.In many cases, borrowers were not contacted. When they were, the success rate for mediation settlements rose to 27 percent. Settlements can include a loan modification, short sale or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.Cases currently in line for mediation will continue, but no new cases will be referred to a mediation under the state’s mandatory program.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/19/v-print/2553745/floridas-foreclosure-mediation.html#storylink=cpy
QuoteIn Palm Beach County, which began its program in July 2010, a mere 1.6 percent of the 4,632 cases sent to mediation resulted in a written agreement.......
Foreclosure attorney Tom Ice of Royal Palm Beach said the program failed not because of a moribund economy but because of the way it was designed.
Ideally, a mortgage modification would bring borrower and lender together for a face-to-face discussion, he said. But that rarely happened. Instead, Ice said, loan servicers - companies that collect payments on behalf of lenders - tried to fit borrowers into criteria he considered too limited.
"It wasn't real mediation," Ice said. "It was a loan-mod opportunity which was often lost because of paperwork problems. You could never get the actual owner of the note at the table. At best, you could get the servicer on the phone."
Because the state program brought relief to so few homeowners, Ice isn't sorry to see it go.
"I don't think it ever served the homeowners well," he said. "I don't think it served anybody well."
With courts throughout the state facing a backlog of foreclosure cases, the Florida Supreme Court in 2009 ordered the mediation program.
Foreclosures continue to pile up in Florida. Lenders filed default proceedings on nearly 25,000 homes last month, the second-highest total in the nation, according to research firm RealtyTrac.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/foreclosures/admitting-failure-florida-supreme-court-ends-foreclosure-mediation-2041550.html