Monday, June 04, 2007

Florida Non Profit Law Firm Swamped With Calls From Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

In Jacksonville, Florida, The Times-Union reports:
  • "Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, a nonprofit law firm, has been swamped with people seeking help to keep their homes. Since January, the firm has been able to open 26 new foreclosure cases but it has been forced to turn away 152 people because it lacks enough attorneys, [executive director Michael] Figgins said. He said that based on the firm's past success, he figures Jacksonville Area Legal Aid could have been successful in at least 90 percent of the cases that were turned away. Lenders often must make accommodations to homeowners, but the process is so complex that homeowners "run into a brick wall" if they don't have a lawyer representing them, said Lynn Drysdale, an attorney for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid."

For more, see Wait's longer for help with foreclosures (The city's new no-interest loan program won't be ready until fall).