Statewide Mediation Program In Foreclosure Actions Gets Off The Ground In Connecticut

The Connecticut Post reports:

• Connecticut is leading the nation in an effort to keep struggling homeowners in their homes. As a result of the growing financial crisis, the General Assembly has launched a special foreclosure mediation program through the state Judicial Branch, [...], to help homeowners who have not been able to make their monthly mortgage payments.

***

• The Legislature began the program with $2.5 million appropriated to the Labor Department from the state Banking Fund. The program is free to homeowners. [...] The program allows homeowners under foreclosure action to request mediation, a process that can lead to other options such as refinancing and restructuring of the debt, she said.

• Under the program, 12 mediators have been appointed to the state's 14 judicial districts. In addition to the mediators, who earn between $60,000 and $85,000 a year, there are seven case flow coordinators who schedule cases and ensure they are kept on track. [...] Under the law, when a lender's lawyers serve a court summons to a homeowner for a foreclosure lawsuit, the lender must attach an application for the mediation program. Once an application is filed, the program has 10 days to schedule the first mediation hearing.

For more, see Fledgling program helps combat foreclosures.