Florida Foreclosure

[kmattin]

What are the chances that a mortgage servicer, once the foreclosure process has been going on, will be open to mediation and work with the homeowner to stay in the home?

[AngelinaCat]

Who is the mortgage servicer? If it is Springleaf Financial (aka American General Finance), I'd say the chances are between slim and none.

[Lilyat108x]

I believe there are some counties in Florida that still have a mediation program that will bring the borrower and lender together to determine if foreclosure can be prevented by a workout option or modification. I was contacted by someone last year to see if I wanted to pursue mediation.

[justbroke]

Mediation is no longer "required" in Florida. There are some courts in Florida which still require mediation, but that does not mean that you will get anywhere. I have read that the old program was unsuccessful because the banks didn't want to, yes, negotiate anything!

Mediation can only work if both parties are willing and capable of keeping up their end of the bargain. For example, if the homeowner can't afford the home even under HAMP standards, mediation is not going to solve anything. Likewise, if the bank has a Fannie, Freddie, FHA or other GSE-backed loan, they aren't going to lose any money by foreclosing, so they have absolutely no incentive to do a modification. These banks should be doing HAMP modifications but they seem to find excuses why the homeowner does not qualify; this could be true. (Especially since many modifications fail within a year.)

So, both parties must be willing and able.