By Kimberly Miller
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Florida’s Supreme Court sought a foreclosure lifeline in forcing banks and borrowers to mediation. It was hoped a judicial referee could help unclog court dockets and free struggling borrowers.

But in documents obtained by The Palm Beach Post and described in a recent court order, mediators complain lenders and their attorneys are stifling the system by pressuring negotiations to end in a stalemate.

In some cases, mediators report that deals were struck for trial payment plans or to seek a loan modification, but that banks or their attorneys asked for the meeting to be recorded as an impasse.

The motive for a deadlock, homeowner advocates say, is money. Declaring a different outcome stalls the process and could mean a return to mediation if an agreement falls through. At the same time, several of the state’s large foreclosure law firms also run title companies, which can pick up business when a home is repossessed.

An estimated 350,615 foreclosures clog Florida courts. Many experts argue it is not until those cases clear that Florida’s economy and real estate market will rebound. The mediation program, which is only for homesteaded properties, was designed to reduce judicial workload and give borrowers a chance to save their homes.

Check out the rest here…

~

4closureFraud.org