Legal Counsel For Borrowers Facing Foreclosure

July 9th, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure

The Connecticut Fair Housing Center and the Connecticut Bar Association have decided to offer free legal counsel to borrowers facing foreclosure.

Ann Parent a senior staff attorney with the Connecticut Fair Housing Center opined that borrowers were required to educate themselves on the issue of foreclosure before the trouble sprouted. Borrowers were warned against being casual in obtaining legal documents. A forum was organized on foreclosure where the Mayor Richard Moccia announced to a crowd of 60 borrowers who had gathered there in the hope of glimpsing a silver lining in the dark clouds of their woes, that,”It could be beginning of a process …” Parrent insisted that any house owner lagging behind in mortgage payment schedule and facing foreclosure and disillusionment was to immediately contact a housing counselor and not mediate on their own. 60% of the borrowers were ignorant of the fact that hey could negotiate with the lender, when in trouble. They were also unaware that the process of foreclosure could be initiated within 60 to 90 days of a lapse in installment and another 0 to 150 days before a judgment is announced against the borrower. The law includes a new foreclosure mediation programme to be supervised by the Judicial Branch. Applications that are approved for the mediation programme can postpone the implementation of the foreclose proceedings by 60 to 85 days.

The listed counseling centres were HUD, NeighborWorks America, Consumer Credit Counseling Service, ACORN Housing and also the Urban League of Southern Connecticut.

State Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin supported reforms that were passed by the General Assembly and made into law by the signature of Governor Jodi Rell last spring. By it new mortgage lending alternatives were created and regulations were clamped down upon lenders and their agents. Pitkin commented, “I think Connecticut is now much better off.” Senator Bob Duff (Democrat), co-chairperson of the banking committee of the Legislature as well as John Ryan (Republican) also had taken initiatives in the passing of the bill. Panelist Julie Fagan lauded the efforts by saying that she thought the plans in Connecticut to be the most comprehensive.

According to data collecting firm RealtyTrac Stamford, Fairfield County has the maximum number of foreclosures (129) since the beginning of April. Next in line is Norwalk (123). In Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport and Darien there are 28, 15, 14and 12 foreclosures respectively.