The York County Pilot Project Of The Foreclosure Diversion Program Will Hold Informational Session On September 23, 2009
September 21, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Chief Justice Leigh I. Saufley announced that on September 23, 2009 the York County Pilot Project of the Foreclosure Diversion Program will hold its first informational session for homeowners facing mortgage foreclosure. The York County Pilot Project and the Foreclosure Diversion Program are the result of the recently enacted P.L. 2009, ch. 402, An Act To Preserve Home Ownership and Stabilize the Economy by Preventing Unnecessary Foreclosures. In accordance with the new law, the Supreme Judicial Court will establish a statewide program to provide mediation services in certain residential foreclosure actions in Maine. Although the Act requires that the mediation program be available statewide in 2010, the Court launched the Pilot Project on August 3, 2009, in York County to gain a better understanding before the Diversion Program is offered throughout the State. This first informational session will be held at the District Court in Springvale.
“The informational session is a key and important component of the Foreclosure Diversion Program,” according to Judge Andre G. Janelle, the Judicial Director of the Pilot Project. Homeowners who have been served with mortgage foreclosure complaints and who are proceeding to mediation must attend an informational session where they will learn about the mediation program, the types of financial information they will need to gather, and what community resources are available to assist them. “By attending these sessions, homeowners will have a chance to learn about the information they will need in order to make the upcoming mediation session with their lenders as productive as (possible,” explained Judge Janelle.
After the informational session, the homeowners have twenty-one days to submit the necessary financial paperwork to their mortgage lenders for review and processing before both parties will be required to meet face to face with a Foreclosure Diversion Program Mediator. The Program’s purpose is to assist homeowners and lenders in achieving mutually agreeable resolutions to mortgage foreclosure actions through the diversion process.
“The Foreclosure Diversion Program is an exciting opportunity for the Judicial Branch to assist homeowners and lenders in reaching an early resolution to their lawsuits. The Supreme Judicial Court looks forward to receiving reports from the first informational sessions,” Chief Justice Saufley noted.
For more information about the Foreclosure Diversion Program, visit the FDP website at: www.courts.state.me.us/court_info/services/foreclosure/index.html
Contact:
Lauren Blake Weliver, Manager Foreclosure Diversion Program (207) 822-0706 FDMP (at) maine (dot) gov
