Philly gets a stay on foreclosure

Philadelphia like the nation is suffering from the devastingeffect of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. This national crisis, which has left families and neighborhoods devastated, can partly be attributed to "subprime and predatory lending practices" in the banking and mortgage industry. A weak economy symptomic of high unemployment and rising interest rates fuels an already disparaging circumstance. However, Philadelphia unlike the nation has a unique advocacy pilot programin place to help distressed families. With foreclosures surpassing a record high forhomeowners across the nationPhiladelphia Housing Advocates pushed city council, the sheriff and the court to intervene on behalf of strapped residents who are teetering on the brink of losing their most precious asset.........their homes. In response, Common Pleas Court Judge Darnell Jones ordered a stop gap relief measure halting the sheriff sale of some Philadelphia homes and implemented the "Residential Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program" (RFDPP) effectively postponing mortgage sales from April 2008 through August 2008. This relief is exclusively for "Homeowner Occupied Residents" (HOR) facing mortgage foreclosure. (Homeowners who have subsequent foreclosures, but do not have sale dates yet, will also be able to participate in this pilot program). However, the program is due to end in December 2009. - more - The RFDPP progam gives HOR the opportunity to do new loan workouts with their mortgage companies or apply for other homeowner retention programs - sometimes in a last ditch effort to reinstate their mortgage. Armed with their proposed retention strategy each homeowner is required to attend a mandatory court hearing. At the hearing homeowners will meet with their lender's representative (more likely the mortgage company's attorney) and try to hammer out an agreement. HOW DO HOMEOWNERS KNOW IF THEY ARE CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVERSION PROGRAM? The court has massed mail HOR instructing them to call the "Save Your Home Philly Hotline" at 215-333-HOME. Most Hotline callers will be referred to a Housing Counseling Agency for assistance in working out home retention strategies to present at their hearing. "Pro Bono" (free) attorneys will be present at these hearings to help distressed homeowners navigate this daunting process. HOW BENEFICIAL WILL THIS PILOT FORECLOSURE DIVERSION PROGRAM BE TO DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS? Well the "judge" is still out on this ruling. This action honorable in its intent to give homeowners an opportunity to save their home, doesn't and can't address the root of this housing crisis. Furthermore, various home retention programs have strict criteria/guidelines that credit ridden and financially strapped homeowners will find hard to meet. Some homeowners, even with the help of the most seasoned Housing Counselors, who try to do loan revisions with their lenders will find that their mortgage company may not be compliant with the program or they may be resistant toaffordable reinstatement plans. Canthe courts force mortgage companies to be earnest in their negotiations? Are mortgage companies just "going through the motion" and do they just see this pilot program merely as an annoying delay in the inevitable. Time will tell. When the dust settles, hopefully at least some homeowners will be standing and still living in their homes.