Mandatory Foreclosure Settlement Conferences
After the bank files a Summons and Complaint, the Summons and Complaint is served on the homeowner and the Affidavit of Service is filed with the County Clerk’s office in the County in which the property is located. The court must hold a mandatory foreclosure settlement conference within sixty days. The purpose of this conference is to determine whether the lender and homeowner can resolve the foreclosure lawsuit without it going forward. The real purpose of this conference is to see if the homeowner wishes to apply for a mortgage modification and if the homeowner will obtain a temporary mortgage modification.
Mortgage Modifications
My office represents hundreds of homeowners at foreclosure settlement conferences. Homeowners often have an unrealistic expectation of obtaining a mortgage modification. The large majority of homeowners will never obtain a mortgage modification for numerous reasons. Even those homeowners who obtain temporary mortgage modifications don’t always receive permanent mortgage modifications.
Banks Want To Make A Profit
Banks are financial institutions. They are interested in making money. They are not social service agencies. The fact that a homeowner has children, a sick mother, lost their job, broke their leg, was in a car accident, and numerous other reasons does not make it a financially beneficial transaction for the bank to give them a mortgage modification. Banks want to make money! If they don’t think they are going to make money, because the homeowner is going to have an inability to pay the mortgage or for another reason the bank can deny the mortgage modification request.
Scheduling the Mandatory Foreclosure Settlement Conference
The court sends notices to the bank and to the homeowner of the scheduled day and time of the mortgage modification conference. Sometimes numerous conferences take place. Our office has been involved in cases where well over a dozen conferences have been involved. In the end, either the homeowner gets a mortgage modification or the case gets sent out to a part (courtroom) for the purposes of litigating the issues involved in the foreclosure case. As indicated earlier, these issues only get litigated if the homeowner filed an Answer.
