Just as it has for the past 13 quarters, Nevada continues to lead the nation in foreclosures during the first quarter of 2010. One in every 33 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing which is more than four times the national average and an increase of nearly 15 percent from the previous quarter.
However, the number of Nevada houses to receive a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2010 was down 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009. This decrease may be related to the success of the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program (NFMP) and the Making Home Affordable Program (HAMP).
The NFMP program is designed to help borrowers and lenders mediate a resolution dealing with distressed properties. Homeowners must submit their Election of Mediation form along with a $200 fee within 30 days of receiving the Notice of Default. Within 10 days after submission, the case is assigned to a mediator and mediations are scheduled within 80 days of the date the foreclosure notice was recorded.
The HAMP program is designed to help as many as 3 to 4 million financially struggling homeowners nationwide avoid foreclosure by modifying loans to a level that is affordable and sustainable for borrowers. A borrower can check to see if their loan servicer is participating in HAMP by going to the Making Home Affordable website. Borrowers are eligible for the program if they meet the following criteria:
- The borrower is delinquent on mortgage payments or faces imminent risk of default;
- The property is the borrower’s primary residence;
- The mortgage originated on or before January 1, 2009; and
- Unpaid principal balances must be no greater than $729,750 for one-unit properties.
Through March 2010, roughly 210,000 people nationwide and over 6,400 Nevadans have received permanent modifications under HAMP.
Randy M. Creighton, Esq.
