For 5 years, Nevada has lead the nation in foreclosures. To help homeowners stay in their homes, Nevada forces all mortgage lenders to offer participation in the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program. It is a session where homeowners can meet with authorized representatives from the bank that owns their mortgage, and if the homeowner has completed the program requirements the bank must offer some proposal for the owner to retain their home, or to short sell it without debt.
To qualify for the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program, you have to be behind on your mortgage payments and have received a “Notice of Default and Election to Sell” from your bank. Usually it is posted on your door with blue tape. With the Notice of Default there will be an application packet to the Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program. The program costs $200 and that must be paid with the application within 30 days of your notice of default. As of late 2011, it takes 4 to 6 months from application until the session. We can help you complete that packet.
The mediation will usually be in the office of a lawyer or realtor who is the appointed mediator. The bank is supposed to provide a copy of your title, all of the assignments between the different banks who have held it, a recent appraisal on your home and a proposal to resolve your mortgage. You will have to provide the mediator and the bank your last few years’ tax returns, recent bank statements, pay stubs or proof of income and a monthly household budget. We will have to propose a reasonable solution to your past due mortgage.
The mediator cannot force the bank to do anything, but can find bad faith on the bank’s part and prevent foreclosure if the bank does not come prepared with the right documents or a bank representative who can immediately authorize a loan modification.
Possible resolutions include:
- Reducing your mortgage payments
- Reduction of interest rate
- Changing from a variable “ARM” rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage
- Putting your past due mortgage payments back into the principal amount or ‘re-capitalizing’ your loan
- Re-amortizing your loan over a longer period, sometimes up to 40 years
- Approving a federal “HAMP” modification program which lowers your payment to 31% of your income
- Approval of a short sale with deficiency forgiveness and a period in which they will not foreclose on you
- Approval of a deed in lieu of foreclosure, which is a surrender of the property directly to the bank without deficiency
- Offering a period of payments to catch up on missed payments
- Setting up a balloon payment at the end of your mortgage for your missed payments
We have represented our clients in Nevada Foreclosure Mediations and reduced their principal, lowered their payments, fixed their interest rate, and more. To talk with Attorney Ryan Alexander for a free consultation about your Nevada Foreclosure Mediation, call The Firm at 222-3476.
