State Spotlight: The Sun Sets on Nevada’s Foreclosure Mediation Program
Legislation Update
November 9, 2016
The Foreclosure Mediation Program for Nevada is almost at an end, and with its close comes another sign of recovery for states hit hardest during the housing crisis.
In 2009, RealtyTrac reported Nevada as the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for the third consecutive year, having more than 10 percent of housing units receiving at least one foreclosure filing.
In response to this epidemic, the State of Nevada Foreclosure Mediation Program (FMP) was created to allow at-risk homeowners the ability to meet with a lender before a foreclosure action to discuss alternatives measures.
“In the last seven years, the FMP has helped thousands of homeowners during the foreclosure crisis,” said Robin Sweet, State Court Administrator.
From its implementation to the last reported statistics in 2014, the program has completed 19,684 mediations.
Only four years after its start in 2015, the Nevada Legislature repealed the FMP placing an end date to the program on June 30, 2017. At that time, even though Nevada was still cited as one of the top states with the foreclosure rates, it still was only sitting at 1.4 percent (only roughly 4 basis points from the national pre-crisis foreclosure rate).
Now as the program reaches the end of the road, only one in every 897 housing units is associated with a foreclosure filing. The state’s decision to eliminate foreclosure programs put in place to alleviate the crisis highlights the housing recovery that has been felt across the nation.
As the end date for FMP draws near, the program will no longer accept recorded Notices of Default after November 30th and likewise will not accept any mediation enrollments after December 31st.
Source: DS News
