LAS VEGAS -- Not long after the foreclosure crisis hit Nevada, lawmakers created a special mediation court to help people stay in their homes. Now that process is changing in hopes of making sure more people take advantage of it and to help those already going through it.
The Nevada Supreme Court heard from a packed courtroom at the Regional Justice Center. The decisions they make will affect the future foreclosure remediations of thousands of Nevadans. But first, attorneys argued over whether some lawyers acting as mediators are biased.
"It's not a potential, we're talking about actual conflicts where they're acting as mediator on a case involving a lender and they're an adverse party to the lender in a subsequent case," said attorney Michael Brooks.
The Nevada Supreme Court is now considering changing some rules when it comes to the Foreclosure Remediation Program. They plan on tightening up the enforcement of the 30 day period homeowners have to respond to a notice of default. That means if you don't file for a remediation immediately, there are far fewer legal options available.
But the court is considering giving homeowners more time to appeal mediation decisions, giving the banks a strict new deadline.
"Prior to the changes, you only had 15 days until the mediation was finalized for you to sign for judicial review. The problem with that is in 15 days, you didn't hear from the bank anyway. They've extended it to 30 days," said attorney Dirk Ravenholt.
There is also a new push to make certain banks present the certified title documents during foreclosure. Homeowners are discovering nationwide many banks lost those documents during the building boom.
The new agreements between banks and homeowners are changing names from mediation agreements to temporary agreements, a reminder that once five years passes, those low re-negotiated interest rates do go up.
The court heard from attorneys, but not too many homeowners in the public meeting. They are expected to make their decision on nearly a dozen proposed changes within days.
