State Legislature Considers Extending Foreclosure Mediation Program

Hartford Courant
March 11, 2010
Gosselin, Kenneth R.

With 9,600 borrowers in the pipeline for its foreclosure mediation program, the state of Connecticut must decide whether to extend the initiative past its June 30 end date. The effort already has helped nearly 3,400 borrowers hold on to their homes since 2008; and state officials had hoped that the foreclosure crisis would have passed by now. Foreclosure rates are not expected to slow, however, and a bill to extend the program for another year will be discussed in a public hearing on March 11. The proposal has found support in the Legislature and from the governor's office; but the state must still find $5 million to fund the program's 24 mediators, an especially difficult task in light of Connecticut's half-billion dollar deficit. Housing advocates are pushing to make the program -- a model for other states -- a permanent fixture, saying it is essential for keeping neighborhoods stable and easing the number of empty homes and depreciation that plague homes surrounding foreclosed properties.
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