February 10, 2009
STATE BAR ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES NEW MORTGAGE
FORECLOSURE EDUCATION PROGRAM TO ASSIST HOMEOWNERS
The ‘People’s Law School’ Series
Addresses Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis, Provides Important Advice and
Tips to Help People Keep Their Homes
With the recent economic downturn and mortgage foreclosure crisis
resulting in the loss of more than 41,200 homes throughout the state
last year, the New York State Bar Association today announced a new
video specially designed to help homeowners retain their most important
investment – their homes. The free service is part of the
State Bar’s People’s Law School -- a series of online and
recorded programs covering today’s most important legal
topics.
The program, called “Saving Your Home from Foreclosure,”
is an easy-to-understand 25-minute presentation that explains the often
complex details of the mortgage foreclosure process. Available on
the Association’s Web site at http://www.nysba.org/thepeopleslawschool,
the video focuses specific attention on the provisions of New
York’s new Foreclosure Prevention and Responsible Lending Act of
2008 that entitles all state homeowners with subprime loans in
foreclosure to a mandatory court settlement conference. The
settlement conference is designed to provide a forum for the lender and
the borrower to meet together with a mediator with the ultimate goal of
achieving a workable resolution to avoid a loan foreclosure.
The video was recorded at the New York State Bar Center and features
Peter V. Coffey of the firm of Englert, Coffey, McHugh & Fantauzzi,
LLP in Schenectady, and Anne Reynolds Copps of the Law Office of Anne
Reynolds Copps in Albany. The video also will be distributed to
courthouses throughout the state and in New York City.
“Owning a home is a vital part of the American
Dream. Yet that dream is becoming a nightmare as homeownership
falls further and further out of reach for tens of thousands of New
Yorkers who face foreclosure,” said State Bar President Bernice K.
Leber (Arent Fox LLP). “Not only are the homeowners affected
by losing their homes, but the domino effect reverberates across
neighborhoods and throughout the business community. This
outstanding State Bar program provides the public with important
foreclosure prevention tips and advises homeowners that help is
available so that they do not have to face the terrifying thought of a
foreclosure proceeding on their own.”
In addition to covering the mortgage foreclosure settlement
conferences, the “Saving Your Home from Foreclosure” program
advises homeowners of where they can find qualified housing counselors,
legal service offices, and other sources of assistance. It
describes the documents that homeowners should assemble before meeting
with a housing counselor or an attorney, and provides information for
those who need help finding an attorney.
In addition to The People’s Law School seminar for the public,
the State Bar Association also co-sponsored a free mortgage foreclosure
training program designed to encourage attorneys to provide free legal
counsel to homeowners, and has made a recording of that seminar and the
written materials available to local and minority bar associations
throughout the state.
The 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is the largest
voluntary state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876,
the Association's programs and activities have continuously served the
public and improved the justice system for more than 130 years.
####
| 