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HUGE SHORTAGE OF LAWERS FOR HOMEOWNERS FACING FORECLOSURE
NY Times editorial - According to a new study, an overwhelming number of homeowners who face foreclosure do not have legal help in protecting their rights. As a result, people are losing their homes who do not need to.
In 2008, more than three million foreclosures were filed, and the number keeps growing. By one estimate, more than eight million families may lose their homes in the next four years. . . .
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law found that 86 percent of people facing property foreclosure last year in economically challenged Stark County, Ohio, lacked counsel. In Queens County, New York, 84 percent of defendants lacked full legal representation in proceedings involving foreclosures on "subprime," "high cost" or "non-traditional" mortgages - ones disproportionately targeted to low-income and minority populations.
The law of mortgages and foreclosures is complicated even for many lawyers. It is hard to imagine what it must be like for a poor person with little legal knowledge to have to fight on his or her own to keep a home. . .
Foreclosures should not be allowed to go forward until, as the Brennan Center recommends, homeowners are at least given enough counseling to know whether they have viable legal claims.
Although budgets are tight these days, Congress and the states need to come up with more money for foreclosure legal assistance.
In 2008, more than three million foreclosures were filed, and the number keeps growing. By one estimate, more than eight million families may lose their homes in the next four years. . . .
The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law found that 86 percent of people facing property foreclosure last year in economically challenged Stark County, Ohio, lacked counsel. In Queens County, New York, 84 percent of defendants lacked full legal representation in proceedings involving foreclosures on "subprime," "high cost" or "non-traditional" mortgages - ones disproportionately targeted to low-income and minority populations.
The law of mortgages and foreclosures is complicated even for many lawyers. It is hard to imagine what it must be like for a poor person with little legal knowledge to have to fight on his or her own to keep a home. . .
Foreclosures should not be allowed to go forward until, as the Brennan Center recommends, homeowners are at least given enough counseling to know whether they have viable legal claims.
Although budgets are tight these days, Congress and the states need to come up with more money for foreclosure legal assistance.
1 Comments:
I doubt there's a very large number of lawyers anxious to pick up these clients - even though there are a lot of lawyers looking for work these days. But if they could make contingency deals so they get paid by the banks . . .
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