Court Order Versus Foreclosure Homes Saves SC Homeowners
James Harris is just one among an estimated 5,000 South Carolina homeowners who would be able to save their houses from becoming foreclosure homes.
Harris’ house was set to be included in a list of foreclosure homes that would be sold in a foreclosure auction on May 4.
But now Harris is thankful that his state Supreme Court decided to stop all pending foreclosure cases across the state to allow all distressed homeowners to try to save their houses from becoming foreclosure homes under President Obama’s loan refinancing and loan modification programs.
The state Supreme Court decision, the first statewide foreclosure-related injunction in the country, would prevent judges from completing sales of foreclosure homes guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac or private mortgage lenders.
According to the Associated Press which analyzed RealtyTrac data, the state Supreme Court decision could affect about 5,000 homeowners.
The ruling was a response to a motion filed by Columbia lawyer Ronald Scott, who is working with Fannie Mae. He argued that there are houses that can still be saved if only their homeowners are given some time to apply for assistance from the Making Homes Affordable program.
Ellis Jones is another South Carolina homeowner saved by the court ruling. He said he was trying his best to pay his $1,400 monthly payment, but it later ballooned to $3,000 a month.
He explained that he was working out a monthly repayment scheme with the help of the nonprofit Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America when his lender filed a case to add his house to its list of foreclosure homes.
Jones said he is grateful about the court ruling because he is really doing all that he could to save his house. The allowance would enable him to gather resources to save his family’s home.
Chris Story, official of Spartanburg County, stated that the ruling would reduce the number of vacant foreclosure homes in neighborhoods. Story added that from their experiences, foreclosure homes oftentimes stay unoccupied for a long time, lowering the values of houses surrounding the homes.
South Carolina Chief Justice Jean Toal said she has set May 15 as the deadline for plaintiffs to advise lenders and other parties if their mortgage loans are being renegotiated under President Obama’s Making Homes Affordable program.
County official Gordon Cooper explained the local government is determining mortgage loans eligible for loan modifications and refinancing so homeowners can keep working to save their houses from becoming foreclosure homes.
