Lackawanna County has joined Philadelphia and Allegheny Counties in introducing a program which will provide an opportunity for all owners of occupied homes to request a court sponsored mediation either soon after the action is filed for newly filed actions or before a Sheriff’s Sale for already pending actions.
 
The collective effort of various creditor law firms in Pennsylvania has lead to the implementation in most Courts (but not Philadelphia) of "Opt In" programs. The homeowner must take the initial first step of opting in by certifying their eligibility with the court and meeting with a housing counselor before obtaining a foreclosure mediation date. Although details of each county’s programs may vary, the essential elements remain the same. We will notify our foreclosure contact and a home retention contact of homeowner application for mediation and of any mediation date. Servicers may “appear”, by telephone, but most cases will resolve before the actual mediation date. There are a total of 67 counties in Pennsylvania and, thus far 3 have announced a program, another 5 are in late stage planning and many more are considering programs.
 
We expect additional counties to roll out similar programs over the next few months.
 
Michael McKeever
mmckeever@goldbecklaw.com
Goldbeck McCafferty & McKeever
Pennsylvania and New Jersey
215-825-6303
215-825-6403 (fax)
610-662-4798 (cell)
www.goldbecklaw.com
Escalation: Problems@goldbecklaw.com
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About Safeguard
Safeguard Properties is the largest privately held field services company in the country. Located in Cleveland, Ohio and founded in 1990 by Robert Klein, Safeguard has grown from a regional preservation company with a few employees and a handful of contractors performing services in the Midwest, to a national company with over 500 employees. Safeguard is supported by a nationwide network of subcontractors able to perform any requested superintendence, preservation, and maintenance functions, as well as numerous ancillary services in the U.S., the Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.