Group Addresses Home Foreclosure Issue

L to R: Bill Burney, HUD Maine Field Office Director; Diane Sherman, CEI; Cathy McKelway, Maine Housing; Debbie King Johnson, Maine Housing

The Maine Housing Counselor Network (MHCN) and the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection jointly hosted a day-long workshop in late January, 2010 to update stakeholders providing pro-bono or free foreclosure prevention services to Maine residents in danger of losing their homes. The purpose of the workshop was to update partners on the roll-out of Maine's new foreclosure mediation law and to share experiences from the field. MHCN members are HUD-approved housing counseling agencies.

During the morning session Chet Randall, a staff attorney with Pine Tree Legal Assistance, provided an overview of Maine's new mediation law; Jennifer Gordon, a housing counselor with York County Community Action, shared the presentation she gives to homebuyers at state-mandated "Information Sessions for Mediation;" and Lauren Blake-Weliver, Manager of Maine's Foreclosure Diversion Program, explained how and when the new law would be rolled out across the state.

A special presentation was made during lunch to two housing counselors who have taken on extraordinary workloads over the past two years--Diane Sherman of Coastal Enterprises, Inc. and Cathy McKelway who does work for Washington Hancock Community Action, Penquis Community Action and Maine Housing. Each has developed best practices to share with colleagues, and each has also provided training to less experienced counselors on their personal time.

The afternoon began with a presentation by David Stolt of the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection explaining the compliance role of his office, how referrals will be handled and sharing information about the State's consumer hotline. A roundtable discussion followed to share best practices. Panelists included legal, nonprofit and state foreclosure prevention/mediation specialists.

Homeowners fearing foreclosure are encouraged to contact a HUD-approved housing counselor with foreclosure prevention expertise. Visit Pine Tree Legal's Foreclosure Prevention Toolkit (http://www.ptla.org/foreclosure).