After a city council resolution calling for a moratorium on foreclosures, the Philadelphia sheriff’s office canceled an April auction of foreclosed homes.  Now, at the urging of a judge, mortgage companies and consumer groups in Philadelphia have begun discussions to make loans more affordable

According to the Wall Street Journal, under Judge C. Darnell Jones II of Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia, “a lender or its agent would indicate on a foreclosure filing that the borrower lives in the house.  The court would then arrange for free counsel for the homeowner and set up a conciliation hearing between lender and borrower.  The negotiations would ideally lead to modified loan terms or some other arrangement that would keep borrowers in their homes…The judge indicated that foreclosure auctions would likely be suspended, at least through May, for homeowners qualified for the negotiated settlement.”  Michael McKeever, an attorney representing lenders stated that lenders’ legal rights were not protected and disagreed with the sheriff’s decision.
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In another instance of a state or locality moving to change loan rates, nine Ohio mortgage lenders agreed to modify adjustable rate loans to new terms for those at risk to foreclosure.
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