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Nadia’s going to tell us a little bit more about that.
Nadia. Yeah, so you never really can predict what’s
going to happen at the mediation session. The hope is that the first option that you
applied for is approved, and everybody kind of moves forward from there. But you always
want to have a backup plan, in the event that your first option is denied. So, if you’re
working with a housing counselor, or an attorney, make sure you ask that housing counselor or attorney
“if I’m denied, or if they say this can’t move forward, what’s the backup plan?"
Sure.
There are multiple different backup plans. If you're applying for a retention option, and
they say no. You want to have your best liquidation option lined up. Liquidation options mean
a short sale, you could sell the home and receive some equity - if you have equity in
your home, you could ask for a deed in lieu, or some sort of cash for keys agreement. What’s
important to know is regardless of what your backup option is, asking for more time, and
a little bit of relocation money, is always a backup option, regardless of your circumstance.
Absolutely. So if the lender says, you asked for X, we
can’t give you X because of – you know – whatever the reason is there, and you feel like you
really don’t know what else to ask for, ask for more time and a little bit of money
to help you move. Right, right.
The mediation statute is made to help people kind of at least get the best case
scenario. So if can’t get your first choice, you can’t get your second choice, and you
feel like you don’t have anything left, make sure you ask for - for more time.
And in most cases, that first choice is going to be a home retention option, either a loan
modification, some sort of repayment plan, or perhaps even forbearance. Right?
Yeah, absolutely, and if they deny you with your first option, you’ll want to take some time
in that mediation to discuss that denial alone with whoever is representing you. So once
the lender comes out and says “you’re not approved for X,” at that moment your
representative should go “ok we’re going to halt now and speak privately.”
Let’s caucus if you will. Yeah, a caucus. If they – if they don’t,
you need to say “whoa whoa whoa, I want to talk to my attorney,” and the reasons
for that are you want to make sure their denial is valid, you want to make sure they had all
the correct information, and you want to you know speak with whoever’s representing you
to see whether there’s any way to appeal that or – you know – whether that was even
a valid decision. If you stay in the room with the lender's attorney, they’re going
to hear everything you say, so make sure you take that time to yourself after they issue
their original decision. Right, that conversation should be had in
private, with your representative. Yeah. The other thing to prepare yourself
for is how the parties are going to be structured. So there will be an attorney, in person, representing
the lender. But the actual decision maker in the room is going to be on the phone usually.
They call in from whatever department you're applying for, from the lender and they’re
on the phone. So it looks like it's reversed. It looks like the attorney is the decision
maker, so when you’re talking, always direct comments to the lender representative on the
phone, they’re really the person who has the decision-making authority.
Absolutely. Last few things to be aware of is where your
mediation is located. I know that sounds easy, but in Pierce county here in Washington, and
a few other counties, there are big dispute resolution centers that have different individual
locations. So simply Googling the name of a dispute resolution center might not get
you to the right place, you want to ask the mediator, or look at that original referral
form that they send you. And your representative should be able to
provide you with that information, right? Yeah, but you want to know where you’re
going, and any information your representative can give you about the mediator is helpful.
You want to know if your mediator is very involved in your mediation, or if they’re
just more of a facilitator. Hands off.
Yeah, you always want the mediator on your side, rooting for you, so whatever type of
person you have, try and behave in ways they think are valuable to the mediation to give
yourself the best shot for success. And what I tell folks is, even though the
mediation program was designed to sort of “level the playing field” and bring the
parties together, the mediator’s supposed to be impartial and unbiased, oftentimes you
can use that mediator as your advocate, you can use that mediator as leverage to help
bring about an optimal outcome. Yep, absolutely. Call us if you have questions.