Retired city planning, John Hardisty, who now mediates settlement of civil cases in superior court, has a front row seat on the unfolding "foreclosure crisis." Day after day, he watches homeowners hauled before judges as part of a process to evict them from their homes that are being foreclosed by banks.
Most of these people have not bought about their ability to pay. These are people who have lost their jobs in this brutal economy, their homes are no longer worth what they paid for them, and banks refuse to modify their loans. In many cases, homeowners complain they cannot even get their banks to discuss loan modification.
He wrote about this recently in an opinion article published in The Bakersfield Californian (see "As Foreclosure Crisis Keeps Growing, Lenders, Borrowers Need Mediation" by John Hardisty http://tiny.cc/u71uc ) The article urges legislators to begin a program in California similar to one already implemented in more than a dozen states. It requires mediation to be a part of the foreclosure process.
Foreclosure is not just a crisis for individual home owners. Foreclosures are blighting communities. They are endangering the life of that firefighter who must rush to extinguish a blaze in an abandoned home. They are causing public health and law enforcement problems. They are lowering home values in every neighborhood.
He plans to keep writing about this national crisis and wants to hear what is happening in your neighborhood, city and state. Is the foreclosure problem growing? What should be done? Please post your comments on this journal or write John Hardisty directly at planningbeat@yahoo.com. Thanks!
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