Bath County News-Outlook Your Hometown Newspaper Nov. 17, 2010 • 11
The number of people
who are losing their
homes is astonishing to me.
The foreclosure crisis has
greatly affected our commu-
nities. Foreclosures destabi-
lizes families and erodes our
neighborhoods. You may
bolieve that there is nothing
that can be done, but there
is! Many people are losing
their homes unnecessarily.
The president has created
a program that encourages
banks to modify home loans
to help all parties avoid a
costly foreclosure. I believe
that few people in our com-
munity are aware of the
Home Affordable Modifica-
tion Program, or (H),
and even fewer have access
to an advocate to help guide
them through the loan mod-
ification and foreclosure pro-
cess.
When I became circuit
judge in 2000, I averaged
three or four foreclosures
matters a month on my
docket in each of my four
counties. 99% of the time,
the homeowners who were
losing their homes, never
showed up in court. I also
did not require attorneys for
the banks to appear in court
on motions for default judg-
ment in foreclosures mat-
ters, because the attorney
fee for coming to court would
be tacked on to what the
home owner owed the bank
and cost the homeowner
more in the encL
However, over the past
few years, the foreclosure
matters on the docket have
steadily increased. As most
of you know, this increase
in foreclosures, is not just
something that we axe ex-
periencing locally, but some-
thing that is occtm'in4 across
this country. Today, I typi-
cally have approximately 30
foreclosure matters a month
on my dockets in Montgom-
ery and Rowan Counties,
and. approximately 15 per
month in Bath and Menifee.
The matters on the docket
are at a various stages of the
foreclosure process. What
has changed is that the
homeowners are showing
up for court, but the banks
still are not. Please let me
distinguish to whom I am
referring when I talk about
banks. For the most part,
our local banks have done a
good job with showing up to
court and working with folks
on modifying their mortgag-
es. It is the large conglomer-
ate banks, with offices else-
where that are the problem.
Homeowners come to court
and tell me that they have
called and called these big
banks, but they never get a
live person, or get the run
around. Oi~n they are told
to fax or mail their financial
information to the bank to
see if they would qualify for
a modification, and the big
bank received their infor-
mation, the homeowner is
told that the big bank never
received the fax or mailed
copy, so the homeowner
must go through the process
of faxing and mailing again.
This may happen three or
four times before we come
back to court on the case.
Often when foreclosure
cases come before me on the
docket the homeowner tells
me that they were out of
work and missed a payment
or two, and when they went
back to work and mailed
in a payment, the big bank
sent it back and initiated
foreclosure proceedings. The
homeowner often tells me
that they are back to work
and that if the big bank
would work with them to
refinance, they could roll
their missed payments into
a new mortgage and catch
up their payments, but no
one at the big bank will talk
to them or acknowledge
that they faxed or mailed
in their modification paper
work. And, to make mat-
ters worse, when the ho-
meowner appears in court,
often the attorney hired by
the big bank, is located in
Cincinnati or Louisville,
and they don't drive here
to court. When this hap-
pens, I cannot question the
attorney to see if the hom-
eowner has mailed in their
modification paper work,
or whether they qualify for
a modification. When the
attorneys for the big banks
do show up, they often don't
know what is going on be-
cause they do not work in
the bank, and the loan de-
partment has not informed
the attorney that the bank
has decided to work with
the homeowner. The left
hand doesn't know what
the right hand is doing. The
big bank may legally be en-
titled to a default judgment
if they homeowner has not
filed anything in the record
asserting a defense. All I
can legally do is ask the
homeowner if they are re-
questing 20 days to file a
late answer. They look at
me puzzled.
When a person is served
with a lawsuit, they have
20 days to answer the alle-
gations in the lawsuit. This
answer is supposed to be
in writing. However, most
people don't know the law,
and don't have the money
to hire an attorney. When
you don't file an answer in
writing, the one bringing
the lawsuit is entitled to
judgment, as a matter of
law. However, when I have
a homeowner standing in
front of me, stating they
can now make their pay-
ment, it is insane to have
the home sold on the court-
house steps. When a home
is sold at foreclosure, the
master commissioner sells
it on the courthouse steps.
If, for example, the mort-
gage amount owed to the
bank is $100,000.00, and
at the master commission
sale, the home only brings
$50,000.00, the bank will
get a judgment against
the homeowner for the de-
ficiency, of the additional
$50,000.00. When this
happens, the bank can gar-
nish the homeowners wag-
es from now to the end of
time, until the $50.000.00
is paid in full, and also tack
on the statutory rate of in-
terest at 12%, plus attorney
fees. This usually leaves the
homeowner no option but to
file bankruptcy. If there is a
bankruptcy, the homeown-
er may never be able to own
a home again, and Will have
difficulty financing a car, a
washer or dryer or anything
for years to come.
With the holidays
upon us, millions of
Americans are hit-
ting the road to vis-
it with family and
friends. The Ken-
tucky Office of High-
way Safety (KOHS)
wants every cele-
bration to be a joy-
ous occasion, so it's
reminding travelers
that state and local
and buying pres-
ents for loved ones -
don't throw it away
simply because you
failed to buckle up."
While seat belt use
1,120 crashes over injury-is reduced by
the Thanksgiving 50 percent.
holiday, resulting For more infor-
iri 330 injuries and ruction about the
seven fatalities. Of Click It or Ticket
those fatalities, fiveseat belt enforce-
is at a record high were unrestrained, ment campaign for
"Wearing a seat highway safety dur-
belt costs you noth- ing Thanksgiving,
ing, but not wear- please visit www.
ing it could cost you trafficsafetymar-
a ticket or worse.., keting.gov and
be 649peo le who were all drivers and pas:. http://highwaysafe-
Nov.-15 to Nov. 28, killed in motor re-Senger~s to Click I~- ty:ky:gov.
sending the strong hicles last year in or Ticket, day and
message to Click It Kentucky were not night."
or Ticket. wearing a seat belt. Regular seat belt
"No one wants to "Sadly, the holi- use is the single
start off the holidaysdays, which for most effective way
with a ticket," said many are the hap- to protect people
Transportation Cab- piest time of the and reduce fatali-
inet Secretary Mike year, is also one of ties inmotor vehicle
Hancock. "Save your the deadliest and crashes, according
money for turkey most tragic," said to NHTSA. Re-
Co a-
('y/ ec0s
Oa bok
5iaze ],5Y-f
We k4et-
come Your
,55ci-28Cl-
278 Lo-
KOHS Executive
Director Chuck Ge-
veden. "Clearly this
is an indication that
people are just not
aware of the huge
risk taken by not
buckling up."
In Kentucky last
year there were
search has shown
that when lap and
shoulder belts are
used properly, the
risk of fatal injury
to front-seat passen-
ger car occupants is
reduced by 45 per-
cent, and the risk of
moderate to serious
William D. Eilington
AGENCY MANAGER
Derek Ellington, Agent
gsville • Ph.: (606) 674-6335
FARMERS HOME MUTUAL INSURANCE
OF FLEMING COUNTY
"Since 1875"
108 Court Square, Flemingsburg • 606-674-2237
FIRE, WIND, LIGHTNING, PERSONALAND FARM LIABILITY,
MOBILE HOME INSURANCE •
Charles "Bud" Hunt, Bath County Directory
1080 Maple Ridge Avenue
MaysviIle, ICY
(off US 68/Maple Leaf R0ad-
Very ~Jce- Must see to ap.
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SAT. NOV 20- 2.4
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Saturday 9am-5pm
Sale Held Inside
Sun. Nov. 21 st 10:00 a.m.
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Call or See Web for List & Terms
Towler's Auction Service, Inc.
Mike Towler, Auctioneer
CHRYSLER. DODGE .Jeep
