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Foreclosures continue to rise in US
美国丧失房屋赎回权的案件持续増加
Foreclosures continue to rise in Florida and other US states hit hard by the real estate crisis. Several Florida counties are trying to fight back against the problem by bringing banks and home owners together to find a way to save troubled mortgages from foreclosure.
在美国佛罗里达和其他受到房地产危机重创的各州,丧失房屋赎回权的案件还在继续增加。佛罗里达的一些县正在采取措施，努力阻止事态的恶化。他们组织调停、安排银行和房主进行协商,希望找到办法解决有问题的房贷,避免房主丧失住房赎回权。
Real estate experts say now may be a great time to buy a home in south Florida, if only because so many cheap foreclosed homes are available.
房地产专家称，现在可能是在佛罗里达南部买房的好时机,即便是仅凭市场上有大量便宜的止赎屋这一点。
The flood has created chaos for local judges, who must rule on every foreclosure case. But another option is to avoid the courtroom and order both the bank and the home owner into a mediation room.
止赎屋的大批出现给当地的法官带来了麻烦,因为他们必须对每一个案件进行判决。不过,现在可以有另外的选择了，即不用让法庭来裁决而是对银行和房主进行调停，让他们自己协商。
Rod Petrey, head of the Collins Center which organizes out-of-court mediation programs, says that option has been ignored in Florida until now.
科林斯中心就是这样一个组织庭外调解项目的机构。该中心的负责人罗德.彼德雷称，到目前为止佛罗里达一直没有重视这个办法
“One thing we are missing is for the two parties to talk to each other,” Petrey said. “When a lender calls a borrower, a lot of the language has been: 4 Pay up，deadbeat. Is that the best way to have a conversation with the borrower?”
他说我们一直没有做到的是让双方互相交流。银行或是其他借贷机构给贷款者打电话时，通常的说法是‘付钱吧,赖债人’。我认为这不是与贷款者谈话的最好方式。
Some borrowers also complain that banks or lending firms do not return their calls or that it is too hard to get in touch with the right person in charge of their mortgage.Petrey says some of those communication problems can be avoided with court-ordered mediations, which the Collins Center is helping to organize in several areas. The non-profit group recently held a training session for about 200 trained mediators in the Miami area.
一些贷款者抱怨，银行或其他借贷机构都不回复他们的电话或是与真正负责他们房贷的人取得联系非常困难。彼德雷说,沟通上的一些问题确实可以通过法庭下达的调停令解决。科林斯公司在好几个地区组织这样的调停会。这个非盈利机构最近在迈阿密地区为200多名受训的调解人提供培训课程。
One of the trainees，Joan BickerstafiF, said a mediation session may provide a number of alternatives not available in a foreclosure trial.
琼.比克斯塔夫参加了这样的培训项目。她说,调解也许可以比法庭的止赎案件审判提供更多的选择。
“The court system is overwhelmed and probably does not provide the best solution. The discretion that the court has in a foreclosure proceeding is fairly limited,” she said.
她说:“法庭有太多的案子要处理,很可能不会提供最好的解决办法。法庭在审理止赎案的过程中所拥有的决定权受到了一定的限制。”
Courts have no authority to order a bank to change the terms of a loan or compel a home owner to continue making payments on a home.But at a mediation the two sides can agree to adjust the loan, reduce the monthly payments or decide to sell the house at a lower price and terminate the mortgage.
法庭没有权力下令银行更改贷款的条款或是强迫房主继续支付贷款。但是,在调停时,双方可以同意对贷款条款作出调整,减少月付款,或决定以一个稍低的价格出售房屋或是终止房贷。
Experts say the process will not work for every home owner in trouble, especially people who have lost their jobs or those who borrowed way too much in the first place.
专家们表示,这样的做法并不适用于所有遇到麻烦的房主,特别是那些失去工作,或是一幵始借钱太多的人。
Rod Petrey says the key to mediation is a credit counseling session, to determine what a home owner can afford.
罗德.彼德雷说，调停的关键是贷款咨询,这个过程帮助确定房主可以支付多少贷款。
“A lot of lenders say we have not seen information from that borrower in years, we do not even know if they have a job or not. Plus for the borrower, it really forces them to add up what they got and what they do not have," Petrey said.
彼雷德说很多银行和贷款机构说,他们很多年都得不到贷款人的消息。我们甚至不知道他们是否有工作。而且对贷款的人来说,这样的办法会迫使他们弄清楚自己的经济状况。”
The Collins Center has organized 15 mediations in Miami. Former judge Tom Bateman, who advises the center, says the sessions are confidential, but the results have been encouraging.
科林斯中心已经在迈阿密组织了15个调停会。该中心的顾问，曾经担任法官的汤姆.贝特曼说，这些调停会议是秘密进行的,会议的结果令人鼓舞。
“Nine had reached what we call a successful resolution... and they agreed to adjourn and continue negotiating after the mediation session,” Bateman said.
“其中有9个会面我们认为已找到了成功的解决办法……他们现在同意暂时休会，在调停之后继续谈判。”贝特曼说。
Similar mediation programs have been operating for months in states like Ohio and New Jersey, where they are credited with limiting new foreclosures.
在俄亥俄和新泽西州,类似的调停项目也在进行，因为他们的调停,新的房屋止赎案件得到了控制。
But Miami realtor Enrique Lopez doubts whether it will work in Florida, where home prices have plunged in the past two years. He says there is no incentive for home owners to negotiate a deal to remain in a house worth far less than the mortgage on it a situation known as being ‘"upside down"
但是迈阿密的房产经纪人恩里克.洛佩兹怀疑这样的办法在佛罗里达是否会产生效果。过去两年来,佛罗里达的房屋价格直线下跌。他说,对房主来说，和银行达成某种协议以便继续居住在价值远远低于当初贷款的房子里实在是没有任何吸引力。
