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The Florida Supreme Court Foreclosure Panel is calling for mandatory mediation between borrowers and lenders in an effort to curb the number of foreclosures.

Florida has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. The panel says mediation is successful in three out of every four cases. The Florida Bankers Association says their clients already work with customers to help them make payments. The Association’s president Alex Sanchez said mandatory mediation could simple delay the inevitable.

“Before we ever get to the unfortunate situation where we have to foreclose, we work with our borrows months and months and months to try to keep them in their home and when that’s not possible will mediation do that, another two to three months, I don’t know,” said Sanchez.

The foreclosure process typically takes between 12 and 18 months. The homes generally sit vacant during that time and can’t be sold. Sanchez says mandatory mediation could lengthen the process to two years.