The legislation aims to help residents keep their homes. The governor signed it Thursday.

The new law establishes a dispute resolution process that would allow homeowners to meet their lenders in face-to-face meetings overseen by a neutral third party.

The meetings could result in loan modifications that allow residents to keep their homes.

Residential owner-occupants also would have the option to convert their nonjudicial foreclosures to a process overseen by the courts

The program is due to begin no later than Oct. 1 and continue until Sept. 30, 2014. The state Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will administer the program.