The Allegheny County sheriff has a promising solution for property owners caught in the mortgage foreclosure crisis -- talk. That is, court-ordered talk with their lenders toward a workable payment plan.

Under pressure from activists to slap a moratorium on sheriff's sales, Sheriff William P. Mullen proposed a better idea last month to President Judge Joseph M. James. This week the two will sit down with lawyers and others to see if "reconciliation hearings" can be held for people facing foreclosure and possible sheriff's sale. Such a hearing would be a chance for the lender and home-owner, with a hearing officer present, to reach terms on a more manageable mortgage rate.

The sheriff said it is sometimes hard to get lenders to sit down with mortgage holders to work out a new payment plan, but that the court could order such meetings to take place. While he believes a moratorium would only delay the inevitable, Mr. Mullen said a revised payment schedule better serves the homeowner, the bank and the neighborhood where a house could suddenly sit vacant.

Allegheny County has seen 3,342 foreclosures so far this year, and they affect a variety of people. Some were victims of predatory lenders. Others were hit by hard times -- an illness or a lost job -- that put them in default on house payments. Others were speculators who got caught in an investment gone sour.

Because the cases can be different, the sheriff's idea of an individual hearing is sensible, fair and humane.