September 15, 200618 yr From Business First of Columbus, 9/13/06: Ohio foreclosures keep climbing Business First of Columbus - 11:05 AM EDT Wednesday The national foreclosure rate jumped nearly 24 percent in August, while Ohio moved down two spots and posted the 7th-highest rate among the states, according to real estate information firm RealtyTrac Inc. In its monthly report, RealtyTrac said Ohio had 7,468 properties entering some stage of foreclosure last month, up 36.1 percent from July and 63.4 percent from August 2005. Ohio had one property in foreclosure for every 640 households, the firm said. Nationally, the foreclosure rate rose 52.5 percent from the same period last year, with an average of one foreclosure for every 1,003 households, one of the highest rates year-to-date, RealtyTrac said. ... More at: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/09/11/daily13.html?from_rss=1
September 16, 200618 yr From the 9/16/06 PD: Housing inspections plummet in Cleveland Council angry at drop; mayor to help seniors Staff down 21%, checks down 35%; council irked Saturday, September 16, 2006 Olivera Perkins Plain Dealer Reporter The number of housing inspections and code violations has plummeted in Cleveland as the number of foreclosures and abandoned houses has soared. Cleveland City Council is angry with Mayor Frank Jackson for not stopping the trend. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1158413518136710.xml&coll=2
September 17, 200618 yr From the 9/17/06 PD: Bad loans, bad news for Cleveland Top lender draws fire for foreclosures Sunday, September 17, 2006 Mark Gillispie Plain Dealer Reporter One in five house-purchase loans made last year by Cleveland's top mortgage lender have already gone into foreclosure, a Plain Dealer examination of the company has found. California-based Argent Mortgage Co. has dominated the Cleveland market since it began doing business here in 2003, selling more than $570 million in home loans. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1158482126226180.xml&coll=2
September 27, 200618 yr From Business First of Columbus, 9/22/06: Foreclosures still punishing region, state Business First of Columbus - September 22, 2006 by Kevin Kemper Business First Homeowners in Franklin County are losing their residences at a record pace this year and experts say that with a tepid Central Ohio economy and rising interest rates, the wave of foreclosures isn't likely to break anytime soon. More than 4,200 foreclosure lawsuits were filed in Franklin County's Common Pleas Court through the first half of the year. At that pace, more than 8,000 foreclosure lawsuits could be tallied in 2006 - roughly 1.5 percent of the 512,706 housing units registered in the county in 2005. The plague of foreclosures isn't just a Franklin County affliction. ... More at: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/09/25/story2.html
October 15, 200618 yr I noticed that Mother Jones piece a couple weeks back. Talk about depressing. Greedy/crooked shitbag flippers and appraisers+ astonishingly unsophisticated victims = very bad situation.
October 16, 200618 yr "Stewart was the first person ever in her family to buy a home, and she was beyond ready to leave it. The heat never came on. The kitchen pipes froze. The electric bills were up to $400 a month in the winter from the space heaters. And the dining room wall resembled a gallery installation, with wet rot oozing down from a busted pipe upstairs. When the decay started, not long after she moved in, Stewart called the mortgage company. She expected Argent to be responsible for the product she bought, just like her landlord once was. "They said it was on me to get it fixed!" she says incredulously. "I don't know what I'm paying the mortgage for." It boggles my mind that someone would be so ill-informed of the basics of home ownership. clevelandskyscrapers.com Cleveland Skyscrapers on Instagram
October 19, 200618 yr From Business First of Columbus, 10/11/06: Ohio's foreclosure rate continues to climb, report says Business First of Columbus - October 11, 2006 Ohio remains in the top 10 among states with the highest foreclosure rates as the national average jumps 63 percent over last year, one market watcher reported Wednesday. In its monthly report, RealtyTrac Inc. said Ohio went from posting the seventh-highest rate among the states to ninth with 6,794 properties entering some stage of foreclosure last month, down 9 percent from August but up 17.2 percent from a year earlier. Ohio had one property in foreclosure for every 704 households, research firm said. Nationwide, 112,210 houses entered into some stage of foreclosure, or one property for every 1,030 households, RealtyTrac said. The national foreclosure rate down less than one percent from August. ... More at: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2006/10/09/daily17.html?surround=lfn
November 16, 200618 yr From the 11/2/06 Toledo Blade: Task force will try to reduce county's high foreclosure rate Home foreclosures and bankruptcies are a growing "hidden illness" and a reality that many homeowners in Lucas County and all across Ohio face every day. That was the consensus yesterday when a group of Lucas County officials met in South Toledo to launch an initiative they hope will serve as a resource for homeowners and families facing the prospect of a foreclosure. "It all starts with the loss of a good job, which is replaced by a lesser-paying job and then other factors, like predatory lenders, which all lead to a foreclosure," Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerken said. ... More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061102/NEWS33/611020327/-1/NEWS
November 16, 200618 yr From the 11/3/06 Hamilton JournalNews: $1M to help stave off foreclosures By Chris Dumond Staff Writer Friday, November 03, 2006 HAMILTON — Thanks to a $1 million state grant, Neighborhood Housing Services of Hamilton has new tools to help those in Butler and Warren counties facing foreclosure. The grant has been used to create the Ohio Home Rescue Fund, Neighborhood Housing Services Executive Director Lorie Batdorf said. Through the fund, homeowners in danger of foreclosure could be loaned as much as to $3,000. In order to be eligible for the 36-month forgivable loans, homeowners must have a household income at or below 65 percent of the area median income. The 65 percent cutoff for both counties is $29,413 for individuals and $42,006 for families of four. ... More at: http://www.journal-news.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/02/hjn110306foreclosure.html
November 16, 200618 yr From the 11/15/06 Toledo Blade: HOUSING SEMINAR IN TOLEDO Predatory-lending law draws mixed reaction By HOMER BRICKEY BLADE SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER Some experts said yesterday they expect Ohio’s new anti-predatory-lending law that takes effect Jan. 1 to stem the rising tide of mortgage foreclosures around the state. But others at a daylong summit at the Wyndham Hotel Toledo warned that the law could cause much of the mortgage-lending market to dry up because of the increased regulation. And some of the 200 attendees worried that the law could end up toothless because of lack of personnel to enforce it. ... More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061115/BUSINESS07/61115041/-1/BUSINESS
November 21, 200618 yr This from USAToday. Our news isn't "so" bad, compared to some other locations. Check out the pull down menu and look at Phoenix, Lost Wages, NYC & Chicago, etc. It could be worse. :| My cousin and I are getting our cribs appraised next week....wish me luck! =================================================================================== Cleveland: Foreclosures weigh on market By Noelle Knox, USA TODAY Ohio's foreclosure rate — the highest in the nation — is weighing on Cleveland's real estate market. In a one-two punch, manufacturing job losses and predatory lenders have hurt homeowners. The state legislature has passed an anti-predatory-lending law that takes effect Jan. 1. It requires appraisers to be licensed and quadruples the required hours of continuing education for mortgage brokers, to 24 a year. It also aims to promote financial literacy in the poorest communities, which sometimes fall prey to salespeople pushing complex adjustable-rate mortgages with higher-than-average fees. In Ohio, one in every 10 subprime loans — high-interest mortgages for those with impaired credit — is in foreclosure. The number of homes for sale in Cleveland has risen to 49,000, a two-year supply. Nationally, by comparison, there's only about a seven-month inventory of homes for sale. ... More at: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2006-11-21-close-cleveland_x.htm
December 15, 200618 yr From the 11/24/06 PD: Cuyahoga judges cutting down foreclosure backlog CSU study finds cases take under a year, not 18 months Friday, November 24, 2006 Thomas Ott Plain Dealer Reporter Cuyahoga County judges have begun to hack away at a huge backlog of foreclosures that left Common Pleas Court buried in scorn, a Cleveland State University study has found. The study, conducted for the county, says the court has cut the average foreclosure case from 18 months to less than a year, the Ohio Supreme Court's standard. More at cleveland.com http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1164361676108030.xml&coll=2
December 19, 200618 yr From the 11/17/06 Dispatch: Predatory-lending law rules debated Industry and consumer representatives debate how to implement the law on Jan. 1 Friday, November 17, 2006 Jim Siegel THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Five months after a bill designed to crack down on predatory lending was signed into state law, consumer advocates and the home-mortgage industry continue to wrestle with its provisions. With Senate Bill 185 to take effect Jan. 1, the debate has turned to the administrative rules that help implement it. The law will place brokers and nonbank lenders under the Consumer Sales Practices Act, giving borrowers and the attorney general more power to sue deceptive brokers and lenders. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/17/20061117-B3-00.html
December 19, 200618 yr From the 11/21/06 Dispatch: City’s lending law goes too far Ohio law prevails, state’s high court rules in Cleveland case Tuesday, November 21, 2006 James Nash THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Ohio cities may not adopt rules against predatory lending that are tougher than the state law, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled yesterday. The court’s 5-2 ruling also could discourage cities from passing more restrictive local rules on matters such as assault rifles and environmental regulations. The majority of justices said Ohio’s "home rule" doctrine doesn’t allow cities to pass strong laws in areas where state law holds sway. Justices struck down Cleveland’s anti-predatory lending law as too strict, saying Ohioans are better served by a statewide standard on lending. Cleveland’s standards went further than state law in capping interest rates and fees and in requiring "balloon" payments. Cleveland also required lenders to counsel borrowers on the terms of a loan. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/21/20061121-D1-02.html
December 19, 200618 yr From the 11/26/06 Dispatch: GRAPHIC: Foreclosure rates PHOTO: Bidding was fast and furious at the October property auction conducted by Texas firm Hudson & Marshall. Eighteen properties were disposed of in 45 minutes. PHOTO: Bret Richards presided at the October auction. PHOTO: Auctioneer Dave Webb signals to Melissa Fife, of Grove City, that her bid of $12,500 is the winning bid for a home in Zanesville. The auction was held last month by Hudson & Marshall at Ford Rapids Indoor Waterpark and Resort. PHOTO: Real-estate agent Paul Patton places a bid on a property at an auction by Hudson & Marshall. Patton went to last month’s auction looking for some investment properties. ‘What am I bid?’ Ohio’s high home-foreclosure rates turn some ordinary people into real-estate speculators Sunday, November 26, 2006 Mike Pramik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH When fast-talking Texan Bret Richards lowered his gavel, Melissa Fife became the somewhat surprised owner of a Hilltop fixer-upper. "I got it!" the Grove City resident said as an organist played a cheesy tune, lending a roller-rink ambience to this auction house. "Ladies and gentlemen, it’s as easy as that if you want to buy a piece of property," said Richards, an auctioneer with Hudson & Marshall of Dallas. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/11/26/20061126-F1-00.html From the 11/26/06 DDN: Foreclosures hitting record highs across Miami Valley Officials are worried the problem is worsening, thanks to predatory lending, rising mortgage rates and other factors. By James Cummings Staff Writer Sunday, November 26, 2006 DAYTON — When Dan Foley walks through certain Dayton neighborhoods, he can trace the devastation left by home foreclosures in the form of boarded-up, neglected, deteriorating houses. "Santa Clara has really been hurt by foreclosures. Five Oaks as well," said Foley, the Montgomery County clerk of courts and county commissioner-elect. "And the problem seems to be growing." As of earlier this month, 4,355 foreclosure actions had been filed in Montgomery County this year, already surpassing the previous record year of 4,281 foreclosures in 2003, Foley said. ... More at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/11/25/ddn112606foreclosures.html
December 19, 200618 yr From the 11/28/06 Blade: Law to protect borrowers may be upset By MARK REITER BLADE STAFF WRITER Lawyers in the Toledo law department are crossing their fingers that the city's law banning predatory lending won't receive the same fate of a Cleveland ordinance on such practices. An Ohio Supreme Court opinion last week declared unconstitutional Cleveland's ordinance that was passed in 2002 to regulate predatory lending in that city. The state's highest court has yet to rule on the Toledo law that was upheld last year by the state 6th District Court of Appeals. ... More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061128/NEWS02/611280403/-1/NEWS
December 19, 200618 yr From the 12/12/06 Dispatch: Committee approves new rules on predatory lending Tuesday, December 12, 2006 Jim Siegel The legislative Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review yesterday approved attorney general rules designed to implement a law cracking down on predatory lending. Bill Faith, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and a key advocate for the new law, said that for him, only one major concern remained. He said it’s unclear that the rules require lenders to consider a borrower’s ability to pay the higher rate when completing a loan that starts with a low interest rate but rises sharply after two years. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/12/20061212-D4-02.html
December 19, 200618 yr From the 12/14/06 Dispatch: Lending law gets a late review Lawmakers tweak consumer protections Thursday, December 14, 2006 Jim Siegel THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH When enacted in May, Ohio’s anti-predatory-lending law was hailed by lawmakers and consumer advocates for its toughness in curbing greed in the mortgage-lending industry. But now, two weeks before the law takes effect, advocates and the Ohio attorney general’s office say many of those same lawmakers are weakening the law and a wide range of other consumer protections. With heavy lobbying from business groups, Republicans turned a noncontroversial civil-court bill into a businessprotection measure, critics lamented. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/12/14/20061214-D1-02.html
January 13, 200718 yr The Plain-Dealer Reports... Columbus- Ohio again leads the nation in home foreclosures, an indicator of how the state's lag in adding jobs is leading people to have trouble paying their bills, economists say. Besides joblessness and high gasoline prices, high interest rates are squeezing consumers who face high credit card debt and increasing house payments if their mortgage has an adjustable rate. "The fact is we have a continuing problem that isn't going to magically disappear overnight," said Zach Schiller, research director for Policy Matters Ohio, a Cleveland-based economic research organization. ... More at: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1168508550313960.xml&coll=2
January 14, 200718 yr The neighborhood killer Foreclosure, abandonment, blight, loss of property values, growth of municipal expense. . . . It all starts with one bad loan, and it happens over and over and over. Sunday, January 14, 2007 Becky Gaylord Plain Dealer Columnist Foreclosures swamp Cuyahoga County with more filings per person than anywhere else in the nation. Thousands of other homeowners teeter close to default. For them, financial vulnerability will linger for years -- sometimes for life. But personal tragedy isn't the only cruel legacy when bad luck, bad judgment or bad credit leads someone to take out a home loan with abusive terms. All of Northeast Ohio foots the bill for the toxic lending plague here: The crisis sucks cash out of the economy, plunders community coffers and affects homeowners nearby and taxpayers everywhere. ... More at: http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/othercolumns/index.ssf?/base/opinion/1168778161202170.xml&coll=2
January 14, 200718 yr When these mortgages are foreclosed I guess the owners are evicted, and the house goes vacant. Are they immediatley boarded up, or is there an attempt made at putting the property back on the real estate market?
January 29, 200718 yr From the 1/24/07 Dispatch: AVOIDING FORECLOSURE Billboard advice may help some keep homes Wednesday, January 24, 2007 Barbara Carmen THE COLMBUS DISPATCH Loretta King hears the desperate stories: "I’m getting divorced." "I’m sick." "I lost my job." Last year, a young mother of two came into King’s Columbus Housing Partnership office saying she’d had brain surgery and was forced to quit work. Now, the Franklin County sheriff’s office had set a date within weeks to sell her home. Those facing similar foreclosure threats can now look up, literally, for help. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/business-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/24/20070124-D1-04.html
January 29, 200718 yr From the 1/25/07 Dispatch: HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Lenders preying on easy targets? Dubious refinancing promoted, critics say Thursday, January 25, 2007 Tracy Turner THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Lower-income families who own homes that were built with the help of Habitat for Humanity have become attractive targets for predatory lenders. The offers seem attractive: Refinance your mortgage and cash out the equity in your home. They become even more attractive when homeowners face financial challenges brought on by illness or job loss. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2007/01/25/20070125-A1-02.html
January 29, 200718 yr From the 1/26/07 Blade: 1 OUT OF EVERY 60 Toledo ranks 30th in U.S. for most foreclosures By JON CHAVEZ BLADE BUSINESS WRITER Mired in a housing slowdown and a battle to keep local jobs, a new study shows that one out of every 60 houses in the Toledo area was in foreclosure last year. It was enough to rank the metro area 30th-worst among the nation's largest 100 cities. Detroit was No. 1, and four other Ohio cities had more home repossessions than Toledo. Michigan was the fifth-worst state, and Ohio was eighth. The study, released yesterday by RealtyTrac Inc., an Irvine, Calif. firm, said foreclosures nationwide were up 42 percent last year, with 1.26 million, or 1 for every 92 houses. ... More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070126/BUSINESS05/701260378/-1/BUSINESS From the 1/26/07 Celina Daily Standard: Losing the American dream Ohio leads the nation in home foreclosures; Auglaize numbers skyrocket over 6 years By Shelley Grieshop Editors note: The actual name of the foreclosure victim who resides in Auglaize County was withheld at her request for privacy reasons. Janet and her husband raised their children, celebrated family milestones and built memories in their cozy, three-bedroom home. Now it's someone else's. Like thousands of Ohioans last year, Janet lost her house to foreclosure when she no longer could afford her high-interest mortgage payments. Health reasons forced the 64-year-old widow to quit her job at a local hospital, and when money became tight, she refinanced her home. ... More at: http://www.dailystandard.com/archive/story_single.php?rec_id=2003
February 12, 200718 yr State sets aside $1M for foreclosure prevention Business First of Columbus - February 9, 2007 by Saleha N. GhaniBusiness First The Columbus Housing Partnership said Friday the Ohio Department of Development has made $1 million available in Ohio Home Rescue Funds to prevent foreclosures in the state. Loans are available on a first-come-first-served basis through the Columbus Housing Partnership and 11 other nonprofit agencies participating in the Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Initiative. With Ohio reporting the eighth-highest foreclosure rate in the nation for 2006, educating homeowners about preventing foreclosure and helping those that are already in default is a top priority for the state, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman said at a press conference. Columbus, Dayton and Cleveland were among the top 20 largest cities in the nation for foreclosures last year. ... More at: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/02/05/daily35.html
March 23, 200718 yr http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/us/23vacant.html?hp Foreclosures Force Suburbs to Fight Blight E By ERIK ECKHOLM Published: March 23, 2007 SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — In a sign of the spreading economic fallout of mortgage foreclosures, several suburbs of Cleveland, one of the nation’s hardest-hit cities, are spending millions of dollars to maintain vacant houses as they try to contain blight and real-estate panic. In suburbs like this one, officials are installing alarms, fixing broken windows and mowing lawns at the vacant houses in hopes of preventing a snowball effect, in which surrounding property values suffer and worried neighbors move away. The officials are also working with financially troubled homeowners to renegotiate debts or, when eviction is unavoidable, to find apartments. “It’s a tragedy and it’s just beginning,” Mayor Judith H. Rawson of Shaker Heights, a mostly affluent suburb, said of the evictions and vacancies, a problem fueled by a rapid increase in high-interest, subprime loans. “All those shaky loans are out there, and the foreclosures are coming,” Ms. Rawson said. “Managing the damage to our communities will take years.” Cuyahoga County, including Cleveland and 58 suburbs, has one of the country’s highest foreclosure rates, and officials say the worst is yet to come. In 1995, the county had 2,500 foreclosures; last year there were 15,000. Officials blame the weak economy and housing market and a rash of subprime loans for the high numbers, and the unusual prevalence of vacant houses. Foreclosures in Cleveland’s inner ring of suburbs, while still low compared with those in Cleveland itself, have climbed sharply, especially in lower-income neighborhoods that border the city. Hundreds of houses are vacant because they are caught in legal limbo, have been abandoned by distant banks or the owners cannot find buyers. The suburbs here are among the best organized in their counterattack, experts say, but many suburbs elsewhere in the country have had jumps in foreclosures and are also working to stem the damage. Outside Atlanta, Gwinnett and DeKalb Counties have mounted antiforeclosure campaigns while several towns south of Chicago are forcing titleholders to fix up empty houses, or repay the government for doing it. Here in Ohio, there are more than 200 vacant houses in Euclid, a suburb of Cleveland north of here. In the last two years more than 600 houses in Euclid have gone through foreclosure or started the process, many of them the homes of elderly people who refinanced with low two-year teaser rates, then saw their payments grow by 50 percent or more. Euclid has installed alarm systems in some vacant houses to keep out people hoping to steal lights and other fixtures, drug users and squatters. The city has hired three new building inspectors, bringing the total to nine, to deal with troubled properties and is getting a $1 million loan from the county to cover the costs of rehabilitation, demolition and lawn care at the foreclosed houses. (When the properties are sold, such direct maintenance costs will be recovered through tax assessments.) The Euclid mayor, Bill Cervenik, said the city, with a population of 53,000, was losing $750,000 a year in property taxes from the empty houses. At greatest risk in Cleveland’s suburbs are the low- and moderate-income neighborhoods where subprime lending has soared. The practice involves lenders issuing mortgages at high interest rates for people with lower incomes or poor credit ratings, usually involving adjustable rates and sometimes no down payment and no investigation of the borrower’s circumstances. “What makes the subprime mortgages so devastating from a community perspective is that they’re so concentrated geographically,” said Dan Immergluck, a professor of city planning at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Rosa Hutchinson Yates, 62, had kept up payments on her tidy two-story house on Chagrin Boulevard in Shaker Heights for 30 years. Now, she may well lose the house because of a disastrous refinancing deal in 2003 that brought her $24,000 in cash but bills she could not pay. Ms. Yates, who has worked as a beautician and a cocktail waitress, was emotional and confused as she tried to explain what happened. Though she signed the closing documents, she said she did not realize that she was getting an adjustable rate mortgage that did not include taxes and insurance. In 2006, broke and bewildered, she stopped making payments and the lender started foreclosure proceedings. A Shaker Heights city attorney said it appeared that illegally high fees might have been charged and that the broker had overstated Ms. Yates’s income, raising the possibility of a legal challenge. Ms. Yates, preparing for the worst, has learned that she can move into a subsidized apartment for retirees. But the thought is devastating. “When folks pay for a home, they expect to die in it,” she said, breaking into tears. In a report for Shaker Heights, Mark Duda and William C. Apgar of Harvard University found that expensive refinancing deals had been aggressively “push-marketed” in the city’s less affluent west and south sides, bordering Cleveland. They said that “the rising number of foreclosures threatens to undermine the stability” of those areas. “The moral outrage,” Ms. Rawson, the mayor, said, “is that subprime lenders have targeted our seniors and African-Americans, people who saved all their lives to get a step up.” About one-third of the residents in Shaker Heights and Euclid are black. Early last year, James Rokakis, the Cuyahoga County treasurer, started a countywide foreclosure-prevention program, which pays community groups to educate people about loans and help defaulting borrowers negotiate with lenders. In the late 1990s, Mr. Rokakis said, the flight of manufacturing jobs was the major cause of rising foreclosures but around 2000, the surge in careless lending began to wreak havoc. Mr. Rokakis estimated that more than three-fourths of the current foreclosures in Cuyahoga County involved subprime loans, some of them blatantly unwise or dishonestly portrayed to buyers. Only last year did Ohio tighten its laws to require more complete disclosures to borrowers. With so many homeowners running into trouble, the City of Cleveland has been unable to keep track of the number of vacant houses, said Mark N. Wiseman, director of the county prevention program. He estimates that 10,000 of the city’s 84,000 single-family houses are empty. Suburbs like Shaker Heights are trying to avoid the experiences of blighted neighborhoods in Cleveland like the one where Barbara Anderson lives. Ms. Anderson, 59, said her block of East 76th Street was fully occupied three years ago, but now about half the houses are empty. Many of the houses are filled with smelly trash and mattresses used by vagrants. They have been stripped of aluminum siding, appliances, pipes and anything else that scavengers can sell to scrap dealers. “It stifles you,” Ms. Anderson said of the squalor. “It lowers the value and affects the kind of people who are willing to move here. I’m embarrassed to say I live here.” Ms. Anderson, who works for the city ombudsman’s office, is president of a street association that is working with a county-financed group, the East Side Organizing Project, to salvage some homes. But so far, she said, “when we try to board the houses up, someone comes and tears the boards down.” Things are not as bad in the Moreland section of Shaker Heights, but residents are worried and angry all the same. Robert O’Neal, 52, has lived there nearly all his life and, until recently, could not remember a house being empty for more than a month. Now on his block, 4 of the 12 houses are vacant, 3 of them for more than a year. Lost jobs, divorces and predatory loans have all played roles, he said. “It’s sucking the life out of the neighborhood,” said Mr. O’Neal, the town’s chief probation officer. “These are big empty houses near the Cleveland border, and people start worrying about letting their kids out to play.” More Articles in National »
March 23, 200718 yr I should have added there are interesting (sad) pics and graphics in the link's slide show.
March 23, 200718 yr "He estimates that 10,000 of the city’s 84,000 single-family houses are empty." Ouch. Damn, that's a depressing read.
March 23, 200718 yr That article cites the good year of 1995 and a weak 2007 as data points for the 6x increase. That is poor form. That does not reflect a long term trend. Further, the article jumps context between Shaker Heights and Cleveland and makes it sound like the inner ring suburb is unexpectedly collapsing. Could do better with the writing
March 23, 200718 yr I don't see any problem with that. And perhaps the Times isn't trying to show a long-term trend. Rather, I think the article is showing how a sudden spike has caught the region unpreprepared -- as unprepared as the mortgage applicants were. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
March 23, 200718 yr No matter how you look at it...it is a tough pill to swallow! This is certainly not a good sign for the Cleveland metro :|
March 23, 200718 yr No matter how you look at it...it is a tough pill to swallow! This is certainly not a good sign for the Cleveland metro :| I don't think its just Cleveland, its a national problem. I "presume" Cleveland gets the spotlight because of our poorest city ranking. This type of media attention seems to go hand-and-hand.
March 23, 200718 yr ^You're absolutely right. This is not unique to Cleveland, but when you combine this with the other issues that are also facing Cleveland...it presents an uphill battle. They NY Times could have choosen a whole slew of other markets in the nation that are facing this same problem with forclosures. But Cleveland is also facing slow job growth, low economic rankings, population decline and unfortunately....perception.
March 23, 200718 yr I read somewhere that Cuyahoga County had the highest rate in the nation. All though the article says "one of" this is probably the reason why Cleveland was chosen.
March 23, 200718 yr "He estimates that 10,000 of the citys 84,000 single-family houses are empty." Ouch. Damn, that's a depressing read. Ouch, indeed. I think I might believe it, too. It's a catch-22 situation. If the subprime lenders stop lending or tighten up, it will be even harder to find homeowners for these homes. It has me wondering which is the worse choice- extending credit to anyone, knowing a good percent of those with poor credit/income/stability will default, or tightening up and making sure not to lend to unqualified buyers, but losing a good chunk of the market for our lower priced housing stock right off. Obviously I'm against fraudulent loans. And obviously it would help if we could get property through foreclosure quicker. I've got a headache.
March 23, 200718 yr Shaker is a microcosm of other suburbs though... Even places like Mayfield Hts. are suffering... I add to the take that I grew up in the suburbs and would not go back (personally.) I don't think this article is highlighting THAT concept, but I think that young, college-educated people are not looking to reinvent their parent's wheels and buying homes in Shaker when they could buy a home in Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, etc. I'm not speaking from an educational research perspective, but from my own personal situation. I wonder how many out there have that same mind-set..
March 23, 200718 yr I grew up in the 'burbs with my parents...and DO NOT ever plan to live in the 'burbs again! I plan on living in an urban environment where I can live the lifestyle that I choose. I think that there are a good majority of young people that feel the same way as you and I.
March 23, 200718 yr I grew up in the 'burbs with my parents...and DO NOT ever plan to live in the 'burbs again! I plan on living in an urban environment where I can live the lifestyle that I choose. I think that there are a good majority of young people that feel the same way as you and I. Shaker is a microcosm of other suburbs though... Even places like Mayfield Hts. are suffering... I add to the take that I grew up in the suburbs and would not go back (personally.) I don't think this article is highlighting THAT concept, but I think that young, college-educated people are not looking to reinvent their parent's wheels and buying homes in Shaker when they could buy a home in Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, etc. Thats exactly what i did after I graduated. To this day, my mother doesn't understand why I want to live "in the city" as opposed to living in "the 'burbs like my brother". My parents moved to the burbs in the late '60s and I think its just whats their generation was taught. Move to the 'burbs for a better life. Now, its the complete opposite. A new "urban renewal".
March 23, 200718 yr "He estimates that 10,000 of the citys 84,000 single-family houses are empty." Ouch. Damn, that's a depressing read. It has me wondering which is the worse choice- extending credit to anyone, knowing a good percent of those with poor credit/income/stability will default, or tightening up and making sure not to lend to unqualified buyers, but losing a good chunk of the market for our lower priced housing stock right off. Obviously I'm against fraudulent loans. And obviously it would help if we could get property through foreclosure quicker. I've got a headache. I'd say just don't extend credit to anyone thats "iffy." If the creditors did lend to folks with sketchy credit, wouldn't we end up right back here at some point in the future? It will hurt in the short run, but will cause "the system" to find other ways of getting people into these homes.(hopefully GOOD ways and not temporary fixes)
March 23, 200718 yr I grew up in the 'burbs with my parents...and DO NOT ever plan to live in the 'burbs again! I plan on living in an urban environment where I can live the lifestyle that I choose. I think that there are a good majority of young people that feel the same way as you and I. I feel the same way you do, though some of those homes along Shaker Boulevard (In Shaker)are tempting (of course this is when I'm towards the middle-end of my career and/or when I'm substantially "paid") I want to move back into some inner city 'hood. I want to live in some sort of row type townhouse, too bad there's a shortage of those in Cleveland.
March 24, 200718 yr I grew up in the 'burbs with my parents...and DO NOT ever plan to live in the 'burbs again! I plan on living in an urban environment where I can live the lifestyle that I choose. I think that there are a good majority of young people that feel the same way as you and I. Shaker is a microcosm of other suburbs though... Even places like Mayfield Hts. are suffering... I add to the take that I grew up in the suburbs and would not go back (personally.) I don't think this article is highlighting THAT concept, but I think that young, college-educated people are not looking to reinvent their parent's wheels and buying homes in Shaker when they could buy a home in Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit Shoreway, etc. Thats exactly what i did after I graduated. To this day, my mother doesn't understand why I want to live "in the city" as opposed to living in "the 'burbs like my brother". My parents moved to the burbs in the late '60s and I think its just whats their generation was taught. Move to the 'burbs for a better life. Now, its the complete opposite. A new "urban renewal". True...it definitely has seemed to be the common thought for the baby boomers. Growing up post WW II in the interstate era, combined with the everything has to be separate and segregated to prevent from a major attack. They were raised in a world with fear as the major concern...and it is still apparent today with the boomers. Todays young people are not the same. I think that many actually despise the suburban lifestyle that they were raised in.
March 27, 200718 yr Ohio offers refinancing plan for distressed homeowners Cincinnati Business Courier - 10:37 AM EDT Tuesday, March 27, 2007 The Ohio Housing Finance Agency will issue $100 million in taxable municipal bonds in April as part of a refinancing program to help homeowners faced with foreclosure. The program, offered through OHFA's 185 lending partners throughout the state, will provide 30-year fixed-rate loans for homeowners burdened by adjustable rate or interest-only mortgages or faced with circumstances like unemployment and divorce. The bonds should provide assistance for about 1,000 loans (average loan amount is $100,000 per home) at about a 6.75 percent interest rate. ... More at: http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2007/03/26/daily18.html?jst=b_ln_hl
April 20, 200718 yr From the 1/27/07 Celina Daily Standard: Foreclosure impact not too serious -yet Saturday, January 27th, 2007 By Shelley Grieshop The number of foreclosure cases and sheriff sales have skyrocketed statewide and in some area counties, but the overall impact, so far, has been minimal. Auglaize County Auditor Karyn Schumann, who handles the transfer of sheriff sales, said area foreclosures are having little affect on property values. "I haven't seen a drop in home values at all," she said. ... More at: http://www.dailystandard.com/archive/story_single.php?rec_id=2015
April 20, 200718 yr From the 2/2/07 Blade: * GRAPHIC: Local foreclosures Foreclosures soar in a few area counties Sandusky, Monroe hit hard as plants close, wages drop By JULIE M. McKINNON BLADE BUSINESS WRITER First came easy-to-get loans and persuasions to spend as much as possible buying houses. Then came closures and downsizings at Sandusky County employers Dixon Ticonderoga Co., TRW Automotive, and others. So, when the county's housing market foundered last year, those who already couldn't keep up with large mortgage payments ran out of options. "If you're behind, and you can't sell the house, the pressure is going to be on to foreclose," said Wes Fahrbach, executive director of the Sandusky County Economic Development Corp. ... More at: http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070202/BUSINESS05/702020344/-1/rss13 From the 2/2/07 Youngstown Vindicator: Officials seek to reduce home foreclosures The county is in the process of selling 300 foreclosed properties. By D.A. WILKINSON VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU PERRY — An initiative backed by a new state law is aimed at reducing home foreclosures in Ohio. Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray and other officials gathered in Perry Township on Thursday to announce help for homeowners. Cordray and other officials met at the home of Cindy Slavens on Andrew Avenue. She has been in financial trouble. ... More at: http://www.vindy.com/content/local_regional/298153951314285.php
April 20, 200718 yr All from the 2/4/07 DDN: Mortgage scams built on promises leave nightmares in wake Task force accuses man, accomplices in $22 million scheme in 3-year period. By Ken McCall Staff Writer Sunday, February 04, 2007 DAYTON — The modest house at 23 Hanover Ave. sits abandoned, windows broken, partially stripped of its aluminum siding, the back door standing open to the weather and the interior trashed. The property, just off West Third Street and a block outside city limits, is just one of the casualties, investigators say, of a tidal wave of mortgage fraud that has inundated Montgomery County and Dayton in particular over the last six years. It is also one of the properties that figures in a federal case set to open Tuesday before Judge Walter Rice that accuses Randall Aaron Davidson and three accomplices of 14 counts of mortgage fraud involving hundreds of cases. ... More at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/04/ddn020407flip.html Task force hot on heels of housing con artists A series of odd property sales raises officials' suspicions. Now law enforcers are targeting people who engage in scams involving deteriorated homes. By Ken McCall Staff Writer Sunday, February 04, 2007 DAYTON — Back in 2001, as the explosion in mortgage foreclosures in Montgomery County was just taking off, county Treasurer Hugh Quill and his staff noticed a strange phenomenon. Properties began churning through the system with prices that would climb and dive like a roller coaster. A property would be sold at a low price, often at a sheriff's foreclosure auction, and a short time later it would sell at a very high price, only to come back through at a low price, often in foreclosure again. Then they started noticing that owners of properties bought in foreclosure were coming before the Board of Revision to appeal the appraised values, which were often artificially high. ... More at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/04/ddn020407flipinside.html 'The appraisers ... are clearly enablers' While no appraisers have been charged by the task force, officials say they're integral to the scam. By Ken McCall Staff Writer Sunday, February 04, 2007 DAYTON — No appraisers have been indicted so far in any cases investigated by the inter-agency Montgomery County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, but officials say that's not because appraisers aren't involved in mortgage fraud. In fact, officials say, virtually every mortgage fraud scheme out there — and there are many — requires an appraiser to make an artificially inflated estimate of the value of a property. It's that value inflation that makes the fraudulent mortgage loans profitable. "The appraisers in these kinds of scams are clearly enablers," said Dwight Keller, the assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the task force cases. "Without inflated appraisals, the process really couldn't get off the ground." ... More at: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/02/04/ddn020407flipsidebar.html
April 20, 200718 yr From Business First of Columbus, 2/5/07: Legal Issues New legislation attacks problems in residential real estate lending Business First of Columbus - February 2, 2007 by Brent D. Rosenthal For Business First The word crisis has often been used in connection with Ohio's residential real estate market, and it's hard to argue with that description. Nation-leading foreclosure rates, along with stories of rampant consumer fraud, grab the headlines but they are only the tip of a very large iceberg. As the Ohio legislature saw the situation, these were mere symptoms of rampant systemic problems that required extensive legislation to fix. So, last year the legislature passed and former Gov. Taft signed Senate Bill 185, affecting virtually the entire residential lending industry. The law became effective Jan. 1. S.B. 185 is sweeping in its scope. It is designed to remedy numerous abuses consumers endure at several different stages in mortgage lending transactions, as well as to close an information gap suffered by consumers unfamiliar with complex lending and closing processes. ... More at: http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/02/05/focus6.html
April 20, 200718 yr From the 2/9/07 Dispatch: Effort helps fight foreclosure Program kept 195 area families from losing homes Friday, February 09, 2007 Tracy Turner THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Nearly 200 Franklin County families have kept their homes from foreclosure, thanks to a 9-month-old effort by a group of nonprofit organizations. According to findings to be released today outlining the efforts of the Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Initiative, 195 families in the county were able to avoid foreclosure and 4,000 families statewide were counseled on where to find help to avoid losing their homes. "Getting access to help early is the big issue," said Amy Klaben, president and CEO of the Columbus Housing Partnership, which is working with NeighborWorks America to promote the foreclosure-prevention initiative. ... More at: http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/contentbe/dispatch/2007/02/09/20070209-G1-00.html
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