Foreclosures: More Info on Possible Targets by Predatory Lending

The month of February had some poignant moments for me as a Realtor®. Early that month I was called by an out of town lender who had a website; he was trying to get a local contact to help a Cleveland resident save their home with a short sale (sell a home in order to avoid foreclosure, but at less than market value).

Unfortunately, the market value of this person's home was much less than they paid for it. You guessed it: predatory lending. And some complicit appraiser who helped the predatory lender sign off on the mortgage process. Before I found out I could not help this person, he had a friend call me. Then another person called. Before I knew it, over eleven people had sought me out to help them. One or two may have been able to just make enough money through a sale so that they could avoid foreclosure. But most of the homes were way over market value and there was no way to sell it and recoup....even if they sold the home themselves. It was the saddest month I have had in my professional career so far.

Today, on the News Net Five website, there was a recap of a law school Fair Housing seminar held at CSU. They heard from Housing Advocates and government leaders. Their conclusion is that three mortgage companies targeted minorities and that these lenders may have contributed to as much as 35 percent of the 15,000 foreclosures in our area last year. It makes me angry. This is a link to local Fair Housing groups. If you think you need them, please call them.

Also, don't forget, no matter where you live in NE Ohio, if you think you are in danger of losing your house if you don't take action...take action! Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation has their staff and people from organizations who can help direct you, hopefully help you find the light at the end of the tunnel. Their Foreclosure Workshop is Thursday.

FREE ANSWERS AND ASSISTANCE
on Thursday, April 26th
From 5:30pm to 7:30pm
at 14703 Puritas Avenue(use side entrance behind US Bank)

Peace Out - 3C

Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation is Sponsoring an 'Avoid Foreclosure' Seminar April 26th

I am posting a flyer from the Bellaire Puritas Development Corp (BPDC) about an upcoming event that many of us truly need to attend:

Having Trouble Making Ends Meet?
· Are You in Over Your Head in Bills?
· Have You Ever Had a ‘PayDay’ Loan?
· Not Sure if You Can Make Your Next House Payment?
· Afraid of Losing Your Home?
· Looking to Refinance Your Home?
· Thinking of Consolidating Your Debt?
· Not Sure if You Have A Predatory Loan?

Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation
is sponsoring a night of
FREE ANSWERS AND ASSISTANCE
on Thursday, April 26th
From 5:30pm to 7:30pm
at 14703 Puritas Avenue
(use side entrance behind US Bank)

Attorneys from Housing Advocates, Counselors from the County Foreclosure Prevention Program, East Side Organizing Project (ESOP), Cleveland Housing Network and Neighborhood Housing Services will be on hand to guide you in the right direction.

For more information please call
Toni Jones at the BPDC office at (216) 671-2710.
Please bring your mortgage documents

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Other posts regarding foreclosures and mortgage issues:
Professor Kathleen Engel Discusses Predatory Lending at 'Meet the Bloggers' Session
Predatory Lending: What to Look Out For as You Search For a Home

Peace Out - 3C

Ohio Floating Bonds to Assist Refinancing Of Homes and Helping to Prevent Foreclosures

This was worth a separate post to me. The State of Ohio is getting ready to float bonds that will allow them to get into the refinancing arena...helping people NOT foreclose and lose their homes. This is an interview conducted by MSNBC television.

Now I have tried to get the link to take you directly to the video. Instead, I can take you here - then scroll down to videos on the right and 'Foreclosures In Ohio' is the first one. There is more than one way to skin a cat LOL

This is worth watching if you are

a) worried about your own mortgage issues
b) interested in our State Economy

I don't have an opinion yet. More research to follow Peace Out - 3C

Ohio's 2006 Foreclosure Rates Jump 24% in One Year

The stats are "in" for 2006 on foreclosures and they are not going to make you happy. Depending on whether or not you use the measure of the Mortgage Bankers Assn. (which says we are first in foreclosures for 2006) or RealtyTrac (which says Ohio is 8th), the rise in precentages is mind blowing. The number of new cases rose 24% in one year. Policy Matters released their figures this week and in Cuyahoga County alone, there were 13,610 new foreclosures.

I was alerted to this in an article on Cleveland.com, written by Plain Dealer reporter Thomas Ott. I blogged before about the NeighborWorks program, and this article talks about a case involving Adjustable Rate (ARM) mortgages. A few years ago, while interest rates were about 5.5% on the National Level, people were getting ARMs for 10-14% interest rates.

Cuyahoga County Commissioners Dimora, Hagan and Jones issued a report (in pdf here) based on calls, meetings, public meetings and discussions. It's worth a read.

Folks, all I can say is, please contact one of these programs before it gets to the critical stage! It only takes about three months of missed payments for things to spiral out of control. And I have to say again, if the only way you can buy a home is to pay 13% interest rates when the going rate is 6.06)% (as of today), please wait until you can qualify for a much lower rate. The County Program is called 'Don't Borrow Trouble,' and if you have any inkling that you might have difficulty making your payments in the future, even for a few months, please call them at: 216-436-2000. There is also a United Way hot line and you can reach it by simply dialing 211.

Other relevant posts:
Professor Kathleen Engel discusses predatory lending
What to Look Out For: Avoid Predatory Lending

March 28th Follow Up: PD Reporter Ott has a very interesting follow up article you can read on Cleveland.com. It deals with a law proposed in Ohio to require lenders who foreclose on homes to file their deeds - maybe I am naive, I didn't know this was not required! I know Title technically does not transfer to new owners until the title is filed at the Court house...at least for us 'regular' people. This is a great article dealing with the thorny issue Cleveland has had to deal with, tracking down owners of long abandoned buildings, collecting taxes, etc.

Peace Out - 3C