Cleveland Home Owners In a Bind Take Note: Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland Can Help

Lou Tisler of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (NHSGC) made an important point on my latest post on short sales. Many of us know we should 'call our lenders' before it's too late but we are still too timid or worried to do that. NHSGC can do the legwork for you.

His second important point was that you should never pay anyone to be the intermediary, to help you with your mortgage issues. Lou has sent me a press release on NHSGC and I'm going to post it here in it's entirety. Please call your lenders. Or please call Lou at NHSGC.

Ohio Housing Finance Agency Adds $3.1 Million
to Ohio NeighborWorks® Foreclosure Prevention Tool Box

New Fund is to Assist Middle Income Homeowners
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland Creates New Loan Product to Fight Foreclosures in Cleveland
Cleveland, Ohio – Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland (NHSGC), part of the Ohio NeighborWorks® Foreclosure Prevention Initiative, will distribute $3.1 million in flexible grants from the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA). In combination with an investment of over $3 million from NeighborWorks® America, this is a much-needed foreclosure prevention boost in Ohio.
The OHFA grant will assist middle income homeowners and provide up to $3,000 in a zero percent deferred soft second loans to borrowers facing foreclosure, with a possibility of going up to $5,000 depending on the amount of the mortgage payment. Overall 12 organizations throughout Ohio will use the funds.
The OHFA funds, together with the previous award of $1.5 million from the Office of Housing and Community Partnerships (OHCP) and the NeighborWorks grants, are expected to enable the Ohio NeighborWorks® organizations to assist over 1,500 Ohio families avoid foreclosure.

“This is another tool in the toolbox that will help us rebuild Cleveland communities,” said Lou Tisler, executive director of NHSGC, the organization administering the OHFA funds. “We were missing a way to help people who are just getting by but are behind on their mortgage and on the verge of getting into trouble. Now NeighborWorks organizations can help more low- and middle-income borrowers, which is important because this problem is spreading into middle-income neighborhoods.”

NHSGC educates homeowners through financial literacy, homeownership education and counseling, working with the Homeowner’s™ HOPE Hotline -- 888-995-HOPE (4673) -- to connect homeowners at risk of foreclosure with HUD-certified counselors.

“OHFA generally focuses on first-time homebuyer products, so this is one of their first sustainability-focused products,” said Tisler. “Coupled with a refinance product they recently made available, OHFA is enabling NeighborWorks organizations in Ohio to develop the cutting edge products that will help all levels of homebuyers get out of this crisis.”

Sparked by 1978 legislation, NeighborWorks America created the NeighborWorks network of community development nonprofits charged with closing the homeownership gap; improving financial literacy; rebuilding and repairing properties; developing affordable multifamily units; and, using community development strategies to improve safety and build wealth. In 2007, NeighborWorks America will provide over $75 million in grants to its national network of 244 nonprofit organizations operating in nearly 4,500 communities.

The need for NeighborWorks organizations has never been greater. High quality, affordable rental housing is needed to build healthy and sustainable communities. Personal debt is rising among consumers. Mortgages are becoming increasingly complex and risky, which means homeowners are becoming progressively more susceptible to foreclosure. And, stubborn wealth gaps persist.
“As stewards of taxpayer dollars, NeighborWorks ensures our investments are working in ways that truly make a difference,” said NeighborWorks America Great Lakes District Director Paul Poston. “We thank Congress and our other private, philanthropic and public funders who make our work to empower consumers and strengthen neighborhoods possible.”
About Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland is not-for-profit community development corporation incorporated in 1975 to promote investment and revitalization of communities in Northeast Ohio As one of the original chartered members of NeighborWorks® America, a network of over 230 organizations working in nearly 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities nationwide, the mission of Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland is to provide ongoing programs and services for achieving, preserving and sustaining the American dream of homeownership. www.nhscleveland.org.

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Lou Tisler
Lou Tisler, Executive Director
Neighborhood Housing Services
of Greater Cleveland
5700 Broadway Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44127
216.458.HOME (4663) ext. 12
216.458.4672 fax
Email: ltisler@nhscleveland.org

Cleveland Neighborhood News: The Warehouse District Scheduled For Some Changes

My open house did not turn out as planned today.....the keys didn't work! And my client is in California so......time to read up on the news. Turns out The Planning Commission approved some upgrades for The Warehouse District. The change that should appeal the most to District residents are the parks being created including South of Lakeside -- always exciting when we start utilizing our key natural resource...The Lake. Another change is to add taxi stands to the District. Now to get taxis there. Cleveland needs to be more proactive about taxis - we all have horror stories about them not showing up, even if we try to call for one. Anyway, here is the newsnet5 blurb about it.

And here is fellow blogger Tom Breckenridge's post about it. For the first time since I lived in Maryland I've actually hear a design plan talk about a sense of place. There truly is a vibrancy to the entire Downtown area these past six months. Now we need a bookstore :=) Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Housing News: Lead Paint Abatement Important, Especially For Children

It's become easier, as a Realtor®, to recognize homes that might need to get rid of lead paint. Normally our homes have been painted, layer upon layer, so the original lead paint job on a 1920 Era home is sealed safely away. But what if the paint in the room is peeling? Alternatively, if you have older double hung windows that get opened and shut every day as the temperatures rise and fall, the original paint jobs could be peeling against the friction of the opening and closing of these windows. Kids love to look out the window and the youngest ones love to eat whatever is not nailed down. Including paint chips. Another problem area can be a closest or storage area under the eaves in an attic. Sometimes these areas have clearly not been painted for decades. It's a good idea to put a few coats of paint on a closet or attic storage area just to be safe.

The Cuyahoga Co. Board of Health reports that they have received a $7 million grant from HUD to take care of already identified lead paint issues in NE Ohio. About 1300 Cuyahoga County children experienced lead poisoning in 2005. This grant will allow you to apply for monies to repair your home and you can read about the criteria to get the money here.

Sellers of homes in Ohio are required to fill out a Lead Paint Disclosure form to alert prospective buyers of any lead issues that may exist before they purchase. Buyers also have the right to a lead paint inspection prior to purchasing, in addition to a general home inspection. I have to admit, I have never had a buyer opt to get that inspection.

The City of Lakewood First Time Home Buyer Program utilizes a HUD inspection as part of their mortgage lending and purchase process. Peeling paint must be scraped/patched and repainted before their inspectors will sign off on the inspection. I had a home buyer purchasing a Lakewood home with this program and the house was neat as a pin and very well cared for. But there were porch railings and garage walls that were peeling. We had to get that corrected.

If you are buying a home and you will have young children inside the home when you move in, do you have newer windows? Do you have the older double hung rope/sash windows? Please be sure to look at the condition of the window sashes so you will know what you are dealing with when you move into your new home.

You can also go here to the HUD website and read more about keeping your home safe from lead paint poisoning issues. Peace Out-3C

The chair for the argumentative side in all of us

It's been a long week. I was trying to find a Thermador oven I saw advertised in a magazine at work today for almost 7 grand; to show it to a friend of mine on AOL. Long story short, I wound up on a site called Born Rich. It fascinated me. And you have to see the entire write up about the Argument Chair pictured here - maybe we need one in our office for buyers and sellers who can't come to terms! :-) Peace out 3C

A Short Sale Could Save You From Foreclosure

Short Sales are a valid alternative to getting completely mired in the foreclosure process. The important thing is to not ignore notices from your bank or lender; call their collections department immediately and see what kind of alternatives you have.

I love it when someone explains the process so well that I don't have to. One of my favorite bloggers is a Realtor® in Minnesota and she explains the short sale issue perfectly here. Read what Bonnie Erickson has to say; it might help you avoid getting into a real mortgage fix. Peace Out-3C

Rail Freight Enhancement Could Alleviate Traffic Congestion

The Heartland Institute did a report on traffic, freight and otherwise. They are a group that focuses on transportation issues. In this report they outline the value of increasing rail usage for freight carriers nationwide. One of the benefits is traffic congestion. Another one is wear and tear on the highways.

How many times have you been on a highway to find that 18-wheelers are slowing traffic considerably? They need to be on the roads (I tell myself), because we all need our goods and services. But it can get aggravating. When I lived in the DC area there were almost daily gridlock situations due to heavy truck traffic. The NJ Turnpike even has separate lanes for trucks for this reason.

They point out that a National focus should be improved rail quality because......

".... there are signs the growth cannot continue with the nation's current rail infrastructure. Freight train average operating speeds dropped from 24 miles per hour in 1990 to 21 miles per hour in 2000, reflecting at least in part constrained capacity, according to Cox. The problem is especially bad in the Chicago and Los Angeles areas and along the East and West Coasts...."

They also discuss the advantage to passenger rail service...but Wendell Cox, a Senior spokesperson for the Heartland Institute, feels that without continued new rail services, a concentrated effort should be made to at least improve the rail services from a freight carrying perspective. The article is really worth a read. Peace Out - 3C

Cleveland Real Estate Trends: More Stats on the West Side

Two more 'computer listing oriented areas' meaning they combine communities like Clifton Park and Bellaire Puritas. These stats are for tge number of homes sold between April and August for 2000 through 2007. The dollar amount is the average sale price during these months.

Bellaire Puritas, Westtown, Clifton Park

2000
209 Total homes sold during those months
$77,439 Average Sale Price

2001
177
$85,169

2002
185
$87,767

2003
218
$82,661

2004
232
$88,042

2005
215
$85,649

2006
180
$93,409

2007
$197
$70,425

Bellaire Puritas,West Park

2000
180
$105,461

2001
187
$106,713

2002
206
$107,819

2003
200
$114,527

2004
241
$112,630

2005
221
$112,921

2006
186
$112,234

2007
177
$101,995

Peace Out - 3C