The Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force released their report to Gov. Strickland and you can read the report as a pdf file here. I do not think that it uncovered any remarkable information, but here are some facts from the report:

 ”The crisis of home foreclosure has touched all corners of Ohio. With few exceptions, every county recorded an increase in foreclosure filings from 2005-2006, reaching the highest level statewide in 13 years. The most recent edition of the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey found that at 5.22 percent, Ohio had the highest rate of mortgages that were seriously delinquent or in the foreclosures process of any state. The survey also found the percent of subprime Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) loans over 90 days past due or in foreclosure in Ohio was 22.9 percent, almost twice the national average.”

At first glance the recommendations appear to be filled with the sort of solutions that task forces are famous for: Start a program, fund a program, etc. On a very basic level, the whole report is about education- how to educate clients, who should be educating clients, what type of education clients need. It’s all good, all necessary, although perhaps not necessary in a task force way, but we can’t argue with the need. We all know there is a problem, and there are plenty of directions at which we can point fingers and place blame. Here’s a short answer: Predatory lending, catastrophic illness, job loss- that’s the triple whammy that has thrown Dayton and the rest of Ohio into foreclosure chaos. 

Kiplinger.com discusses foreclosures on a more national level:

“State governments are doing the most, especially those that have been hit hardest. About 70% of all foreclosures are concentrated in seven states: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas. In some locations, the troubles are tied to plant closures and layoffs, while in others, the culprit is speculative buying.

Aid is taking several forms:Many states are setting up hotlines that offer advice and even help homeowners bargain with lenders or assist with refinancing. Ohio has gone so far as to sell $500 million in bonds to establish a fund to help low-income homeowners refinance their mortgages, while state programs elsewhere offer loans to cover refinancing fees. Massachusetts will postpone foreclosures for up to 90 days to buy time for homeowners to try to work out problems.”

MyHometownOhio brings up the issue from a preservation and revitalization point of view. How do we protect historic properties? Do we spend time and resources protecting these at-risk properties?

MSN.com has some excellent advice: 

“30 days: Your troubles actually start as soon as you miss a single payment. Lenders may not contact you until you’ve skipped a second payment, but most will report the first late payment and every subsequent delinquency to the credit bureaus. Even a single late payment can devastate your credit score, the three-digit number that lenders use to help gauge your creditworthiness. Each subsequent “late” further decreases your score, making it more difficult and expensive to get a loan or a refinance that might help your situation. In addition, lenders typically tack on late fees of 5% or so for each missed payment.

90 days to one year: Eventually, if the payments aren’t made, the lender will file a “notice of default” with a local courthouse and send you a letter saying that the foreclosure process will start unless you make good the missing payments.”

To state the obvious: There is no quick fix here, and no easy way out. The problems are vast and affect all Dayton citizens on multiple levels. I work in real estate on the street level- right here, right now. Let the task force talk numbers, what is going to help you? If you are delinquent on your mortgage payments, you may have options, but move quickly to get the help you need, the MSN advice is sound.

Are you facing foreclosure? What actions are you taking to prevent foreclosure? Your comments are always welcome.

*portions of this were originally posted at TheBrickRanch.com