WYSO Local News
(2009-11-19)
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DAYTON, OH
(WYSO) -
Last year, there were nearly 86,000 foreclosure filings in Ohio, based on data from the Mortgage Banker's Association. This year, experts fear that number could reach 100,000. And it's a big problem in Montgomery County, where foreclosures are fourth highest in the state. Housing advocates and politicians agree that something needs to be done, how that will happen remains a bit more complicated.
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Willis Blackshear has been working on the foreclosure issue in Montgomery County with a hands-on approach. As the the county Recorder, he's researches mortgages to find out which ones could potentially be in trouble.
"Initially, we when we first started the programs, we looked at over 3,180 mortgages," says Blackshear.
He sent letters to homeowners warning them that their payments could go up, sometimes drastically.
"These were people who were not in foreclosure, had not a complaint of foreclosure against them. We have tried to address this from a prevention stand point," says Blackshear.
Blackshear then found private funding to hire someone to go door to door, because he worried that letters were easy to ignore. He has more work to do, but he says needs more money do it.
"We Have To Find Other Sources"
It's a just quick trip up the elevator from Blackshear's office to County Commissioner Dan Foley's. He's worried about the foreclosure problem, too, and he wishes the county had more money to support initiatives like Blackshear's. But with a big budget deficit, he says that county has to focus on its core mission.
"Operating a jail, funding a prosecutor's office or the courts or the public defender...We have to find other sources, and those sources are going to have come outside of government," says Foley.
Foley spends the bulk of his time on economic development. He says that's what occupies his thoughts every day.
"Job security is the foremost thing on people's minds, and I think the more we can grow our economy, the more people will be able to stay in their home, or afford a new home," says Foley.
Foley says the county has been funneling money to community housing agencies, and promoting United Ways efforts to link people in trouble with available help. He's a big believer, too, that federal and state government need to take the lead.
"Ohio's Budget Is The Focus"
State House Bill 3 was proposed by Democrats in May. It imposes 6 month moratorium on foreclosures, sets standards for loan modifications, and charges a filing fee. Republicans have their own plan-theirs requires mediation for lenders and borrowers. Both bills rest in the Senate.
One hold up is-Ohio's got a budget deficit, too, and everything else is taking a back seat.
"The attention of the legislature has been so focused on fixed on solving Ohio's budget problems, that other non-budgetary kinds of issues have not received as much focus as they traditionally do," says Senator Jon Husted.
Husted says the legislature has already passed many bills addressing the mortgage issue over the years. He agrees with Foley, that job creation ultimately is the best answer because right now, the economy basically stinks.
"It's not the lending laws, it's the fact that people don't have a job and can't pay back their loans," says Husted.
"Jobs Aren't the Only Answer"
"We're all for job creation obviously, but we can't have that being the only remedy to the foreclosure problem," says Suzanne Gravette Acker with the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio.
"We just can't believe when more bad news comes out each month. We keep thinking we've hit bottom, and that we're come back up, and so maybe we don't need to anything and the market will correct itself, but it's not happening. We do need to make legislative correction," says Gravette Acker.
"We Can Do More"
For Willis Blackshear, top-down legislation would be welcome news, but he feels uneasy waiting for it.
"Sure, I could have easily taken the position that until I see something happening on the state and federal level, on the local level we're not going to do anything. Basically, that's been the prevailing view. I could have done that, but I chose not to," says Blackshear.
Blackshear is looking next to see how judges in other counties deal with mediation programs to get ideas for Montgomery County. He says plans to continue working on foreclosure prevention efforts because this problem isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
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