An Ohio Mortgage Lifeline: Foreclosure Task Force Formed

Foreclosure filings in Cuyahoga County, Ohio., continue to rise and now top 60 a day, on average, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The flood of Ohio mortgage problems is overwhelming the resources available to help local borrowers, such as the county’s innovative prevention program designed to stave off foreclosures.

The program, Don’t Borrow Trouble, has achieved success since its inception - but can only do so much against a tidal wave of Ohio home loan woes.

Ohio has the worst foreclosure rate of all states. Current projections show the crisis worsening in the coming months.

Wisely, state officials are stepping in to help find and implement a more aggressive, comprehensive solution to mounting mortgage defaults.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ted Strickland formed a task force coordinated by the Ohio Departments of Development and Commerce and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency to devise an intervention program.

Its job is to improve foreclosure prevention methods across the state of Ohio and help people in deep trouble with their home loans.

The Foreclosure Prevention Task Force, led by Commerce Director Kim Zurz, will include representatives of state and local governments, non-profit organization, home loan lenders and other private-sector entities.

The group is to devise better strategies to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure stay in their homes. It is to create a rescue fund through the Ohio Housing Finance Agency, which offers affordable housing programs by issuing bonds.

Within three weeks, that agency is to have a mortgage refinancing program ready for homeowners with low to moderate incomes who have been steered into loans that put them on a collision course with foreclosure.

The fund probably will feature below-market, fixed mortgage rates.

To help seed the $100 million rescue fund, which eventually could grow as high as $500 million, the agency will attempt to find more private-sector sources of capital.

The task force will aim to negotiate concessions from Ohio mortgage broker groups and other loan financiers on behalf of distressed borrowers; erect a safety net for those who cannot stay in their homes despite the intervention measures; and support a more strict monitoring of mortgage investment businesses.

While there’s a long way to go before the foreclosure needs are met, it’s a step in the right direction for officials who sincerely hope coordination quickens the process and lessens some pain.

SOURCE: Cleveland Plain Dealer