Foreclosures Are Slowing Down But the Pain Remains Acute

January 28th, 2009 | Tags: Foreclosure Victims

Foreclosures in Geauga and Lake counties are slowing down but the acute pain continues to remain. The ‘For Sale’ signs are there but much less in numbers than in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County.

According to RealtyTrac Ohio ranks among the top ten offending states. It is concentrated mostly in Cuyahoga and Lorain counties having a third of the state’s foreclosed lost houses. Till 31st December last year there had been 2,099 foreclosure postings in Cuyahoga County calculating to a rate of 1:299. It was much higher in comparison to the figures of 2007.In Lake County there were 222 foreclosure listings calculating to a rate of 1:444. In Geauga County 57 residential houses had been foreclosed up during this period calculating to a rate of 1:621.

Attorney Patricia Kidd of Lake County Fair Housing Resource Center said, “If we got any funds in an economic stimulus package for this – foreclosures, mortgage, debt, homeless people, sheriff’s sales, people with no money to rent a place or buy a home – any package would be good.” She analyzed that the figurers of Lake County show that it is much bigger than what is being reported. Out of three listed houses there are seven others waiting to slip into the dreaded zone. She went on to say, “We’re not seeing it decline in either county. We’re seeing progress to the point that it tends to get a little scary. Right now, unemployment is increasing in Lake County, and it’s a new main claim associated with loss of household.”

Edward Icove is another attorney with whom Kidd is in contact. They are trying to give free legal aid to foreclosure victims who are traumatized by not only the fearing of losing their houses but also their jobs as well. This has happened not because of any major fault of the ordinary man in the streets but due to predatory lending. In such cases legal help can be of invaluable help to right the wrong. An attorney can help the borrower to refinance and keep the home. To be eligible for free legal help the total income of a household comprising of four members, has to be less than $53,000 per year.

In 2008 The Cleveland Legal Aid Society interacted with 515 foreclosure victims. Of them 413 were from Cuyahoga County 36 from Lake County. The rest were from Painesville and some other western county cities.