Ohio: "A tsunami of Foreclosures is on the way!"

So Many Mortgage Related Problems in Ohio, Legal Aid Can't Handle Them All . . . What's More, It's Going to Become a Lot Worse . . .

Every once in a while, you read a short news item on the web which doesn't make the front page of say the New York Times, Raw Story, the Drudge Report, USA Today, etc., yet the story contains something which tugs at your heartstrings.

I read such a story just moments ago.

Ohio’s Foreclosure Prevention Task Force held its fourth meeting today in what was billed as an opportunity for borrowers facing foreclosure or people who’ve been through the foreclosure process to tell their stories.

Instead, almost all of the 21 speakers who signed up were officials from agencies that represent borrowers or businesses involved in mortgage lending – and all had an opinion on how to stem foreclosures in Ohio, which rose 24 percent in 2006.

Mark Lawson, a senior attorney for the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, told the panel that his organization has so many people calling for help with mortgage-related problems that it can’t begin to handle them all.

“This is an epidemic. You think it’s bad now? You have a tsunami of foreclosures on its way,” said Tom Conley, a self-described foreclosure intervention specialist from Columbus who said he went through a foreclosure a year ago.

Investor seminars are being offered around the country teaching people how to profit from people saddled with overvalued houses and mortgages they can’t afford, Conley warned.

Gov. Ted Strickland set up the task force this spring to foster foreclosure prevention, as well as intervention and strategies to assist distressed mortgage holders. The task force includes representatives from local governments, lenders, non-profit sector and private sector..

Inside this story is vignette about a scumbag Realtor who also wears the hats of mortgage broker and construction contractor. This man took advantage of an ignorant working woman. Here's the few paragraphs detailing how this poor woman was deceived by a black hearted businessman who is probably still out there making more deals of this type.

(I know a similar Realtor/Mortgage Broker in Key West with the same sociopathic tendencies. I pass this along as a public service. The more stories like this you read, the lower your chances you will be taken advantage of in the future when you decide to finally buy Real Estate.)

As I've said before on this blog: don't put your trust in strangers who only look at you as a big hefty commission:

Lawson cited one example of an unidentified woman who bought a two-family house in 2005 with an adjustable-rate mortgage that started with an interest rate of 9.5 percent.

The property was appraised at $130,000, although an earlier appraisal put its value at only about $70,000.

She bought it on the recommendation of a real estate agent who, Lawson later discovered, was an owner of the company that arranged the mortgage.

The loan included $15,000 for repairs necessary to make the second unit rentable, which the real estate agent contracted to perform himself, Lawson said. The repairs were never completed, and the woman will probably have to give up the property, he said.