On the Foreclosure Front

Marie Rehmar, Head of Reference Services, marie.rehmar@law.csuohio.edu | March 09, 2009 - 13:52

On the local front ...

A graphically detailed cover sheet for the Sunday 3/8/09 Plain Dealer lets you see the foreclosure situation on your own street, wherever in Cuyahoga County you might live. Similar maps showing foreclosures can be found on the Cuyahoga Enterprise Geographic Information System (CEGIS)

If you missed Cuyahoga County Treasurer Jim Rokakis’ City Club Forum presentation on Friday March 6th, a podcast is available. He mentioned the New York Times Magazine 3/9/2009 (p. 28) feature on Cleveland’s foreclosure situation: “All Boarded Up,” by Alex Kotlowitz (link is to preview article 3/4/09.)

The Cuyahoga County Foreclosure Program Don’t Borrow Trouble also includes info on Foreclosure Rescue Scams. For questions or concerns about an imminent foreclosure, call 2-1-1 or (216) 436-3000 for assistance.
Track developments related to Ohio’s HB 3 in Gongwer’s Ohio Report.

On the national front -

Find out more about the new federal Making Home Affordable Refinance and Modification Options guidelines at FinancialStability.gov.

The Treasury Dept. and Federal Reserve Board have also announced the new Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), a component of the Consumer and Business Lending Initiative (CBLI). See also the Federal Reserve Board’s Mortgage Foreclosure Resources, which includes Resources for Consumers and Resources for Stabilizing Communities.

The National Consumer Law Center recently announced a new report: Foreclosing a Dream – State Laws Deprive Homeowners of Basic Protections by John Rao and Geoff Walsh. The NCLC Foreclosure Prevention site also has a Model State Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act.
Emerging Trends – State Actions to Tackle the Foreclosure Crisis is a recent (Feb. 2009) National Governors Association – NGA Center for Best Practices report which “examines the latest actions governors have taken to mitigate foreclosures, stabilize neighborhoods, and prevent future mortgage crises.” Mentioned in the Gongwer Report, Vol. #78, Report #45, Article #8, March 6, 2009.

From the F.B.I. perspective, for the year ending Sept. 30, 2007, Mortgage Fraud is included in the F.B.I.’s Financial Crimes Report to the Public Fiscal Year 2007.

CMLawLibraryBlog