Explanation
The Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force was established in March 2007 by Governor Strickland to scrutinize the increasing number of home foreclosures in Ohio. The Task Force, chaired by Ohio Department of Commerce Director Kimberly Zurz, includes representatives from local, state and federal governments, members of the Ohio banking and mortgage banking communities, and non-profit housing advocates. The Task Force recommendations were issued in a final report September 10, 2007. Two peices of federal legislation currently being considered support findings of The Task Force, which are to remove obstacles that currently prevent bankruptcy courts from restructuring home mortgages in order to help people avoid foreclosure and to allow the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to local governments to fund the demolition of vacant housing.
Additionally, The Task Force makes reccomedations that include educating people early in the homebuying process and encouraging them to get help before a foreclosure is emminent. Community Development Block Grant funds are currently used to support such programs, but the use of funds for this purpose are restricted to a 15% Public Services cap. In order to expand programs that will help homeowners avoid foreclosure, while keeping the bulk of funds for housing, it is proposed to list such programs as specifically eligible for the bulk of the funds used for home building, home rehabilitation, and if the reccomendation is followed, now homebuyer counsesling and other programs to help keep people in their homes.
Title
To urge federal lawmakers and The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to address the national foreclosure crisis by specifically identifying Homebuyer Counseling and other programs designed to help individuals avoid foreclosure as eligible use of Community Development Block Grant Funds, and by passing the federal "Helping Families Save Their Homes Act," as well as the ...
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