Sunday, November 4, 2001
Predatory lending is a growing problem in this area, say coalition members.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A free public forum on combating high-pressure mortgage lending practices will be from 9 a.m. to noon Thursday at Oakhill Renaissance Place Auditorium, 345 Oak Hill Ave.
The event is sponsored by Coalition for Community Reinvestment, a group of local organizations formed to ensure that local banks comply with community reinvestment obligations under federal law.
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Ohio attorney general, Better Business Bureau, Coalition on Homlessness and Housing In Ohio, Consumer Credit Counseling Services, Metropolitan National Bank, and Northeast Ohio Legal Services are scheduled to speak.
High-pressure, or predatory lending, is a growing problem in Youngstown, the CCR says. Lenders aggressively market to blacks and the elderly through mail, telephone and door-to-door sales promising low payments as a way to finance home repairs or to get out of debt.
These lenders often saddle homeowners with balloon mortgage payments that borrowers cannot meet and deliberately fail to tell borrowers they will be paying more over a longer period of time, the CCR press release says.
Once a mortgage payment is missed, the lender immediately initiates foreclosure proceedings.
For reservations and additional information, contact James Ford from the CCR at (330) 744-3196 ext. 28.