‘Talk to us,’ banker urges distressed homeowners

By Jon Moffett

A counseling session helps people deal with financial strain.

YOUNGSTOWN — With a struggling economy, the American dream of owning a home can turn into a nightmare. That message, from Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams, was the unofficial theme of Borrower Outreach Day at Youngstown State University on Tuesday.

The event was part of Ohio’s Save the Dream campaign for homeowners. Williams gave a speech to open the program at Kilcawley Center, sponsored by the Ohio Department of Commerce in partnership with Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency. It was designed to educate people about foreclosure and answer any questions on the subject.

The idea was to bring lenders and borrowers together, said Jennifer Flatter, a legislation liaison with the Ohio Department of Commerce.

“Our main focus is to start the communication between a borrower and their mortgage company,” Flatter said. “ ... If we get people to start talking with their mortgage companies, they can start working on their problems.”

Fear is the biggest obstacle in solving a problem, said Mary Jo Earl, a loss mitigation collector for First Place Bank.

“The biggest thing is pride and embarrassment, and they’re afraid,” said Earl. “Well, take the step and talk to us, because the worst thing we can do is say we can’t help you.”

Judge Maureen Sweeney of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court said that the problem is becoming “an epidemic.”

“In 2007, we had over 80,000 foreclosure cases in the state of Ohio,” said Sweeney. “This year alone, in Mahoning County, we’ve had 1,100 filed. The clerk of courts gets about 38 new foreclosure cases a week.”

Sweeney added that there were 1,945 cases of foreclosure in the county in 2006, and at the current rate, 2008 would exceed that “big time.”

The foreclosure problem isn’t restricted to Ohio, said Flatter.

“Unfortunately, we have a very high number of foreclosures across the state,” Flatter said. “And actually, nationally the average is very high.”

Sometimes just seeing a real person there to help is reassuring, said Rick Thomas, Home Savings assistant vice president of default services.

“I think it gives them options; it puts a face with the people that are here,” said Thomas. “I service the mortgages for Home Savings. They can come in and talk to me; I’m the guy who is going to be on the other end of the phone. I’m going to be the one that’s going to make the decisions. It’s real helpful for them to just come in and talk to us about what options are available.”

There are three remaining Borrower Outreach Days remaining. The remaining sessions are today in Canton, Tuesday in Liberty Township, and next Wednesday in Dayton. For more information on the program, call (888) 404-4674 or visit www.savethedream.oh.gov.

jmoffett@vindy.com