The Lomond Association

Thanks to the many Lomonders who attended the City Council meeting
Monday evening, August 27th. The presence of so many residents at the
meeting demonstrated to City officials that we care about and
understand the impact foreclosure is having in parts of Lomond. We do
not want empty, derelict properties to become targets of criminal
activity, to discourage prospective buyers and renters from living
here, and to lead to further disinvestment in this area. We also do
not want the value of our homes and the tax base of the City of
Shaker Heights to erode because of the melt-down of adjustable rate
mortgages and home equity loans. We value our homes, our
neighborhood, its residents, and the City in which we live. We want
to preserve the quality of life in Lomond and in Shaker Heights.

Mayor Judy Rawson opened the Council meeting by acknowledging that
foreclosure is a problem in parts of south Shaker Heights. However,
she stated that only 1% of properties in the City are in foreclosure
and they are contained in areas in west and south Shaker Heights. She
spoke of the proactive measures each of the City’s departments has
taken to counteract foreclosure, including the City’s effort to speed
up the County’s foreclosure  process. In 2004 the Fair Housing Review
Board, with HUD funding, commissioned a study by Mark Duda and
William Apgar–scholars at the Joint Center for Housing Studies at
Harvard University–”Understanding Mortgage Foreclosure Trends in
Shaker Heights, Ohio.” The study was presented to the City in
November of 2006 with the finalized version delivered in April of
2007. Councilwoman Lynn Ruffner, who chairs the Fair Housing Review
Board, and William Gruber of the Law Department reviewed the efforts
being made at the local, county, state and federal levels of
government to address the nationwide foreclosure problem. At the
local level the nuisance abatement program of the City has recently
expanded to list 44 properties. The City also uses the bond program
established by Cuyahoga County to assist in funding improvement of
blighted property. In addition, the City enforces a new vacant
property ordinance, tracks foreclosures, and purchases vacant
properties for a land bank program, etc. Citizens are encouraged to
report vacant properties to the City and to notify the police of
problems at empty properties. While making public the Duda-Apgar
report, Council did not discuss the report or its recommendations.
Instead, the Fair Housing Review Board brought forward a three page
resolution which referred the problems addressed in the report to the
State and the Federal Governments for action.

The resolution “urges State and Federal officials and legislators to
take decisive action on the following:
A. Preventing further irresponsible lending:
(i)  Increase resources devoted to oversight and supervision of
mortgage brokers and others in the lending industry not currently
regulated by federal law;
(ii) Continue to put pressure on lenders through actions such as
the Ohio Attorney General’s lawsuit;
(iii) Strengthen & enforce consumer protection laws through
measures such as increased damage awards;
(iv) Increase State regulation of appraisers and mortgage brokers;
(v) Ban stated income or “no doc” loans on sub-prime and/or ARM
[adjustable rate mortgage] loans;
(vi) Strengthen federal enforcement of existing bank regulations;
(vii) Increase fair housing enforcement by HUD against predatory lenders;
B. Preventing deterioration of foreclosed properties:
(i)  Provide funding to municipalities to deal with the blight
caused by properties in foreclosure that are not being properly maintained;
(ii) Allow municipalities to use federal CDBG [community
development block grant] and HOME funding in areas with high rates of
foreclosure;
(iii) Impose a tax on high risk loans to provide funds to
municipalities to cover the costs associated with foreclosure;
(iv) Modify state law to allow municipalities to enter, secure and
make repairs to vacant and abandoned properties or properties in
foreclosure after notice and an opportunity to be heard;
(v)  Require the immediate recording and provision of ownership and
contact information after a Sheiff’s Sale, so owners, and in
particular institutional owners, can be held accountable for
the maintenance and care of properties;
C. Restoring stable neighborhoods:
(i)  Take additional action to enable the more rapid completion of
the foreclosure process, including modifying federal law or rules to
prevent repeated bankruptcy filings that hold up
Sheriff’s Sales on already foreclosed properties;
(ii)  Increase land bank powers of cities to obtain properties that
are vacant and abandoned, and those for which there are no purchasers
at Sheriff’s Sales in mortgage and tax foreclosures;
D. Helping consumers overcome problem loans:
(i)  Continue to provide financial support for the housing
counseling and foreclosure prevention activities of non-profit agencies;
(ii) Increase County and State victim assistance programs;
(iii) Require lenders to make loan work outs more available and
beneficial to borrowers in trouble.”

The Lomond Association’s Foreclosure Prevention Partnership will
continue its work disseminating information about foreclosure to the
community. It is planning another public forum on foreclosure for
Thursday, September 20th between 7 and 9 p.m. at the Shaker Community
Building. Jim Rokakis, Cuyahoga County Treasurer, and Ed Kraus from
the Office of the Attorney General of the State of Ohio will speak.
There will be stations around the room during the question and answer
period where attendees can obtain expert answers to their questions
about preventing or stopping foreclosure, what homeownership
involves, how to distinguish good from bad loans, how to get help,
etc. You will see announcements of the meeting as we get closer to
the 20th. Once again, unfortunately, there is an unanticipated
calendar conflict. The Open-House at the Lomond School will be held
that evening.