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WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 9, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced that $229,140 has been awarded to the Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland, Inc. to provide foreclosure counseling to local families. The National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program funds are awarded on a competitive basis to help prevent foreclosures

COLUMBUS, OH - May 20, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Commerce Director David Goodman today announced an assurance of voluntary compliance (AVC) with Carrington Mortgage Services, LLC to resolve a 2009 lawsuit and to provide relief to Ohio homeowners facing foreclosure."This agreement will help Ohioans obtain affordable modifications to allow them to stay in their homes," Attorney General DeWine said. "We are pleased that Carrington Mortgage Services has worked with our Office and is committed to helping Ohio homeowners avoid foreclosure."

CLEVELAND, OH - May 10, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced his office has filed a lawsuit against The Modification Group LLC (TMG), a Cleveland business that offered to help homeowners avoid foreclosure in exchange for $1,995 or more. The lawsuit alleges multiple violations of Ohio consumer law, including failure to deliver.“We have received dozens of complaints against The Modification Group,” Attorney General DeWine said

CLEVELAND, OH - April 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force operating under authorization of Ohio Attorney General and Ohio's Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced indictments against Takara Madkins, and her company, D. & T. Investments, Inc. Others indicted were Jerrall Collier and Darrick Ceasor, and his company, Dee Cee Supply. All the homes fell into either tax or mortgage foreclosure, leaving a current tax delinquency amount of $30,349.15 owed to the county

WASHINGTON, D.C. - April 14, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- In the wake of a settlement between 14 U.S. mortgage servicers and foreclosed homeowners, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced landmark legislation to prevent future servicer fraud and errors, improve foreclosure counseling and prevention, and reform oversight of mortgage-based investing.

COLUMBUS, OH - April 1, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- Designated as Fair Housing Month, April is recognized nationwide as a time to commemorate the advancements in making equal access to affordable housing available to every American regardless of race, color, religion, sex, nationality, familial and military status, disability or ancestry.

COLUMBUS, OH - March 16, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board today approved $750,000 in funding through the Housing Development Assistance Program (HDAP) to provide flexible, low-interest financing for affordable housing developments. Funding for HDAP comes from the federal HOME program and the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) attended a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs today entitled ‘The Administration’s Report to Congress: Reforming America’s Housing Finance Market.’ The hearing examined the progress the Obama Administration has made in reforming the mortgage During the hearing, Sen. Brown announced that he would file legislation to help Ohio homeowners avoid foreclosure through both affordable mortgage modifications.

CLEVELAND, OH - March 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- County Prosecutor Bill Mason and the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force operating under authorization of Ohio Attorney General and Ohio's Organized Crime Investigations Commission announced a 46 count indictment against Donna Sherman and her title company, Sherman Title Agency, located in Northfield, Ohio.

February 15, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- The report, “Home Insecurity: Foreclosure Growth in Ohio, 2011,” analyzes foreclosure filings and housing trends among Ohio counties and finds that despite a slight reduction foreclosures in 2010 compared to 2009, the 85,483 foreclosures recorded in 2010 remains a dangerously high number. “The growing number of delinquent mortgages and homes with negative equity is simply unsustainable,” said David Rothstein, Policy Matters researcher and author of the report

WASHINGTON, D.C. - January 4, 2011 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and five of his Senate Banking Committee colleagues urged the Federal Reserve to reconsider proposed rules that would eliminate the ability of homeowners to stop foreclosures and rescind predatory home loans. The proposed rule would prevent homeowners from cancelling mortgages that violate the Truth in Lending Act

COLUMBUS, OH - December 29, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In a letter sent today to Ohio judges, Attorney General Richard Cordray has requested that the state courts continue to pay close attention to foreclosure cases that may have affidavits signed by robo-signers. In support of continued vigilance, Cordray highlights several courts that have taken action to address the situation."In tracking these cases throughout the state, we have found that judges are finding different ways to handle them," said Cordray.

COLUMBUS, OH - November 23, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) today announced the launch of the New Home Sweet Home Program that allows homebuyers to obtain a conditional loan reservation to lock their mortgage interest rate during new-home construction. The New Home Sweet Home Program is an extended lock option for homebuyers who purchase a new home and want to use OHFA's first-time homebuyer programs. By allowing for a conditional loan reservation, a lender can offer a rate lock for up to 180 days while a builder completes the construction of the home. The interest rate at the time of reservation will be set at .25% higher than OHFA's standard rate which is currently 4.25% for unassisted loans and 4.75% for loans with down payment assistance.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - November 17, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) attended a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs today entitled ‘Problems in Mortgage Servicing from Modification to Foreclosure.’ The hearing examined the role that the nation’s largest banks have played in exacerbating the foreclosure crisis in Ohio. Yesterday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report requested by Brown on the practice of "abandoned foreclosures," also commonly referred to as "bank walkaways."

WASHINGTON, DC - November 15, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Today, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report requested by U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Chairman of the Economic Policy Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, on the practice of "abandoned foreclosures," also commonly referred to as "bank walkaways." This is the practice whereby banks decline to take possession of properties after initiating the foreclosure process, most often because the costs — from legal fees to maintenance — exceed the value of the real estate

CLEVELAND, OH - October 28, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Citing false statements and documented fraud, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray today weighed in on a GMAC foreclosure case that threatens to oust a Parma man and his family from their home. Cordray filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court foreclosure proceeding and asked the court to consider evidence that GMAC committed fraud that tainted the entire judicial process.Cordray said that although it is unusual for his office to get involved in an individual foreclosure case, the potential use of fraudulent documents in this case prompted him to file the brief

COLUMBUS, OH - October 25, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ohioans struggling to save their homes from foreclosure are now the targets of a new scam surfacing on the Internet. Website ads are popping up from companies pretending to be associated with the government foreclosure prevention initiative Save the Dream Ohio, Attorney General Richard Cordray warned today in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Commerce and the Ohio Housing Finance Agency."The ads are actually from for-profit companies that are attempting to exploit the Save the Dream name," said Cordray. "Ohio homeowners need to be wary of advertisements that promote an association with the free program. Save the Dream Ohio, under no circumstances, will ever require a fee for assistance and will not be associated with any company that has such a requirement.

COLUMBUS, OH - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) yesterday announced that it received three awards for outstanding programs of distinction by its colleagues at the 2010 National Council of State Housing Agencies' (NCSHA) annual conference in Boston.

Washington, DC - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today announced that he is preparing legislation to force lenders to halt foreclosures of owner-occupied residential homes until lenders have certified that they have complied with their contractual obligations to try to reduce eligible borrowers’ monthly payments, using one of several government-sponsored foreclosure prevention programs.

COLUMBUS, OH - October 21, 2010 - (RealEstateRama) -- In response to reports that Bank of America plans to restart foreclosures on borrowers in 23 states where issues of possibly fraudulent documentation have been raised, Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray today offered the following statement: