WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 30, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- A growing number of lenders are refusing to take possession of homes after they have been foreclosed, leading to vandalism and neighborhood decline in Cleveland and cities across Ohio.

Washington, D.C. - September 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Rep. Betty Sutton (D-OH) announced that the Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority has been awarded a $5,062,162 grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced $17,687,509 in funds for the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Garden Valley Phase III project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - September 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today announced $9,865,000 in funds for the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority’s Briar Hill Annex project.

COLUMBUS, OH - September 23, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Efforts to stimulate and revitalize neighborhoods across Ohio are being aided through the distribution of funds announced by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).

CLEVELAND, OH - September 21, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Representative Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) will host a free foreclosure prevention clinic at the Five Pointe Community Center on Tuesday, September 22.

COLUMBUS, OH - September 16, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board today approved the issuance of up to $16 million in Multifamily Mortgage Revenue Bonds.

COLUMBUS, OH - September 14, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Charles E. Townsend, 39, of Columbus pleaded guilty in United States District Court here to one count of money laundering in connection with his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that exaggerated property values to out of state investors in order to secure funding for the purchase of properties in primarily low income neighborhoods in Columbus.

Washington, DC - September 9, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Vacant homes in many neighborhoods throughout our state are a stark reminder that mortgage foreclosures continue to play a major role in destabilizing the foundation of our economy. Predatory and subprime mortgages, combined with substantial job losses, have led to increasing home foreclosures, home abandonment, and falling housing prices throughout Ohio. The problem affects us all.

COLUMBUS, OH - September 4, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- One hundred affordable housing units are one step closer to becoming a reality with an announcement today by the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA).

COLUMBUS, OH - August 31, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- As a potential homebuyer, you have an incredible opportunity to qualify for the federal first-time homebuyer tax credit of up to $8,000.

Columbus, OH - August 31, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Ohio Treasurer Kevin L. Boyce will officially unveil the Ohio Treasury’s latest Linked Deposit program geared toward providing reduced rate financing for Ohioans who complete weatherization improvements or install energy efficient products in their homes.

COLUMBUS, OH - August 26, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The distribution of affordable housing funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) began today with the Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) announcing the allocation of $3.3 million from the Tax Credit Exchange (TCE) program to North Central Village in Columbus.

Dayton, OH - August 26, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Congressman Michael R. Turner today co-hosted a panel discussion with the Northeast-Midwest Institute examining the impact of the national housing crisis in the Dayton region and communities across the country. Nearly a dozen local and national experts assembled in the Commissioners' Hearing Room at the Montgomery County Administration Building in downtown Dayton to discuss the broad range of issues involved in the housing crisis.

Columbus, OH - August 25, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lisa Patt-McDaniel, interim director of the Ohio Department of Development, and Mark Shanahan, energy advisor to Governor Ted Strickland, today announced that the Ohio Department of Development’s Ohio Energy Office is accepting applications for $14 million in funding available through the Deploying Renewable Energy: Wind and Solar grant program. This announcement marks the first set of renewable energy grants to be funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) in Ohio.

Columbus, OH - August 20, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Data released today by the Mortgage Bankers Association coupled with analysis of a report released last week by First American CoreLogic spell more trouble ahead for Ohio's housing crisis, and offer fresh evidence for the need for statewide foreclosure reform.

COLUMBUS, OH - August 19, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) Board today awarded close to $1 million in funding to 20 Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) through the Competitive Operating Grant Program.

Cleveland, OH - August 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Over 450 Ohioans packed into Ford Auditorium, at Case Western Reserve University, to hear Representative Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11) deliver her Inaugural State of the Congressional District Address. Many more stood in the hallway, hoping to enter.

COLUMBUS, OH - August 13, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Lisa Patt-McDaniel, interim director of the Ohio Department of Development, today announced that the Village of Carrollton, Fulton County, and Mahoning County will receive grants totaling more than $1.1 million from the federally funded Water and Sanitary Sewer Program, administered by the Department’s Community Development Division.

CINCINNATI, OH - July 29, 2009 - (RealEstateRama) -- Jessica A. Zbacnik, 42, of Monroe, pleaded guilty in United States District Court here for her role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that affected 210 residential properties, including 205 in Montgomery County.