Foreclosure Home
This website is
available to make Medina County residents
aware of
the steps that can be taken to avoid foreclosure. It is also a
resource to provide general foreclosure information.
Commissioners
Corner
MEDINA COUNTY FORECLOSURE PREVENTION TASKFORCE
By Pat Geissman,
Chair
While
traveling to Hinckley in July of 2008, I
noticed several homes that were vacant and overgrown with weeds. I knew there
was a great possibility these homes had gone into foreclosure and neither the
owner nor the bank holding the mortgage was tending the property. I knew also
this had a negative affect on the surrounding homes by lowering property values
and encouraging crime.
Upon
checking records, I found that we had 856 foreclosure filings in Medina County
in 2007. In 2008, foreclosure filings totaled 981 and that number is still
skyrocketing with 1,000 foreclosure filings expected by the end of 2009. That’s
not just numbers – it’s families in crisis.
I contacted
local bankers, real estate brokers, members of the county’s Housing Network,
and others that were concerned about the high rate of foreclosures in Medina County
and were interested in doing whatever could be done to keep these families in
their homes. At our first meeting, we determined families were facing
foreclosures because of loss of jobs, illness, divorce, and other life-changing
events. From this key group of people, the Medina County Foreclosure Prevention
Taskforce was created, as we believed there were ways to help these families in
crisis.
We decided
to dig our heels in and go to work! An analysis of the available foreclosure
information at the regional, state or national level did not provide Medina County
residents with many choices to help them in their time of need. Collectively,
the group began the task of identifying as many opportunities for local
assistance as possible and to make those sources more readily available to
local residents who wished to utilize those agencies, businesses or organizations
in a convenient, confidential and informative format.
To date, we
have developed this foreclosure prevention website. The taskforce is also
working on a continuing public awareness campaign that will encourage
homeowners who are faced with foreclosure to seek help as soon as possible. The
county taskforce also includes guidance to
pre-foreclosure families through Community Legal Aid. This is a free service
regardless of income or the home’s value. Community Legal Aid can be contacted
directly at 1-800-998-9454
or through the Auditor’s office.
In
2008, our county auditor and taskforce member Mike Kovack, after extensive
research, partnered with ESOP to assist homeowners having difficulty with their
mortgage payments in Medina
County. This partnership has
become the most effective form of assistance to help homeowners facing the
foreclosure dilemma. Through the auditor’s website, the taskforce’s website, press
releases and other publicity including TV presentations, as well as many
newspaper and other local publications, his office receives requests for help
on a daily basis.
The success of his program with ESOP and partnership with
the Medina County Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce has made Medina County
stand out in Ohio
for taking the leadership in dealing with the results of the current economic
crisis.
The taskforce
had promoted other agencies in our first year of organization, but those
agencies tended to refer people to other agencies, causing confusion. The
taskforce now recommends the County
Auditor’s office as the
first step in obtaining assistance.
Please call
330-725-9137.
