foreclosure prevention summit

I attended a foreclosure prevention summit sponsored by HUD in Cleveland yesterday along with Barb Murray from our MBOR office and Marylin Carr, president of the board of MBOR. I've added a page to my website, www.alanwigton.com , on the subject with some notes on the summit and some resources.

foreclosure prevention

There's lots in the news about foreclosures now that the problem has become a factor in the more affluent markets, even though here in Ohio it's been an ongoing issue for some time. Contrary to what you may have heard, Ohio doesn't lead the nation in foreclosures. Ohio is eighth. The number one state is Colorado followed by Georgia, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Indiana and Florida based on percent of households. 3% in Colorado; 1.7% in Ohio.

Anyone who thinks they may be headed into a foreclosure situation should call Ohio's Foreclosure Hotline if they do nothing else. 1-888-995-HOPE (4673).

The hotline will connect you to Ohio's Foreclosure Prevention Task Force for outreach and education, proactive intervention, and financial resources.

more on hud properties

HUD properties are still off the market (see previous post). There is going to be a change regarding the listing broker when these come back. In the past, Michael Rath, out of Akron, was the listing broker and his office received a 1% commission on the sale.
The new scheme is to allow the listing broker to place their sign on the properties and they will no longer receive the commission. The number of buyers the listing office acquires through calls to the phone number on the sign is supposed to more than compensate for the loss of the 1% commission. The 5% commission on the buyer's side will stay the same. I understand that Michael Rath is out of the game now, and I'm curious to see what office has picked up the listings for Richland County.

school levy

Dr. Lloyd Martin, Mansfield Schools Superintendent, spoke at Thursday's meeting of the Mansfield Board of REALTORS Directors. He made some excellent points and a convincing argument to support this school levy. There is no doubt he is absolutely passionate about getting this levy passed and moving on to turn the system around. He made one point in particular that should resonate with any property owner, and that is that if this levy doesn't pass property values in the district will continue to drop at a cost far exceeding the additional cost of the levy if passed. As he put it, it's another case of "pay me now, or pay me later".
The schools haven't had an increase in funding since 1993, and in the face of all of the increases in costs since that time including health insurance, it's ridiculous to expect the system to function without a new levy.
The board voted unanimously to support the levy, joining an unprecedented show of support from business leaders, groups, and organizations who have all come to realize the economic fate of this region depends on the financial and academic well-being of the Mansfield schools.

OAR Spring Conference

The Ohio Association of REALTORS held their Spring conference at Easton in Columbus earlier this week.
The big news for Mansfield REALTORS is that Barbara Murray, the MBOR executive officer, has been recommended to OAR leadership to be appointed as 2008 Vice Chairman of the Association Executives Committee!
Action items of the Directors meeting included unanimous approval of a resolution supporting HB 110, SB 83 which will rescind septic system rules which became effective 01-01-07 and revert back to rules previously in effect, adopting new rules by 01-01-08 after reevaluation of the economic impact and drafting new rules.
Also passed unanimously was a resolution to support the recommendations in the report of the Task Force to Study Eminent Domain. The recommendations provide both procedural and substantive protections for property owners whose property is taken by a governmental agency through eminent domain, without unduly restricting the use of eminent domain for legitimate public purposes. The recommendations augment the Ohio Supreme Court ruling in the Norwood case, which held that the state constitution forbids the use of eminent domain for solely economic purposes.