Report reveals increase in area home foreclosures
By Maria Lindsay
AKRON — A study on predatory lending in Akron revealed property values in the city are declining as banks sell the foreclosed homes for less than their market value.
The study was prepared by the
Task Force on Predatory Lending, which was commissioned
by Akron City Council in December 2006 to get a handle
on the magnitude of the problem. Chaired by Lolita Adair,
owner of Adair Realty, and comprised of related law
and real estate professionals as well as Council representatives,
the committee compiled facts on the foreclosure problems
in Summit County, and particularly
in Akron, and presented it to Akron City Council at
the Sept. 24 meeting.
“The study gives us a good
snapshot of what is taking place in our community, which
is a microcosm of what is happening in the nation,”
said Councilman Mike Freeman (D-Ward 9), who was part
of the committee. “The solution is going to require
action from the state, but locally we can at least provide
information on lending and appraisal practices.”
According to the study, the number
of foreclosure filings in Summit County grew from 621
in 1994 to 4,533 in 2006. Also, the Summit County Sheriff’s
Office registered 1,060 foreclosure sales between Jan.
5 and April 27, with 70 percent
of those located in Akron.
The report suggested the high
number of foreclosures in the county is a result of
predatory lending practices and goes on to document
a historical perspective on how the problem developed
and the role lending institutions and Wall Street has
played.
Adair stated in the report that
older communities in Akron have been prime targets for
mortgage scamming as well as target markets for unscrupulous
lenders who prey on older residents.
“Driving down home values
within neighborhoods saturated by these bank-owned properties
should sound a loud alarm to everyone,” Adair
wrote in the report. “As the value of these
homes go down, county valuations
will plummet and result in less revenue to keep programs
and services available to the community.”
In addition, the abandoned properties
invite criminal activity, she wrote.
Adair outlined a number of recommendations
for Akron City Council to combat the problem, including:
• the establishment of an
office to review loan documents of residents who believe
they may be victims of predatory lending and a housing
court in each ward to assist residents, and work to
restrict the sale of multiple homes by one owner in
a one-year period; and
• lobby state legislators
and Congress to address the problem by tightening
related lending laws and protections
for consumers.
The task force also presented
to Council a consumer’s guide to home ownership.
Freeman said the committee hopes to make that information
and the report available to the public upon request
and through a Web site in the future.
In other business, Council approved
an application for a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency’s Brownfield Assessment Grant
Program that, if approved, would be used to assess hazardous
materials and petroleum contamination at three Akron
sites, including the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co.
corporate headquarters area (Martha Avenue, East Market
Street and Massillon Road);
the “biomedical corridor” that runs from
Akron City Hospital, Akron General Medical Center and
Akron Children’s Hospital; and the Ohio &
Erie Canal Corridor.
Council also approved the following
items:
√ the purchase of upgraded
network equipment for Akron Municipal Court;
√ authorization for the
city’s director of health to enter into an agreement
with Ritzman Pharmacies Inc. to dispense drugs to patients
of the Akron Health Department; and
• authorization for the
director of public service to request the Ohio Department
of Transportation add South Martha Avenue and a portion
of South Seiberling Street
to the state highway system, making them eligible for
state funding assistance for improvements and maintenance.
Council plans to adopt at the
next meeting authorization for the mayor to contract
with EB Jacobs LLC to develop a written examination
for entrance-level firefighter/medics. City officials
hope to fill at least 39 vacancies in the fire department
after a three-month training period to begin in March
2008.
Council will next meet Oct. 1
at 7 p.m. in Council Chambers on the third floor of
the Akron Municipal building, 166 S. High St. in Downtown
Akron. Committee meetings are scheduled to begin at
2 p.m.
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