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Home > Blogs > Butler County News and Issues > Archives > 2008 > October > 22 > Entry
Foreclosure prevention plan gaining interest
I just received a phone call from a Trenton man fearing he could lose his house. He asked about a plan Butler County is looking into to help save people from foreclosure by buying homes from banks and selling them back to homeowners. Read an overview here.
He’s not alone in his predicament. Another story that ran earlier this week included a Middletown family in the same situation. It also featured concerns some local leaders had with how the program would be implemented. They don’t want to keep people in a home they can’t afford, for example.
The Trenton man isn’t the only one with eyes on the plan, either.
This story is from Columbus-based Ohio News Network:
Paul Barker is not a happy guy. He is not losing his home to foreclosure but his owner is. Barker rents apartments and during the past few years he’s had to pack up his belongings and move.
“This is my third move, fourth move because house is being foreclosed,” said Barker.
Barker heard about a new program Butler County is working on that may help homeowners facing foreclosure. He hopes it works. And so do officials.
“If we could help a small amount of people save their home I think we’ll be happy,” said Butler county Recorder, Danny Crank.
Butler County recorder Danny Crank said thanks to $4.2 million from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department some homeowners may avoid foreclosure.
Under the new Neighborhood Stabilization Program, county officials want to buy houses from banks then sell them back to homeowners.
“If we could help a small amount of people save their home I think we’ll be happy,” said Crank.
To help prevent that Butler County commissioner Greg Jolivette says there are non profit programs like Neighborhood Housing Services to help people with foreclosure questions and financing solutions.
“Double edge sword because we don’t want to help people give them false hope…only to have them fall back into foreclosure two or three months down the road,” said Jolivette.
Officials said part of the money will also be used to tear down old buildings in an effort to give run down neighborhoods a face lift.
“Blighted areas demolition probably see more in city of Hamilton and Middletown,” said Jolivette.
This year there have been 1700 foreclosures in Butler County, but with a new program on the horizon, officials hope that number is a lot less in 2009.
What do you think of the plan?
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Comments
By Delmer Fields
October 22, 2008 5:58 PM | Link to this
I do agree that families need help however I don’t see this program helping enough to make a difference in the number of forclosures.If this plan goes forward I strongly suggest that a “REQUIRED” financial management course be completed by all approved applicants.They are doomed to make the same mistakes without this education.There is something very wrong when a family making nearly $80K a yr can’t make their house payment(that is if they still have a job).I could go on and on about our current economic crissis. Even write a book but I will stop now and see what others have to say. Sincerely.