Kilroy advocates foreclosure prevention

Attorney Jack Kilroy addressed an audience of lawyers, realtors, and mortgage lenders as a panelist at a workshop on April 12, 2005 at Lorain County Community College. Jack joined with others in discussing effective strategies to avoid mortgage foreclosure to save family homes in Lorain County.

In his remarks, Jack Kilroy stated:

"Foreclosure is not simply the result of bad lenders or dumb borrowers. Lorain County has seen a loss of living wage jobs. If you don't have the income, you can't pay the bills. We need careful investment of economic development resources to keep good jobs here and to attract new living wage jobs. We need public-private partnerships for sustainable economic development, which features cooperation, creativity and flexibility.

"We need affordable housing options. Most of the new homes being built are not affordable for most the population. It is no wonder people get into mortgages they cannot afford. We need good, safe rental housing to provide viable options to home ownership. With the absence of affordable housing options, the local real estate market is structured to increase the chance of foreclosure.

"There is a well-established and well-funded system to promote home ownership. The government subsidizes, with deposit guarantees, the banking industry. Fannie Mae and other entities strengthen the mortgage industry. HUD and other agencies provide for downpayment assistance and first time homebuyer incentives. Nearly two-thirds of Americans live in owner-occupied and mortgaged homes.

"There is a well-established and well-oiled machinery to process foreclosures. Lenders and their lawyers initiate the process. The courts and the county sheriff finish the process. Nearly one-third of the cases in the Lorain County Common Pleas Court are foreclosures. Most homeowners are unrepresented. Many are unaware of their options in this conveyor-belt system of foreclosure.

"Just as there is a system in place to promote home ownership and just as there is a system in place to process foreclosures, we need a system to prevent foreclosures.

"Financial literacy, consumer awareness, pre-loan credit counseling, crisis response, and legal representation are elements of the system that is needed to respond to this epidemic.

"Banks and lenders, federal agencies, the county offices, the courts, the sheriff's department, lawyers, title companies, and grantmakers, the same entities that provide the resources for home ownership and for mortgage foreclosures must contribute to the system for foreclosure prevention.

"Schools, churches, and labor unions can be enlisted to reach the families that are at risk of foreclosure. Advocacy groups, nonprofit organizations and the community college need resources to provide for training of counselors and to provide for consumer education programs. Legal representation must be available and accessible."

The conference was sponsored by the Lorain County Association of REALTORS� and the Lorain County Reinvestment Coalition www.reinvestmentcoalition.org and was presented at Lorain County Community College on April 12, 2005. Materials for the conference and keynote speaker Mildred Wilkins were provided by Home Ownership Matters, LLC. www.HomeOwnershipMatters.com