Lawmakers target foreclosure crisis

Rep. Paul Gillmor, a congressman from northwest Ohio, called a meeting this morning to discuss Ohio's housing foreclosure crisis. The state leads the nation in home foreclosures and Gillmor wanted to provide a forum for Ohio lawmakers to hear from housing experts.

The only problem was that the meeting - held today between 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. - took place BEHIND CLOSED DOORS. A spokesman said lawmakers and panel participants would be better able to talk candidly without cameras in their face. Hmmm... Someone's afraid of the media?

Since we weren't there to witnes what was said, we have to take it from Gillmor that "cooperation and solutions were on the minds of the participants" at the meeting.

Here's what Gillmor had to say about the meeting, via news release, later in the day: "I think today's discussion will be useful to the Ohio delegation as we move forward towards a solution to our state's foreclosure crisis. Ohio's problems did not surface overnight and cannot be solved with one meeting. That being said, today's summit continued a very important dialogue about Ohio's foreclosure problems and we must proceed with creative solutions, both public and private, to stem the rising tide of home foreclosures."

Here's who was there: Ohio Reps. Gillmor, Deborah Pryce, Charlie Wilson, Steve LaTourette, Steve Chabot, Jean Schmidt, Mike Turner, Jim Jordan, Tim Ryan, Zack Space and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

Here's who they heard from: Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Commissioner Brian Montgomery, Don Corley of WSOS Community Action Commission in Fremont, Ohio, and Eric Gillett of Sutton Bank in Attica, Ohio.

Gillmor, who is the top Republican on the Financial Institutions Subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee, said three main reasons for the high foreclosure rate in Ohio emerged from the roundtable discussion:

1. Many people are refinancing their mortgages to pay off credit card balances and then falling deeper into debt;
2. Many people do not know the terms of their loan and whether it is a fixed or adjustable rate mortgage; and
3. Homeowners are often wary of efforts to assist them with mortgage troubles.

According to Gillmor, here are some solutions discussed at the roundtable:

1. Encourage greater financial literacy;
2. Improve the tax treatment for homeowners who refinance their loans in order to remain in their homes; and
3. Modernize the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan process.