Number of Ohio Borrowers - Even in Prime, Fixed Loans - More Than Three Months Behind in Payments Up

Thursday, November 19, 2009
Topics: Economy
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According to new data from the Mortgage Bankers Association, one in every six and a half home loans in Ohio are at least one month behind or in foreclosure. And the number of Ohioans seriously late on their mortgage payment has more than doubled over the past three years. ideastream®'s Mhari Saito reports.

In late 2006, the Mortgage Bankers Association says about 25,000 Ohioans were really late on their mortgage payments, at least three months late. Compare that to now. In the last three months, over 65,000 Ohioans were seriously behind on their home loan payments.

The Mortgage Bankers Association’s Jay Brinkmann says two things are happening: rising unemployment is causing more people to fall behind on their mortgages and financial institutions are taking longer to foreclose on troubled loans as they try to help.

Jay Brinkmann: Lenders are attempting to deal with people who have lost jobs, or one spouse has lost a job or they had to take a lower paying job and now they are trying to figure out how they can workout payment of the loan going forward.

But the head of Cuyahoga County’s Foreclosure Prevention Program, Paul Bellamy, says if that’s true, Ohioans haven’t yet reaped the rewards.

Paul Bellamy: We continue to see the industry struggle with loan modifications and workouts in exactly the same way as a year or even two years ago. It just hasn’t changed from our end of the table.

The MBA says trouble with traditional prime and fixed rate loans to people with good credit is driving up delinquencies. The MBA’s Brinkmann blames rising unemployment. 

Additional Information

Mortgage Bankers Association release for 2009 third quarter National Delinquency Survey
COHHIO press release urges legislative action in wake of foreclosure stats.

More In This Series...

This feature is part of the series The Foreclosure Crisis.