Housing Activists Ask for Freeze on Evictions

Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Topics: Economy, Other
Download  RSS  Short URL  Share

Housing advocates are asking for a break on auctions of foreclosed homes and evictions of the homeowners for the holiday season. ideastream®'s Mhari Saito reports.

The Christmas tree is decorated and the stockings hung in Tina Williams’ home on E.112th street. Then at 9:30 yesterday morning, the moving vans came to evict her. The 43-year-old phlebotomist lost her home in foreclosure, falling behind on mortgage payments after losing her job. But at the last minute she caught a break. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court granted a stay. The moving vans left and she’s home, at least for the holidays.

Tina Williams: “To be honest, it’s a great feeling, but it’s also a bad feeling. Because how many folks will get I stay like I received?”

Williams and 19 community-based groups are asking for a similar present for other homeowners in trouble. They want the courts to halt sales of foreclosed houses and evictions for 60 days.

The Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s office says any freeze would clog up a system already overloaded with foreclosures. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Eileen Gallager says the courts can’t stop a judgment of foreclosure from going forward without a legal basis, regardless of the season. 

Additional Information

See blogger Bill Callahan's map of scheduled Christmas Eve Sheriff's sales for Cuyahoga County here.

More In This Series...

This feature is part of the series Mortgage Meltdown.