WYSO Gets National Recognition!
August 4, 2009
Ken A. Bode
On a rainy July evening, I am perched on a stool in the control room of WYSO, an NPR station with a 52-year history in Yellow Springs, Ohio. A staff of nine operates from the lower level of a building on the campus of Antioch University, a college that closed its doors two years ago and is struggling to re-open.
Across the room is station manager Neenah Ellis, a twenty-year veteran of NPR in Washington, who took over WYSO last February. Ellis is preparing to manage the phones for a 7:00 p.m. call-in show, the last of three in a project called “My Home: Facing the Mortgage Crisis,” a programming initiative that has WYSO collaborating with ThinkTV in nearby Dayton and the Dayton Daily News. . . . .
Please read the article:
WYSO – The Little Station That Could – by Ken Bode of the Corporation For Public Broadcasting
You Are Invited to the Forum on Aug 20th!
Dayton Daily News hosts
Facing the Mortgage Crisis: The Next Steps
Community Forum
Dayton, Ohio…Facing the Mortgage Crisis, a community-based project to help Dayton-area homeowners, continues this month with a community forum hosted by the Dayton Daily News.
Facing the Mortgage Crisis: The Next Steps Community Forum will be held at the Cox Ohio Media Center, 1611 South Main Street in Dayton on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 7 p.m. The community service project is a collaboration between the Dayton Daily News, ThinkTV and WYSO public radio. The Forum will be streamed live online on the Dayton Daily News, ThinkTV and WYSO web sites at www.daytondailynews.com, www.thinktv.org and www.WYSO.org. The first hour of the forum will be broadcast Sunday, August 23, 2009 at 10 a.m. on WYSO public radio and will be carried on ThinkTV’s Ohio Channel in September.
Kevin Riley, Editor of the Dayton Daily News, will host the Forum and welcome panelists Dan Foley, Montgomery County Commissioner; Bill Faith, Executive Director of The Coalition on Homelessness & Housing in Ohio; Alfred Patterson Jr.,County Corp; Ken McCall, reporter Dayton Daily New and Emily McCord, WYSO public radio. Facing the Mortgage Crisis: The Next Steps Community Forum will explore what is being done to help homeowners and needed steps to help save neighborhoods. The Forum is free and open to the public; homeowners with questions are encouraged to attend.
Additional resources are available online at http://www.thinktv.org. Computers are available at Dayton Metro Libraries for those who do not have access at home.
Facing the Mortgage Crisis: The Next Steps Community Forum is part of an ongoing effort to connect area residents to trusted foreclosure prevention resources. Media partners include
ThinkTV , WYSO public radio, Dayton Daily News , Channel 7 WHIO-TV and 1290 WHIOAM Cox. Community partners include United Way’s 2-1-1 service, HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton, Miami Valley Fair Housing, CountyCorp, Legal Aide/ Able Law, Greene County Job and Family Services, Greene Metropolitan Housing Authority, Helping Hands Community Outreach Center, League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, Legal Aid/Able Law, United Way- Clark, Champaign and Madison Counties, and Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield
Facing the Mortgage Crisis has been funded in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and is part of its Public Service Media Economic Response Initiative.
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Press Contact:
Gloria Skurski (937) 220-1645
Director of Educational & Broadcast Services
ThinkTV
Or
Aileen LeBlanc (937) 767-9223
Project Director
WYSO
Live Blog: Where We Are and We Are Going Call-in Show
Welcome to WYSO’s live blog for our third My House: Facing the Mortgage Crisis call-in show featuring Beth Deutscher, Executive Director of the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton, Willis Blackshear, Montgomery County Recorder and Richard Stock, Director of the Business Research Group at the University of Dayton. The show will be hosted by Emily McCord. Tonight’s show will focus on Where We Are and Where We Are Going.
Tune in to the 7:00pm show at 91.3 or at WYSO.org. If you would like to ask a question to our panel send an e-mail to news@wyso.org or call 1-800-776-0090.
6:59pm – This is Juliet Fromholt with WYSO. We’ll be starting the program and the blog momentarily.
7:03pm – The Montgomery County Recorder’s office has been reaching out to home owners who may be in danger of facing foreclosure in the coming years. By doing so, they’ve been able to see the future of foreclosure in Montgomery County.
7:08pm – The Making Home Affordable Program is a program for lenders that allows them to help homeowners work through the refinancing process. There still may be a cost, especially if you end up refinancing.
7:11pm – The Homeownership Center of Greater Dayton is one of many organizations that can assist you with looking at your mortgage documents. They can be reached at 937-853-1600.
7:13pm – There was evidence of fraud in the mortgage industry in the early 2000’s. Private backed securities were a large portion of what caused the current crisis.
7:15pm – The rise and fall of housing prices is affected by many factors: where the prices started, how far they rose and fell, area employment rates. Based on information reviewed by the Montgomery County Recorder’s office, they predict that the mortgage crisis will bottom out in 2013.
7:18pm – Our current foreclosure rate is more than 10 times what we saw in the early 1990’s
7:19pm – The Federal Reserve did a study on the Community Reinvestment Act and found that it did not have a negative impact on the housing market. Here’s an article from Business Week on that study.
7:24pm – Here’s information from the Federal Reserve on the Community Reinvestment Act
7:25pm – There isn’t much data yet on whether the commercial real estate market will be affected as dramatically as the residential market.
7:28pm – There are a lot of lease option agreements available, but the terms may favor the investor and not consider what’s best or even good for the buyer. The best option is to purchase a home the traditional way – with a mortgage through a trusted lender.
7:31pm – In some regard, the community banking model may seem more attractive because community banks have suffered less during the mortgage crisis. Many economists would still defend the big banking system, however because the diversification that it can offer. The overarching problem, however, has been regulation.
7:34pm – This can be a good time for people looking to buy, but there are several things to consider: It’s currently harder to get a loan for a home than ever. However, there are many programs available to help people buying a home. There are many local, HUD-approved counseling agencies who are offering education programs for people considering purchasing a home.
7:39pm – The above organizations can also help you look over your mortgage documents before you sign.
7:42pm – There will be some population loss in the Miami Valley due to the employment loss this area has experienced. It tends to cause more troubles for inner cities and inner suburbs.
7:46pm – In a situation where a lender forgives a balance on a foreclosure, that type of forgiveness will not be counted as taxable income in most situations.
7:48pm – It’s important to have an attorney review your loan documents before you sign them. There are several resources for affordable or free legal assistance: ABLE – Advocates for Basic Legal Equality. The Dayton Bar Association can also help refer you to legal counsel.
7:55pm – Many cities have chosen to begin demolishing delinquent properties through grant money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
7:58pm – It’s advisable for long time homeowners to go back and review their loan documents to ensure they understand all of the terms. If there’s something you don’t understand or seems troublesome, seek help from a HUD approved counseling agency.
8:00pm – Thanks for your all of your calls and emails. We do see some comments down below already, and we’ll work to respond to those in a timely fashion.
Live Call-In Broadcast on Thursday, July 30th at 7pm
This is the third of three call-in shows addressing foreclosures and mortgage issues in the Miami Valley.
This Thursday’s program will concentrate on “Where We Are and Where WE are Going.” Issues on the program discussion list include:
- An Assessment of the Housing Market in the Miami Valley,
- Is This a Good Time to Buy?
- What Can You Do to Help Your Neighborhood?
- Consumer and Financial Planning in this New Economy.
Calls regarding all aspects of the Mortgage Crisis are also encouraged.
Expert guests will be Beth Deutscher, Executive Director of the HomeOwnership Center of Greater Dayton and Willis Blackshear, Montgomery County Recorder. The show will be hosted by Emily McCord.
Listeners may call 1-800-776-0090 or send e-mail questions to news@wyso.org subject line “mortgage.”
Live Blog: What Are Your Options Call-in Show
Welcome to WYSO’s live blog for our first My House: Facing the Mortgage Crisis call-in show featuring Kerri Brammer, Home Ownership Center Manager with the Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield and Alfred Patterson, Community Outreach Counselor with County Corp of Dayton. The show will be hosted by Emily McCord. Tonight’s show will focus on What Are Your Options.
Tune in to the 7:00pm show at 91.3 or at WYSO.org. If you would like to ask a question to our panel send an e-mail to news@wyso.org or call 1-800-776-0090
6:59pm – This is Juliet Fromholt with WYSO. We’ll be starting the show and the chat momentarily.
7:04pm – You may many options if you’re facing foreclosure, but the options will narrow depending on your situation.
7:05pm – Both Montgomery County and Clark County officials say that we’re not at the bottom of the foreclosure crisis just yet. Rates may be down in a given month, but they’ll likely spike in the next month.
7:06pm – If a lender tells you they can’t modify your loan until you’re behind on your payments, take advantage of a housing counselor who knows the rules. The lenders may not purposely try to mislead you, but they also aren’t obligated to tell you all of your options.
7:08pm – If you get a notice of a sheriff sale on your home, you will normally receive a notice of eviction after roughly 30 days. During that period, you may still work out an agreement with your lender with the help of a housing counselor.
7:10pm – The government isn’t providing cash to help with delinquent payments. it is facilitating programs that lenders may participate in that can help.
7:15pm – Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield services Clark, Champaign, Logan, and Greene counties. They can be reached at 937-322-4623
7:18pm – Be wary of agencies that want to charge you for help. www.savethedream.org can refer you to a free counselor anywhere in Ohio. Call them at 1-888-404-4674
7:21pm – Information for ABLE Law – a legal aid organization that can help with legal counsel.
7:23pm – If you don’t want to keep your home, you have the option of a short sale – selling your home for less than you owe with the lender forgiving the difference. Another option is a deed in lieu of foreclosure – where the lender accepts the property instead of the money you owe. More mortgage terms are defined here.
7:29pm – There are no income limits to get your loan modified.
7:31pm – If you aren’t getting the answers you need from your lender, it’s best to get an advocate from a HUD certified organization. They are trained and committed to making sure that your situation is properly reviewed. In some cases, lenders have established preservation departments to help, but some of these departments will only work with the non-profits, not always the customer directly. Click here for a list of trusted, certified advocates.
7:37pm – Real Estate agents working on behalf of buyers that are having trouble working through a short sale with a lender may contact the Ohio Attorney General’s office. Here’s their website dealing with both predatory lending and foreclosure assistance. The number to their consumer protection hotline is 1-800-282-0515
7:44pm – Sometimes servicers and lenders are reluctant to go into a short sale because of the legal fees associated with the foreclosure must be absorbed by the lender. There are several levels of management within the servicer that must be gone through to get results with a short sale.
7:46pm – Many times the investor has a contract with the servicer that forces them to wait to act on a deed in lieu or a short sale.
7:49pm – Abandoning your property after a notice of foreclosure or simply the knowledge that you will be foreclosed on can cause additional trouble and costs. There have actually been circumstances where the lender will ask you to stay in the property during the foreclosure process and possibly afterwards.
7:53pm – Foreclosure affects an entire neighborhood, and not just in terms of neighbor’s individual property values. It can affect the quality of education and local services available to a given neighborhood.
7:55pm – Bankruptcy is not necessarily a cure-all. It can be an option, but really it just slows the process down instead of remedying it.
7:57pm – HUD-approved counseling agencies can also provide loan document review services. Even if you’re not in trouble or are buying a home, you can have a trusted counselor look over your documents.
7:59pm – Counseling agencies around the Miami Valley have seen a very large increase in calls. So if you call and don’t hear back right away, be patient, they will get back to you.
8:00pm – Thanks so much for you calls and emails. We’ll be archiving this program on our website. Look for the link here soon. Tune in next week for our third call-in special when we’ll focus on the real estate industry and the state of home ownership in our area.
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