Ohio's foreclosure crisis is continuing... and there are no signs that it will be letting up anytime soon.

On this episode of Applause we step OUTSIDE the studio, and INSIDE a house which has stood in the shadow of foreclosure.

Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports on the president's visit to a neighborhood backyard in Columbus.

As anyone would expect, Republicans in Ohio have a different perspective on the federal stimulus package that President Obama's supporters praise.

A Cleveland Housing Court Judge has ordered a restitution hearing to see if there are any claims to two blighted houses in the city.

The President of Third Federal Savings and Loan tried to quell concerns over increased scrutiny by federal regulators.

What if the house next to yours was vacant, owned by some faceless out-of-town landlord, and going to pot? What recourse would you have if your property lost value as a result? On Thursday's Sound of Ideas, we'll talk about Cleveland Judge Ray Pianka's plan to allow neighbors to seek restitution for damages. Is the judge innovative or is he moving into activist territory? And what other weapons are available, here and elsewhere, to keep neighborhoods from turning into slums? Join us for the discussion at 9:00 this morning on 90.3.

This report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland tracks the foreclosure crisis from its outset.

Mortgage rates are at a fifty year low -- below 4.6 percent. That may sound like cheap money to many people, but if it does, why aren't more of them refinancing their homes? As it turns out, many can't or won't for a host of reasons. Wednesday morning at 9, we take a deeper look at the quirks in the current mortgage market, which would appear to be a buyers' markets (without the buyers). Plus, everything that should be considered when refinancing a home.

Cuyahoga County's Land Bank has struck a deal to buy HUD-owned homes at a deep discount.

A Cleveland judge has fined two South Carolina real estate companies more than 13 million dollars for their continued failure maintain properties.

Justice Department says the number of mortgage fraud investigations is double what it was just two years ago.

A national crackdown on mortgage fraud includes fraud cases from our hard hit region.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon reports on northeast Ohio's foreclosure crisis and small signs of hope in hard hit Slavic Village.

Weekend Edition host Scott Simon reports on northeast Ohio's foreclosure crisis and small signs of hope in hard hit Slavic Village.

Counselors from affordable housing non-profits canvassed neighborhoods around the state Wednesday.

A panel of housing experts debate how to shape government policy to keep the mortgage crisis from re-occuring.

Ohio's plan to spend $170 M million federal dollars to help stem foreclosures is getting positive reactions.

Home prices in the Cleveland area rose from February to March according to the much-watched S&P Case Shiller Index.

Some new numbers indicate Ohio's foreclosure problem is getting worse.

A Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge sentenced a mortgage broker to 14 years for his involvement in a $5.8 million fraud scheme.

We examine the progress of the "Youngstown 2010" economic development program

Lawmakers trying to build consensus around financial reform are focused on who will regulate which institutions and which investments, and whether there ought to be an agency devoted solely to consumer protection. There's another concern: Would any of the proposals have altered the foreclosure wave that demolished Slavic Village along with vast swaths of the rest of the state and nation? Monday morning at 9, join host Dan Moulthrop and guests to talk about where fiancial reform is headed and what difference it might make.

A Swiss-made documentary on Cleveland's mortgage meltdown was screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

This week, WCPN reports connected the dots between some of the region's devastated neighborhoods and the deals that put Goldman Sachs in hot water with the Senate. In short, backing those Goldman bonds were mortgages on homes in Slavic Village. It's a reminder that Northeast Ohio is very close to the heart of the mortgage crisis. Journalist Alyssa Katz tells another side of that same story in her book: "Our Lot, How Real Estate Came to Own Us." We reprise a conversation with her, Tuesday morning at 9 on 90.3.

The news lately offers no clear picture of where we are in this global recession: employment numbers are up, but so are unemployment numbers; the housing market doesn't seem as bad as it was, but Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have just requested for another $19 billion in relief; Greece may have avoided a debt crisis, but last week showed the market is still volatile. So, is the economy improving or not? Tuesday morning at 9, join host Dan Moulthrop and local and national economists for answers.

Cuyahoga County has cut a deal with a federal agency that could lead to improved values for land owners.

State officials say they're making progress in determining how they'll use federal stimulus dollars allocated for mortgage foreclosure relief.

Now that Ohio is in the mix for federal funding to ward off future foreclosures, state officials are setting about designing their proposal.

Over the past 4 years, Ohio has seen around 337-thousand home foreclosures, but state legislators have yet to approve any major bills to stem the tide

Ohio is among several states being added to the federal government's funding program to help struggling homeowners in the hardest hit housing markets.

There is optimism that Ohio's housing market has begun to rebound.

Ohio's congressional delegation and others continue to make the case that Ohio was unfairly left out of federal foreclosure assistance.

Housing experts suspect that the foreclosure crisis has left many area residents "doubled-up" --- living with friends or relatives.

The higher numbers came in tax foreclosure filings, which were far higher than mortgage foreclosures losses.

Money to pay the counselors is set to run out in April, and that has many homeowners and anti-poverty activists worried.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray says the federal home loan modification program is not meeting expectations in Ohio and many other states.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray is backing a federal proposal to eliminate current incentives paid to loan officers and mortgage brokers

The nonprofit housing group ESOP says it has an agreement with Chase to help Ohio homeowners in trouble, JP Morgan Chase, though, won't talk about it

A unique motivational program designed to help Americans avoid losing their home to foreclosure or a mortgage scam.

A Muppet family copes with uncertain economic times. Elmo and his friends offer advice and hope.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says unemployment and loan modification programs are factors for rise in borrowers with good credit late on mortgages

A study by Cuyahoga County's Foreclosure Prevention Program found that Ohio ranks near the bottom of those states finding help from the federal HAMP.

When the Obama administration launched the "Making Home Affordable" program last March, it said the program would help as many as nine million homeowners stay in their homes. At this point, it has only helped about 650-thousand--and for most of them, the help is temporary and may end in a matter of months. To make matters worse, it seems to be having only a marginal impact in Ohio. On the Next Sound of Ideas, why the foreclosure avoidance program doesn't seem to be helping. Wednesday morning at 9 on 90.3.

Dee Perry shares an archived interview and performance with Ohio blues guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer - Jorma Kaukonen - prior to his appearance for the Kent State Folk Festival. Plus we attempt to escape The Tyranny of Email with award-winning writer and book critic John Freeman before his booksigning tomorrow night at Barnes and Noble Woodmere. And local photographer Donald Black discusses his recent art exhibit For Closure, which focuses on the local foreclosure crisis and partners him with poets and writers from The Lit.

Clients in a New York salon, from well-to-do bankers to struggling actors, discuss the recession.

Examine the reasons behind the crash, if it was predictable and its impact on the Great Depression.

Examines causes of the economic crisis and critical moments when it might have gone differently.

An encore presentation of a show in which Mr. Feagler dealt with the foreclosure crisis as it affects greater Cleveland.

Bribery charges cast a cloud over the Cuyahoga County Auditor’s office. The Governor has to hedge his bets on slot machines. And the President loses popular support for the war in Afghanistan.

90.3’s The Sound of Ideas examined the struggles of the suburban middle class, and where people are turning for help.

The worst downturn since the 30's has brought tremendous pressure on Ohio’s social service agencies. The latest data shows the pain has clearly spread to suburbia. The same middle class people who supported charities are now asking them for help to put food on the table and pay for other basics. Requests for help with utility bills have more than doubled. How are those agencies keeping up? And how will the state continue to fund unemployment benefits? Join Regina Brett as she explores the needs of the middle class in this special "Help Wanted" edition of the Sound of Ideas.

A Muppet family copes with uncertain economic times. Elmo and his friends offer advice and hope.

Federal, state and local law enforcement officials filed a massive indictment charging 60 defendants with fraudulently flipping 453 houses.

Chronicles the Bear Stearns deal, the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the $700 billion bailout.

Some loan servicers are letting borrowers facing foreclosure pay as little at 10cents on the dollar to buy their home .

A CSU study says the median price of Cleveland houses not in foreclosure has dropped. On the east side, the drop is dramatic.

Northeast Ohioans had mixed reactions to an event designed to fast-track mortgage modifications.

Banking Committee senators asked federal officials and bank executives why the government can't stop waves of foreclosures in Cleveland.

NE Ohio borrowers in trouble have a wealth of choices to go to for help with their mortgage. We check them out.

A Chesterland, Ohio paralegal firm, Performing Investments Corp, spends hours on the phone daily trying to negotiate for troubled borrowers

Despite billions given to banks to ease credit and a new federal program to help homeowners in trouble, little help is actually occuring.

A Boston foreclosure prevention group is bringing a mortgage restructuring fair to Cleveland.

The foreclosure crisis. What steps are being taken in greater Cleveland to combat the fallout and is there hope for a turnaround?

We make sense of the complicated process of getting and appealing your home's value.

Homeowners in parts of NE Ohio have begun receiving re-valuation notices on their houses, and not surprisingly, most values are being revised downward. Some homeowners may argue the new value isn't actually low enough. Understanding those assesments and challenging them can be a complicated process. And in almost every case, the potential individual property taxes savings comes at a cost to the community. Wednesday morning at 9, we'll talk about how, why and whether to negotiate a lower value for your house and what lower home values mean for our cities.

It’s well known that Cleveland has been among the hardest-hit cities in the nation by the subprime mortgage debacle but now an author says the country’s current economic crisis, the worldwide recession actually originated here. Alyssa Katz suggests that once the ball really got rolling a meltdown was inevitable. It was a storm brewing for years and, she says, the climate for it to break was just right in Cleveland. Our Lot...How Real Estate Came to Own Us Tuesday morning at 9:00 on 90.3.

Borrowers trying to save their house should double check references if hiring a company to help negotiate a loan modification.

A Tremont artist will collect the prestigious Cleveland Arts Prize for emerging artist today.

Cleveland's Housing Court Judge has ruled the Wells Fargo must address housing code violations on its properties if it wants to sell them off.

Cuyahoga County's biggest mortgage fraud case is getting bigger with more indictments announced against sellers and their companies.

Federal Reserve Governor

Financial giant Wells Fargo is in Cleveland Municipal Housing Court to overturn a request to stop it from selling off delapidated bank-owned houses.

Phone workers at United Way's First Call for Help Hotline say a growing number of callers are behind on their mortgages because they've been laid off.

Lenders are looking for new ways to unload bank-owned houses.

Economist weighs in on what results mean for Key, Fifth Third and PNC.

How to get lenders with too many foreclosed houses to talk with cities and nonprofits with new federal housing dollars? One company says it has a way.

Key Corp, Huntington Post losses

United Way 211

United Way's 211/First Call For Help is a free and confidential information service ready to direct you to the health and human services you need in Cuyahoga, Geauga and Medina Counties.

Just dial 2-1-1. Professional staff are available to help you 24 hours a day, every day.

More resources

Save the Dream

The American dream of home ownership is disappearing during these times of crisis. In Ohio, rising unemployment, loss of business, and a bleak economic outlook also threaten that dream.

Help is available. Save the Dream provides information and highlights programs that Ohioians can use to help save the dream of owning a home.

More resources

Upcoming Events

ESOP Partners with Area Suburbs to Help Homeowners

Two additional suburbs will hold local intake sessions, in partnership with ESOP (Empowering & Strengthening Ohio’s People), to provide FREE foreclosure prevention counseling to area homeowners. This initiative builds on ESOP’s track record of making its highly successful foreclosure counseling practices more readily available in Cuyahoga County suburbs.  ESOP already provides intakes in South Euclid and Lakewood.

Starting Feb. 4, 2010, trained counselors from ESOP will also set up shop once a week in Bedford Heights and Garfield Heights. Please see below for more detailed information on the time and location of these new intake sessions. Homeowners do not have to be city residents but MUST call or email ESOP to set up an appointment.

Bedford Heights, Every Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Jimmy Dimora Community Center, 5615 Perkins Road, Bedford Heights, OH 44146

Garfield Heights, Every Thursday at 1 p.m.
Word of Righteousness Family Life Center, 13455 Dressler Avenue, Garfield Heights, Ohio 44125

To make an appointment or for more information, please call ESOP at 216-361-0718 or email .

ABOUT ESOP:
ESOP is a HUD-certified housing counseling agency. ESOP’s success stems from partnerships with various lenders and servicers, allowing for easy negotiation of loan modifications. ESOP has been nationally and internationally recognized for its campaigns against predatory lenders and for its success obtaining mortgage resolutions that keep families in their homes.

More events

Funding

Funding for the coverage of economy and jobs topics comes from The Cleveland Foundation; The George Gund Foundation; The Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation; The Nord Family Foundation; The Bruening Foundation; The Community Foundation for Lorain County; and The Charter One Foundation.