Governor To Sign Ohio Foreclosure Law Requiring Deed Recording Within 14 Days Of Judge's Sign-Off; Allowing Courts To Perform Mediation

In Ohio, The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

• Gov. Ted Strickland is expected to sign state legislation this week requiring sheriffs to automatically record deeds within 14 days of a judge signing off on a foreclosure sale. The goal: to stop homes – and some homeowners – from ending up in a legal limbo in which, on paper at least, no one owns the home. When that happens, properties deteriorate, lawns go unmowed and cities don’t know who to cite. Sometimes the former owners get socked with fines or bills, even after they’ve lost the property.

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• Revisions made when the Senate passed the bill last month would allow courts to perform mediation and permit an open house on vacated or abandoned properties – a move designed to boost sale prices and preserve neighboring property values.

• [Strickland’s Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Task Force] expressed concern about a paper-filing game often played by lenders who buy back the properties on which they’ve foreclosed. Until a deed with the new owner’s name is filed with the county recorder, code enforcers can’t hold anyone responsible for deteriorating properties. And vacant homes can attract crime and other problems, pushing down a street’s property value.

For more, see Housing limbo to shorten (Strickland to sign bill ending deed delays).

In a related post, see Foreclosing Lender Fails To Record Title To Ohio Home, Leaving Former Owner On The Hook For Criminal Building Code Charges.

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