Lanci Calls to Halt Sheriff Sales

Ken Lanci answers call for leadership on foreclosures and proposes work outs for home and small business owners.

 Ken Lanci, Independent Candidate for Cuyahoga County Executive, today pledged to stop foreclosure auctions of homes and owner occupied businesses in Cuyahoga County if elected. Lanci called upon Sheriff Bob Reid to do the same immediately. According to Ohio’s Revised Code, the county sheriff has authority over foreclosure auctions.

Lanci has been meeting with victims of the financial crisis and recently co-sponsored the Community Shares civic awards luncheon in Cleveland. There, Lanci met with Director of Special Projects Sandra Kluk and members of Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People (E.S.O.P). He had previously interviewed the group’s former treasurer Barbara Anderson on his radio program. Lanci also heard The Very Reverend Tracey Lind of Trinity Cathedral deliver a passionate message about the plight of people in foreclosure.  These compelling stories prompted Lanci to act now on this important issue and not wait until he’s elected.

“The federal government passed the Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP) legislation in 2008 and banks and financial institutions were compensated for their lost investments.  Now that they have been paid, they should not be taking people’s homes and I will put a stop to it in Cuyahoga County,” commented Lanci who has served on the board of directors of a local bank.

Under Lanci’s proposal, people with jobs would not lose their primary residence at sheriff’s sale. Lanci also wants to save jobs by helping business owners keep their commercial property. So if an owner is currently operating a business, his/her commercial property would not be sold at foreclosure auction. 

Lanci offers to be the lead negotiator between banks and mortgage holders. He would work with skilled volunteers and nonprofit groups like ESOP to implement the necessary changes to achieve the desired results. 

“Having more empty homes, homeless people, and houses sold at no less than 2/3 of their current value at sheriff’s auction does nobody any good. We cannot morally allow this to destroy families, neighborhoods and hope at this most difficult of times,” said Lanci.  “The financial institutions lose, the families lose, and our county loses.”

“Cuyahoga County must marshal the resources of its public and private sector and make it a priority to keep people in their homes. Many of these individuals were deceived by predatory lenders in the first place. From a practical perspective, realistic work outs just make more sense than selling people’s homes and businesses at auction. We as a county should not be complicit in the greed that started this crisis,” explained Lanci.

Lanci’s plan would require lenders to provide more realistic values of loans, reduced payments, practical payment schedules and realistic interest rates for borrowers so they can pay off their loans. As the loans are paid, housing values increase. “The goal here is to create a win-win situation for the lending institutions, the home or business owner, and Cuyahoga County. Leadership is needed and we must put our collective foot down now to stem this awful tide of foreclosures,” Lanci said.

Lanci proposes working with the lender, home or business owner and Chief Fiscal Officer in the new county government to create the work out scenario and value the homes in a more realistic manner so the home or business owner can have real world payment schedules which are achievable. The lender can actually receive payment for the loan and the county can begin rebuilding its housing values.

“It is long past the time to take a stand. Definitive leadership is required to stop the foreclosure auctions. Cuyahoga County has the power to achieve this and we must move post haste to stop this atrocity in our neighborhoods. I hope the sheriff will seize the moment on this one. We can no longer wait. I implore our sheriff to move on this topic immediately and I am willing to be an advisor on this until I take office in January,” Lanci concluded.                                                 

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