A recent Cleveland Plain Dealer article discusses the anticipated raising of foreclosure filing fees in Cuyahoga County OH.

Higher foreclosure fees aim to reduce backlog
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Thomas Ott
Plain Dealer Reporter

Higher court fees paid by lenders will help Cuyahoga County whittle a huge backlog of foreclosures.

Common Pleas judges will raise the filing fee on foreclosure cases from $275 to $475, perhaps as soon as today. The increase is expected to produce $1.5 million to $2 million a year to hire four more magistrates.

The court's eight magistrates are buried under more than 12,000 pending foreclosures. Critics, including mayors alarmed by a spike in vacant homes, say some cases drag out for years.

The money will also pay for other staff, computer equipment and renovation of office space, Court Administrator Thomas Pokorny said. He hopes to complete the work by January.

Foreclosure lawyer James Sassano proposed the fee increase. He put foreclosure reforms in motion by complaining to South Euclid Mayor Georgine Welo and Fairview Park Mayor Eileen Patton. They went to the county commissioners, resulting in plans for reform.

For example, magistrates have begun pushing foreclosure cases involving abandoned homes to the tops of their dockets, Chief Magistrate Stephen Bucha III said.

Treasurer Jim Rokakis hired lawyer Mark Wiseman to head the county's Foreclosure Prevention Project. Wiseman, formerly of Housing Advocates, a nonprofit group, will coordinate counseling and other help that nonprofit agencies provide to homeowners facing foreclosure.

United Way Services' 2-1-1 First Call for Help line will route people to the counseling network, once it is in place, said Stephen Wertheim, director of the telephone service.

The county also plans a campaign to warn about so-called predatory loans, which come with high interest rates and fees. Economic Development Director Paul Oyaski has proposed a three-year, $3 million effort, with the county contributing half of the money and donors the other half.

http://www.cleveland.com/search/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/113265184295220.xml?ncounty_cuyahoga&coll=2

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