Mark Wiseman targeted loans that don't require proof of income -- nicknamed "liars' loans" -- as he testified Wednesday before a House subcommittee studying foreclosures. He also singled out mortgages with adjustable interest rates.

Rep. Steven LaTourette, the only subcommittee member in attendance, said afterward that Congress should look more closely at the loans. He told the crowd at Cuyahoga Community College that lenders were pickier when he first went mortgage shopping.

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"One asked for my first born," joked LaTourette, a Concord Township Republican. "I wouldn't comply with that."

The hearing was held in Cuyahoga County because it has the most foreclosures in a state that leads the nation. LaTourette said he thinks Congress will study the problem, even though the foreclosure rates in most other states are much lower.

Mike Fratantoni, an economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association in Washington, D.C., said the county's foreclosure rate results from the loss of manufacturing jobs. Restricting mortgage options is unfair to home buyers, he said.

Wiseman and Cleveland Community Development Director Daryl Rush asked for help in dealing with predatory lenders and unscrupulous mortgage brokers and appraisers.

Fratantoni and National City Bank Vice President Deborah Oakley said most of the mortgage industry is honest and will work with struggling homeowners. National City loses an average of $30,000 to $50,000 on each home loan that goes sour, Oakley said.

The bankers said home buyers should shop for mortgages, compare rates and know the terms of their loans. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, a Cleveland Democrat who sat alongside LaTourette, said afterward that Congress might want to require counseling for home buyers.

Ashtabula County dairy farmer Bryan Wolfe, vice president of the Ohio Farmers Union, brought a rural perspective to the discussion. He said farmers are in danger of foreclosure because they have trouble getting credit and are threatened by high costs, including land prices driven up by development.

The list of seven witnesses was missing average homeowners with personal stories of foreclosure. It also lacked mayors from Cleveland suburbs coping with the spread of vacant houses because of foreclosures.

The House Financial Services Committee, chaired by Findlay Republican Michael Oxley, assembled witnesses for the two-hour hearing. The panel wanted to focus on solutions, committee spokeswoman Sarah Morgan said.

Cleveland Housing Judge Raymond Pianka submitted written testimony, asking for help in dealing with vacant, blighted homes. He said lenders are often hard to reach and hide their ownership by failing to file deeds.

The number of foreclosures filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has slowed but remains on a pace to reach nearly 11,000 this year, Chief Magistrate Stephen Bucha III said. The court has more than 12,100 pending cases.

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City of Cleveland House Panel to Study Foreclosures in Ohio