Herman Law

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Are you having mortgage troubles? My law practice has centered on foreclosures for 10 years. Please feel free to call me for some free advice.

The first online sheriff's auction for Cuyahoga County has just concluded. Looking to see how the magistrates handle the returns of sale. . .

Online sheriff's sales have arrived in Cuyahoga County. The judges of the Common Pleas Court adopted - on an emergency basis - changes to the local rules allowing online auctions. First set of online auctions will start September 28, 2020.

It appears the Cuyahoga County Sheriff will resume foreclosure sales in late September. I am told the sales will occur online, by a third-party vendor, but the notices still indicate the sales will happen in the Justice Center. It is a bit confusing. More to follow . . .

Just a reminder to pro se litigants that the Supreme Court of Ohio tolling order expires today.

FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac have extended their foreclosure moratoriums until August 31, 2020. This means any government-backed loans won't be sent to foreclosure until the end of August. It also means that loan servicers should inform judges in pending foreclosure cases that the cases cannot go forward until at least September 1, 2020.

They key word here is "should." I have found that some servicers or their collection firms are not filing notices of moratorium. The danger here is that the court, not knowing a moratorium is in place, may decide on cases when they shouldn't.

If you are falling behind in your mortgage payments, it is crucial for you to know if your mortgage is government-backed. If your mortgage is government-backed, then the loan servicer must grant you a forbearance if you ask for one and state that you are facing economic problems due to the COVID-19 emergency. Your mortgage is government-backed if it is insured by the Federal Housing Administration, or if it is guaranteed by either of the two government-sponsored entities (GSE's) in the housing industry, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

So, how do you know if your mortgage is government-backed? It is pretty easy to tell if your loan is FHA insured: the mortgage itself has an FHA loan number in the upper-right hand corner of its page. If you don't have a copy of your mortgage, you can find it online at the Cuyahoga County Recorder's website.

If your loan is not FHA insured, then proceed to check if it is guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Unlike with FHA loans, you cannot tell if a mortgage is GSE-guaranteed by looking at it. Instead, you need to go to the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac websites to do loan searches, by putting in the address of the property and part of the Social Security number of the primary borrower.

Earlier this month the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas exempted foreclosure cases from the Supreme Court of Ohio's COVID-19 tolling order. This means that foreclosure cases frozen by the COVID-19 stay are beginning to resume. If your loan is backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or FHA, the cases are still stayed (paused) under the federal moratorium until June 30, 2020.

The Five Things a Bank Must Prove in Ohio Foreclosure Cases Ohio is a judicial foreclosure state. This means bank must initiate a lawsuit against the borrowers before it can foreclose and have the property sold. In that lawsuit, the bank must establish the fol

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