It’s like staring down the barrel of a gun, Janice Switzer said.
The program manager for the Ashtabula County Community Services Office, Switzer holds a thick file folder filled with disheartening statistics.
“Foreclosure, home abandonment, subprime mortgages,” she said. “The list of our county’s housing troubles goes on and on.”
Switzer said the county’s collective housing problems, aggravated by a worsening economy and job losses, are “only going to get worse. I’m afraid.”
“I am not so worried about how bad it is now but really how bad it could be,” she said.
Switzer said the statistics speak for themselves.
“In a lot of areas in this county, 50 percent of loans are subprime,” Switzer said. “It is really sad to see a lot of these cases. In a way, it is like waiting for disaster to strike.”
The county felt a softer foreclosure blow than other areas in 2008, she said.
“The numbers for 2008 weren’t as bad as we anticipated,” Switzer said. “But that sort of leaves us waiting for the shoe to drop, so to speak.”
Switzer said her heart aches for elderly homeowners caught up in the subprime mortgage crisis.
“I am sad for the elderly people who maybe had health issues and refinanced their homes to cover those bills with a subprime mortgage,” Switzer said. “Now, they have a loan in foreclosure when they had almost 100 percent home equity before.”
Local News
Foreclosure rates could worsen
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Shooting suspect to be tried as adult
A 17-year-old will be tried as an adult in the school shooting deaths of three students, a juvenile court judge ruled Thursday after hearing a sheriff’s deputy describe how the teen wore a T-shirt with the word “Killer” and admitted shooting people.
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Ohio EPA takes AIM at site of hazardous wastes
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency staff members returned this week to the site of the now-bankrupt Ashtabula Iron and Metal on West 30th Street to take samples of the unknown liquids and analyze hazardous wastes, asbestos and other potential health and environmental concerns.
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Commissioners look at selling nursing beds
Commissioners have retained the services of a law firm that specializes in the sale of excess nursing home beds as the board looks at ways to raise additional revenues.
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Conneaut looks at demolition funds
The city is making preparations to secure its share of nearly $692,000 in demolition funds expected to be Ashtabula County’s portion of a multi-billion dollar settlement with national mortgage lenders.
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Volunteers get more help than needed at rescue spot
Despite their good intentions, Edward and Mary proved more hindrance than help to the Conneaut KeyBank employees lending a helping hand Thursday to a farm animal rescue operation in Kingsville Township.
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220 graduate at Lakeside
Thursday night was a time of pomp, circumstance and smiles as 220 seniors graduated from Lakeside High School.
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Lost money?
There is no map, and “X” may not mark the spot, but hundreds of Ashtabula County residents may have unclaimed cash ready and waiting for them through the Ohio Department of Commerce.
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Lane to be tried as adult in Chardon High shooting
A 17-year-old boy will be tried as an adult in the school shooting deaths of three students, a juvenile court judge ruled Thursday.
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Happy Hearts School holds commencement for its Class of 2012
As commencement exercises go in Ashtabula County, the one at Happy Hearts School was small, with just five students.
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Teenager accused of making threats to ’Bula school boss
A 16-year-old boy was arrested after he reportedly threatened the superintendent of the Ashtabula Area City Schools district during a meeting earlier this week, sheriff deputies said.
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