Community groups in Cleveland are asking the sheriff to give struggling homeowners a 60-day break from foreclosure auctions.

The ”foreclosure holiday” is being proposed by groups including Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Cleveland and the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. It would begin Christmas Eve, when a weekly sale is scheduled. About 300 homes are to go on the block.

Officials are being asked to hold off auctioning houses that are occupied, to buy owners more time as efforts grow to allow people to re-negotiate their mortgage terms.

Cuyahoga County Deputy Sheriff Marion Wintucky runs the sales and says a moratorium could clog the system. And, county common pleas court judges say lenders have a right to foreclose.

Share This Article by Email or Social Web

Posted: 12|17|07 at 4:22 pm. Filed under: Auction News.