Sen. Sherrod Brown calls for end to free pass for banks that abandon foreclosed homes

CLEVELAND - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said Tuesday that guidelines released from a bureau of the U.S. Treasury Department  amount to a free pass for banks that abandon foreclosed homes. 

Brown called for tougher standards to prevent evictions of Ohio families and neighborhood blight.  

"Too many Wall Street banks are walking away from too many Ohio Main Street communities," said Brown. "And when they do, they leave behind homes that are often vandalized and left to crumble. Ohioans are seeing their property values plummet as abandoned homes on their block or in their neighborhood are left to decay or stripped of anything of value. Meanwhile, cities and counties are left footing the bill for what the banks' irresponsibility."

Brown released a letter to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that urges stronger standards that he said will help keep families in their homes and help protect communities from having to pay thousands in maintenance fees on abandoned homes.

Jim Rokakis,the director of the Thriving Communities Institute and former Cuyahoga County Treasurer said, "Bank walkaways hurt homeowners, neighborhoods, and entire cities," said Rokakis.

"At a time when the foreclosure crisis has hit Cleveland hard, we need federal guidelines that work for homeowners, not for big banks that have decided to walk away from Ohio communities," Rokakis said.