Ohio Amends the Foreclosure Process for Properties Vacant and Abandoned

• July 22, 2016
• Robert Harrison

The state of Ohio has amended provisions regarding its judicial foreclosure process as part of a bill signed by the governor on June 28th, 2016. Though the bill amends, enacts, and repeals many provisions, the scope of this article will focus on provisions that were enacted to improve the process of foreclosure.

Sec. 2308.02

This section allows the foreclosure process to be expedited in the case of a vacant and abandoned property. A mortgagee may file a motion with the court to proceed in an expedited manner if the mortgagee is entitled to enforce the instrument secured by the mortgage. In order for the court to deem the property vacant and abandoned it must find:

1. By a preponderance of the evidence that the residential mortgage loan is in monetary default
2. By a preponderance of the evidence that the mortgagee is a person entitled to enforce the instrument secured by the mortgage under division (A)(1) or (2) of section 1303.31 of the Revised Code or a person with the right to enforce the obligation secured by the mortgage pursuant to law outside of Chapter 1303. of the Revised Code.
3. By clear and convincing evidence at least three of the following:
   1. Gas, electric, sewer, or water utility services to the property have been disconnected.
   2. Windows or entrances to the property are boarded up or closed off, or multiple window panes are broken and unrepaired.
   3. Doors on the property are smashed through, broken off, unhinged, or continuously unlocked.
   4. Junk, litter, trash, debris, or hazardous, noxious, or unhealthy substances or materials have accumulated on the property.<
   5. Furnishings, window treatments, or personal items are absent from the structure on the land.
   6. The property is the object of vandalism, loitering, or criminal conduct, or there has been physical destruction or deterioration of the property.
   7. A mortgagor has made a written statement expressing the intention of all mortgagors to abandon the property.
   8. Neither an owner nor a tenant appears to be residing in the property at the time of an inspection of the property by the appropriate official of a county, municipal corporation, or township in which the property is located or by the mortgagee.
   9. The appropriate official of a county, municipal corporation, or township in which the property is located provides a written statement or statements indicating that the structure on the land is vacant and abandoned.
   10. The property is sealed because, immediately prior to being sealed, it was considered by the appropriate official of a county, municipal corporation, or township in which the property is located to be open, vacant, or vandalized.
   11. Other reasonable indicia of abandonment exist.
4. No defendant has filed an answer or objection setting forth a defense or objection that, if proven, would preclude the entry of a final judgment and decree of foreclosure.
5. No defendant has filed a written statement with the court indicating that the property is not vacant and abandoned.

If the property is then deemed by the court to be vacant and abandoned the court shall enter a final judgment and decree of foreclosure and order the property to be sold.

Sec. 2308.03

If a residential property is found to be vacant and abandoned then the mortgagee may enter the property to protect it from damage. In the case of a mortgagee that has not filed a foreclosure action on the property; the mortgagee may only enter and secure the property if the mortgage or some other contract allows the mortgagee to do so. The equitable and statutory rights to redemption of a mortgage, secured by a property that is found to be vacant, expire upon the confirmation of sale of the property.

These provisions are effective 91 days after filing with the Secretary of State. The complete text of the bill which contains these sections can be found here.

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