WKSU News: Sen. Brown plans to speed up home sales

Friday, March 30, 2012 Sen. Brown plans to speed up home sales Proposed act would decrease lengthy wait time on "short sales" Story by GRANT ENGLE

Sen. Sherrod Brown announced his plan to shorten the wait time of "short sales" in Independence

Nearly 25 percent of homeowners in Cuyahoga County owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth.

Sen. Sherrod Brown announced a plan earlier this week that will speed up the process to sell these homes.

When a homeowner wants to sell their house for less than what they owe they have to wait for the bank’s approval. This is called a short sale.

Brown’s plan would require banks to close short sales within 75 days of the buyer and seller reaching an agreement. He says the longer wait has squashed many deals and hurt Northeast Ohio’s economy.

Sen. Sherrod Brown explains why some short sales take so long

Other options:

MP3 Download (0:22)

“The problem is the banks have been very slow when this buyer and seller come together, in large part because this loan has been sold and re-sold and re-packaged and sliced and diced, and some of it’s been securitized in a way that they have trouble tracking it all down. So it takes so long, often times the buyer, after weeks and weeks of this, will walk away.”

Brown says the bill would strengthen neighborhoods and the housing market because it "will allow people to get their mortgages under control.”