Lorain/Elyria, OH
LOSING A HOME: Taylor’s case indicative of greater county problem
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Like Catherine Taylor, low-income residents all around the county are suffering, said Michael Ferrer, who coordinates employment and economic programs for the Lorain County Urban League.
“We’ve got a lot of problems right now, with lots of people looking for a way out,” he said.
He said the situation is especially bad in Lorain, quoting a huge poverty rate jump there in recent memory.
Ferrer said that from 2005 to 2006 — which are the last poverty statistics he has — the number of Lorain residents living in poverty rose from 17.6 percent to 26 percent.
In the same time, U.S. Census reports show Lorain County’s poverty rate went from 11.7 percent to 14 percent.
But those are just numbers. Ferrer said it’s even more heartbreaking when he puts names to the faces that the numbers represent.
“I see these people all the time,” he said. “To me, it’s devastating. These are good people trying to do better for themselves.”
Many low-income residents don’t have much to eat, they often can’t afford to leave the house and they’re certainly not hitting the shopping malls, movie theaters or community festivals, he said.
Just like Taylor, a lot of them are losing their homes. Ferrer said he talks with teens every week who are worried their parents could face foreclosure any day.
There are also many who have good housing through welfare, but are still desperately trying to get off welfare even though they know it means moving to inferior housing, he said.
“We’re in tears many times at what they are going through,” he said. “And with funding cuts, we’re losing ground. We’re not able to keep up, but the problem is growing and families are still being hurt."
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“Like Catherine Taylor, low-income residents all around the county are suffering, said Michael Ferrer, who coordinates employment and economic programs for the Lorain County Urban League.”
If these organizations are set up to help people, then why didn’t they tell Ms. Taylor to contact the tax department directly and set up a payment plan?
I guess they can justify their worthless existence at do NOTHING jobs if they sound the alarms and call the local papers instead…
…then smile for the photographer acting like they’re actually earning a paycheck themselves.
Talk about your welfare!
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I can see it coming now! Article after article of sob stories to try and get donations to “Save my home” which I have worked so hard for. This is Bull____ and if you can’t pay, don’t buy, it’s as simple as that. This is a slap in the face to we homeowners who fulfill our obligations mo matter what happens. Get another job, sell your house and move, do something other than waiting for someone to bail you out.
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Johnbear.. That isn’t very nice at all. Do you not realize that this women is HANDICAPPED! My mother is also on SSD. and has a fixed income, but fortuntaly for her she was not wrapped up in alot of them balloon payments that went around. There are many people across this country that got mixed up in these QUICK ways of making your mortgage cheaper and than bam! you get sucked into the hole years later. It is very sad. Granted there are people out there that could go to work and make money to save their homes, but when you figure out that starting wages at MCDonalds is $7.00 a hour x that by 40 doesn’t equal to alot of money. I do believe that those that deserve the help should get it, but those who rely on welfare to support them, while they have their sugar daddies/mommies staying with them, then no they shouldn’t receive any kind of help!
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If people want to help out, then just let them, because if the Electric company gets this hike they are wanting, I WILL BE AT THE CT TRYING TO GET HELP ALSO… grrrrrrrrrr
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For everyone’s information this woman’s house is paid for unlike alot of people in Lorain County. She got behind in her taxes due to home repairs. How could some of you be so unkind hearted to this woman. She has done something alot of us wish we could do and that’s pay off our home. Alot of you that are reading about this is behind in your mortage and other bills as well and is mad because there are a few people out there who really cares. She is not looking for a hand out but just letting society know about what the county can do for you….After working so hard to keep what she got! Step back and take a hard look at the situation. She is elderly and needs a little help. If it had of been your parents you would do the same thing. She was going to lose her home over a couple of thousands of dollars that she had but had to repair her home due to the fact that the county was on her about it. You act like she is doing nothing at all but she is and thats something alot of you ain’t even doing and you have 9-5’s. She has the money to pay the taxes but due to our society and their greed she don’t have enough court fees. Stop judging and complaining and be more kind. This woman has came a long way!
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montykay wrote: “If it had of been your parents you would do the same thing.” - yes _ I would step in to help my mother - and if I could not help - then I would find someplace for my mother that she could afford, & I could help out on - unlike her 2 adult children - where are they ? the $1600 or so dollars is 3 years worth of back taxes - that is what started this - that comes out to about $50 per month - divide that between her two ADULT (36 years old) children - that is $25 a month per child - half a tank of gas - so where are her children ? - if they won’t help themself why should I do it now - based on the past record - they will just continue not paying - putting a bigger burden on those of us who do. paying this bill now won’t help anything - I suspect you will read about her again in 3 years when she is once again behind on her taxes.
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Mrs. Taylor
As I stated before sweetie, everything will be alright. the seeds your parents sewed into other people’s lives , your reaping ! it’s harvest time sweetie. and the devil in hell can’t stop it. God said it’s your time to be blessed.
And all the negitive things people are saying here on this page or other wise, know that the devil is a liar his mother, father, sister & brothers in Jesus Name Amen
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The woman is a GIMME. We all know who most of the low income people this article is talking about. Many of them are starting to use their favorite word, racism concerning the mortgage crisis. Racism caused them to think they could afford buying a home on their “income”. Racism caused them not to read what they were signing. Racism accounts for all the mistakes they make. Yeah, right. They have been so conditioned to believe hollering racism will get them out of their screw ups. No, it won’t. The gravy train is out of coal and coming to a stop. The economy dumping will cause this.
RT - From your posts, I take it God doesn’t like capitalization or education?
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I agree. If people want to help her out then they will do as they wish.
Unless I’m wrong … which is possible — I do believe that she inherited the house and more than likely it was paid off by her parents long before their deaths.
Third, I do feel badly for her that she is disabled. I am the mother of a disabled child as well, but if she is on a fixed income she should sell the house and live somewhere where she can actually afford to live. I’m not saying that to be mean, but memories are not worth keeping yourself in constant debt. As I said before — great thing about memories is no matte where we are — they still follow us.
Fourth ….. Perhaps she, after she gets the help to keep her home — she should move and rent the house out so that way she still has it and can pay the taxes on it.
People post harsh things on here and yes, they are hard to read, but honestly it is the truth. If you can’t afford to pay your property taxes then it’s time to bail out. Why put yourself through so much hassle?
The economy sucks right now. Electic is going to increase. Gas prices –at the pump and to heat our homes is atrocious . Water will probably go up too. I want a house more than anything in this world, but I look at what you have to go through to own a home and it’s like — it’s not worth the hassle.
Living in an apartment sucks — believe me — I have tons of moron neighbors, but at least I don’t have to deal with a lot of the stuff that homeowners do.
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Jack Miller- so you don’t believe there is racism involved in subprime lending? Did you know that lenders on average make high-cost subprime loans to higher-qualified African-Americans 54% of the time, compared to 23% of the time for Caucasians, even when the Caucasian applicants were less qualified. Still say it’s not racism? And what do you mean by “we all know most of the low income people this article is talking about”? Is that not racist? Just say it, you think if someone says “low income” that means “blacks” (or probably a different word coming from you Grand Dragon). Racism exists, and African-Americans have every right to feel the way they do. I’m White by the way, and I, like you, enjoy all the perks and priviledges of being White in this society. Kind of reminds me of the way we treated people during Katrina–but that wasn’t racist either was it? Give me a break!
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“Did you know that lenders on average make high-cost subprime loans to higher-qualified African-Americans 54% of the time, compared to 23% of the time for Caucasians, even when the Caucasian applicants were less qualified.”
I’ll bet dollars to donuts that Blacks go out of their way to work with Black lending agents, and do so at a rate much higher than the Whites who aren’t getting ripped off…
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It appears that this is the manifestation of a LIFETIME of poor decision making.
IF YOU CANNOT AFFORD A HOME, AND THAT INCLUDES THE TAXES, DON’T LIVE IN ONE. That’s what they make APARTMENTS for.
YEARS and YEARS of accumulated debt.
YEARS and YEARS of poor diet.
YEARS and YEARS of a lack of career skills.
YEARS and YEARS of applying for ‘help’. \
Handicapped individuals are NOT excused from their debts. Bad knees and arthritis are because of excessive weight because of lack of exercise because of excessive crappy fatty food intake.
It’s a snowball. It IS called laziness.
As my mom used to say,
“YOU MADE YOUR BED, NOW YOU CAN LAY IN IT.”
I’m all for helping others, but when problems are the DIRECT result of your own negligence, I think YOU should be the one to solve your OWN problems.
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so all of you self-righteous people who commented here have NEVER borrowed money from your parents, or let’s see, you NEVER use credit cards huh? If you were living within your means, you would have cash up front to pay for everything right? So you probably bought your houses using cash because you were so brilliant with your spending habits that you saved 100,000 and bought your homes up front? OH, you didn’t? Then you are stupid too–why would you pay interest on something that you should have been smart enough to save and pay cash for? Well because we live in a “buy now, pay later” society, and we all have the dream of owning a house. I can tell you that I have a college degree, a good job, and two months ago I had to borrow $600 from my mother to pay my property taxes! It happens to all of us. I am also struggling to pay my bills, and living within my means, and it’s still hard. Have some compassion. If you’ve never heard of this, look it up.
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julie33-
I never said ‘living within your means’ meant you didn’t have to take out a mortgage or use credit cards. It means you need to MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO PAY THE BILLS WHEN THEY COME.
And in the event that you DO need to borrow money, then do it, and get it done!
This isn’t about the woman borrowing money. This wasn’t a one time default on her taxes. This is the culmination of YEARS of ignoring a problem.
If she needed to borrow the money, she should have asked when the problem is small, not let it get so big that she would lose her house over it.
It’s called being RESPONSIBLE.
Living within your means doesn’t mean paying cash for everything. It just means having enough money and the resources to make sure your bills are paid, and when they can’t be, you find a way- not let it pile up until a bunch of dumb people feel sorry for sheer laziness and ignorance.
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leamull, I can see you didn’t spend your money on a MEDICAL EDUCATION. lol
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leamull- I think living within in your means, by your definition, assumes that tomorrow you will still be able to pay those bills. What if you get hurt, and can’t work? How are you going to pay all those bills? I guess you are assuming that your financial situation will be the same every day. Let’s hope that nothing catastrophic happens in your life, and if it does, I hope every one is as harsh on you as you are to Mrs. Taylor. Obviously, you don’t know what it means to be poor.
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I’m rather confused - the article stated that she fell behind on tax payments because she had to spend that money repairing the house. The house they took a picture in front of on Mussey (15th St), has been in disrepair for years. The house is a duplex and there are busted out windows in the house.
If she fixed those windows when the Elyria Housing was after her, why didn’t she rent the other unit out to make some cash? If she didn’t fix the windows, why did the Elyria Housing people let her off the hook?
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When did obesity become a handicap? I’m sorry but that is just another excuse that is being made…
“Oh I can’t pay my taxes, I’m handicapped.”
Well my grandfather actually IS handicapped, not fat. He can’t walk on his own, or do anything on his own, but guess what. His house is paid off and his taxes are in on time, every time.
So I’m sorry but I cannot sympathize with someone not paying their taxes because they are just lazy, and then whining about it so someone will pay for her.
Also, she did not pay this house off. Her parents did and then they left it to her when they died. So whoever was preaching in their poor grammar about her being a hero and paying off this house and what a great feat it was. I call BS because she did not do it. Instead she let the home fall into disrepair, did not pay taxes and then called a reporter as opposed to the County Treasurer’s Office.
And you know what the saddest thing is. A lot of people are going to feel sorry for her, give her more of their money than she is probably already getting, and then this time next year see the same story in the paper.
And stop preaching about race. Because I promise you if Ms. Taylor was white, this story and fund for saving her home would be non-existent and the person who did not pay their taxes would be known county-wide as a lazy jerk.
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Just because someone is on disability, doesn’t excuse them from everyday bills. There are many people out there who have to pay mortgage payments/taxes and are doing it timely! I think it was ridiculous that a fund was set up for her! Is a fund going to be set up for the hundreds of people who can’t afford their mortgage/taxes? This was not a one time thing, this has been ongoing for several years! You would think that she would catch on by now that when a bill comes in, you have to pay it. This is not a movie where the whole neighborhood chips in to “save a house”. Will a fund be set up for her the next time she can’t pay her taxes? I still say it is a wasted cause.
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