It is somewhat ironic that one of the main things that attracted the Europeans to the New World, the ownership of property, would become a harbinger of financial collapse to a New World Order. There are some media outlets that downplay the lasting effect of the rising tide of foreclosures while there are others that directly blame the media for creating undo panic out of a “statistical anomaly.” Ideas abound as to the cause and the potential lasting effects and many more ideas are bandied about as supposed solutions to the crisis...most of which are ill conceived and potentially devastating if followed to a logical conclusion.

Fingers flail about trying lay blame and to try and point to the epicenter of the crisis while all those involved, from the people living a credit card existence to sub-prime mortgage lenders and those specializing in non-conforming loans. Perhaps everyone who either participated, profited or turned a blind eye to the impending crash should also be held culpable.

There are people, agencies and organizations that are trying to conceive of a plan to stem the flood of foreclosure, yet upon closer scrutiny, most of these are ill conceived and are only a band-aid trying to stanch the flow from a mortal wound. The government has offered subsidies as an impetus for people to become homeowners, but this fails on several levels. The first being that if the home is bought while housing prices are inflated, they have a huge potential of taking a massive loss when home prices fall to their median level. Homes that are backed and financed through governmentally guaranteed FHA loans fall victim to the same scenario with the government recognizing the loss, which will inevitably be passed on to the citizens in one form or another later on. The government could create an artificial price floor to keep housing prices at current levels, but this would just prolong an already painful process and would also give an incentive to the building industry to keep building homes in a market that is negligible at best, creating the inevitability of a larger crash in the near future.

One of the more curious aspects of this whole foreclosure debacle is the one that is right under everyone's noses, but which had not received the coverage it so desperately needed...until recently with the collapse of IndyMac Bankcorp Inc. On July 11th, 2008 at 3 p.m. PDT, the Office of Thrift Supervision shut down IndyMac's operations and transferred responsibility to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC). Even with the FDIC insuring the bulk of the bank customer's money, it only covers so much and the customer's stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of their savings. Even within the banking industry, banks can expect to pay more in insurance premiums directly do to the volatile market and most specifically to IndyMac's collapse.

IndyMac's star rose during the housing boom as they specialized in what was called Alt-A loans, which were nontraditional loans wherein the borrower was not required to provide the usual list of assets and proof of income to secure financing. When the bubble burst, so did IndyMac's profits. They hemorrhaged money and investors fled in droves, compounding the losses. The unspoken problem is the pervasive trend of borrowing from Peter to pay Paul and now Paul is coming to collect...swinging a very large club. It affects not just the housing market, but everything that runs through, parallel to and peripherally around the financial industry, which includes just about everything.

With Ohio ranking third in the nation in foreclosures, it is an epidemic and an endemic problem that, while there may be no immediate solution, must be addressed in some sort of unifying dialogue...now. One organization that has created a type of brain trust to try and bring together those within the housing and financial industries, politicians, governmental agencies, activist groups, neighborhood associations, community coalitions and Ohio's general citizenry is ReBuild Ohio. ReBuild Ohio is an organization that began in 2005 after the first Ohio Vacant Properties Forum when there was a call for a “continued concerted action and effort” to face the looming foreclosure crisis head on. The organization officially launched in 2006 has continually been gaining momentum and exposure, which in turn is used to actively mold policies and public perceptions in the hopes that through education and legislation, the impending devastation may be averted.

On August 28th, 2008, ReBuild Ohio will be hosting Ohio Vacant Properties Forum II at the Greater Columbus Convention Center at 400 N. High St., Columbus, OH. Tickets to the forum, which runs from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m., are $75 and include a continental breakfast, presentations, workshops, moderated discussions and an afternoon networking session. To reserve a spot, go to www.rebuildohio.org and click on the icon marked Ohio Vacant Properties II or call (614) 470-1093. Reservations must be made by August 5th. The information is invaluable and the part you play may be larger than you might think.

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