Rash of Foreclosures Stirs Debate on Blame

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http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070122/BIZ01/701220323

Thousands face loss of homes
Rash of foreclosures stirs debate on blame
BY JAMES MCNAIR | [e-mail]

EAST PRICE HILL - Diane Swain's house serves as a sanctuary in a life filled with challenges.

Her husband died young in 1990. A car wreck left her with an injured leg, a bad back and a daily regimen of expensive drugs. Her 31-year-old son hangs around the house, too severely autistic to work.

To pay for food, medical care, utilities and the mortgage on her century-old house on West Eighth Street, Swain squeezes every last penny from a $1,400-a-month Social Security check.

Now a mortgage company in Southern California is foreclosing on her house.

Ameriquest Funding says Swain fell behind on a $91,000 loan. Her lawyers at the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati counter that predatory lenders and mortgage brokers duped her into a series of six loans saddled with high closing costs, suspiciously high appraisals and escalating monthly payments.

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