The laws governing mortgages and foreclosures can vary greatly from state to state. The rate of foreclosure homes in Ohio is higher than in most parts of the country at more than 2 percent, and a total of 101,614. Still, the percentage of homes that were foreclosed upon went down by 10 percent last year, and Ohio has somewhat beneficial laws for homeowners. By far, the worst foreclosure statistics in Ohio were in Cuyahoga county, which encapsulates the greater Cleveland area. This county posted a very high rate of foreclosure-- even for an economically depressed urban area.

Ohio is a two-party mortgage state, meaning that a judicial-foreclosure process is required by law. In a two-party mortgage, a lender must sue the borrower successfully to recover the property upon default, providing all of the relevant documents including the promissory note and the mortgage itself. It is only after a judge approves the foreclosure that the lender and move forward with the foreclosure sale.

The foreclosure process in Ohio takes an above average amount of time-- about 150 days. The borrower is also entitled to something called “right of redemption”. This rule, which is embraced by many states, allows the borrower to retake possession of a property by bringing the loan current and paying fees and legal costs that the lender has accrued during the foreclosure process.

One negative about the states' laws is that lenders can get a deficiency judgment, which allows them to recoup further money from a mortgagor who has defaulted after the property has been sold. For instance, if a bank loaned out $120,000 on a home loan and is only able to sell the repossessed home for $80,000, it can get a judgment against the borrower for the difference.