Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Foreclosure Reform topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate panel holds first hearing on bill to speed foreclosure sales, expand private selling officers
Summary
Senate Bill 135 would let judgment creditors use private selling officers for uncontested foreclosures, tighten appraisal deadlines, reduce mandatory newspaper advertising and require online bid visibility; sponsor said changes aim to raise sale prices and limit vacant, value-draining properties.
The Senate Judiciary Committee held the first hearing on Senate Bill 135 on a motion by sponsor Senator Brenner during the committee meeting; Senator Brenner said the bill is intended to speed foreclosure sales and protect neighborhood property values. "Property values, in the area with a foreclosed property decrease, the longer that a property sits in the court or on in the sale system," Senator Brenner said in sponsor testimony.
Senate Bill 135 would allow judgment creditors to use a private selling officer (PSO) instead of a county sheriff to sell foreclosed property in uncontested claims. Senator Brenner described PSOs as "Ohio licensed realtors, auctioneers, and residents of the state" who market properties through photographs, listing services and online outreach to attract third‑party buyers.
The bill would require PSOs to be "unaffiliated, with the, mortgagee or, mortgagee servicer," and would allow county sheriffs to continue appointing three appraisers but change who qualifies and how quickly appraisals are returned: appraisers must be either a licensed real estate professional or licensed appraiser, and appraisals are "due back within 14 days rather than 21 days" simultaneously to the sheriff and the PSO; Senator Brenner said that if the appraisal is not returned in time "those individuals do not get paid and the, value defaults to the county auditor's appraised value."
Senator Brenner said the bill would reduce required paid newspaper advertising to a single week and permit counties to post the second and third required notices on their websites, noting that paid three‑week newspaper notices add to costs while many local newspapers have closed. The bill also would require auction management systems to "display all bids upon the entry of a bidder so that others know whether they have been outbid and can bid again on the property," a feature common to online auctions, the sponsor said.
Sponsor testimony stressed the bill's goals: to help obtain the highest sale price for foreclosed property, restore surrounding property values, reduce the length of time properties remain vacant and improve collection of outstanding local taxes. Senator Brenner said those delays increase community problems and costs when properties are stripped or abandoned.
No vote was taken; the committee recorded the item as its first hearing on Senate Bill 135. Senator Brenner answered one question from Ranking Member Hicks Hudson seeking clarification on differences from prior legislation introduced by Senator Hackett, and said the bill evolved from that prior work.
