Give those landlords a badge

Meanwhile ... to our east, in Shaker Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, city officials have proposed a law which would make property owners responsible for any criminal acts conducted by tenants within 1,000 feet of their rented residences.

Landlords whose tenants break the law in close proximity to their dwellings could be ordered to pay for police investigation work, and they could also lose their rental permits.

Story here, from Newsnet5.com.

Can't a cold tenant get a break?

One Lucas County apartment tenant The Editor knows quite well recently opened her February Toledo Edison bill, which I -- I mean, she -- expected to be around $50 or $60, and was so stunned she immediately suspected the amount due was a typo.

The bill was for $191.15 -- for a small, one-bedroom basement unit that isn't even occupied on weekends. Even in August when this tenant was running central air conditioning, her electricity bill was $42, based on an actual reading.

Granted, the $191.15 amount due was to reconcile previously paid electricity bills for November, December and January which had each been based on "estimated" electric use. But even so, the current amount due, if accurate, meant that the tenant's heating costs had more than doubled her monthly kwh usage each and every month since October.

Curious as to whether this was even possible, considering Northwest Ohio's mild winter season prior to mid-January, the tenant called Toledo Edison. Toledo Edison assured the tenant that in fact the bill was correct, and the customer service representative proceeded to school the tenant on basic arithmetic. The tenant was puzzled, because her question was not at all related to the arithmetic of the matter.

Uhhh, I have the bill right in front of me, and I can see the numbers, and yes, I know how to add.

Oh, Toledo Edison.

But I digress. The point of this post is that in the 17 days since she -- oh, hell with it -- since I called Toledo Edison and requested a re-reading of my meter, I've taken a little time to research what, if anything, an Ohio resident can do about surprisingly high and unexpected heating bills in the winter time.

The first thing I found out, via the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO), is that utility companies are supposed to make attempts to resolve customer disputes within 10 days. Psssst, Toledo Edison, are you listening?

The second thing I found out, also via PUCO, is that Ohio utility customers have the right to request up to two meter re-readings per year, at no charge.

PUCO's website also provides information about energy assistance programs here. Note there are several references to "community action agencies" as the administrators of some of the assistance programs. PUCO website visitors are given vague instructions to "contact your local community action agency," but there is no contact information on the PUCO site.

To identify your local community action agency, and to obtain contact information for agencies, visit the Ohio Department of Development's website here and click on your county's name as shown on the map of Ohio.

Meanwhile, I'll be sitting here shivering with my thermostat set at 64 degrees. Because apparently 68 degrees is indulgent and expensive.

Sandusky County foreclosures rise 202 percent -- could it happen to you?

Northwest Ohio renters thinking of making the leap to home ownership may want to heed idiomatic advice and look first.

The Toledo Blade today reported that local foreclosures sky-rocketed in 2006. Citing RealtyTrac figures, the Blade revealed that Sandusky County's homeowners fared the worst among area residents trying to hang onto their houses. The county's 2006 foreclosure rates jumped 202 percent from 2005.

Foreclosure rates in the same period also were up in Lucas County by 59 percent, and in Wood County, by 45 percent. Statewide, foreclosures rose 64 percent.

In simple terms, foreclosures happen because homeowners cannot pay their mortgages. And in Ohio's soft real estate market, even homeowners who attempt to sell -- sometimes at dramatically reduced prices -- before foreclosures befall them are having little luck.

The market, then, looks primed for buyers: Reduced! No money down!

But beware. If foreclosure rates have climbed so high, could it happen to you?

The answer is yes.

One common mistake that can lead an inexperienced home buyer to foreclosure down the road is using a pre-qualification loan figure too liberally. Don't rely on your mortgage lender to tell you how much home you can afford; frequently these pre-qualification figures don't factor in the costs of insurance, taxes, maintenance and repair, and how these costs will affect your budget. Or, rather, the home buyer himself doesn't factor these costs into the loan figure.

Just because you're approved for, say, a $110,000 mortgage loan doesn't necessarily mean you should actually borrow $110,000. Your lender's pre-loan figures indicate the maximum amount you can reasonably be expected to pay back.

Paying the maximum amount you possibly can for something doesn't make much financial sense and it's one reason people get into financial trouble.

Think of it this way: If there are two gas stations in your neighborhood, and one is selling gas for $2.15 a gallon and the other is selling gas for $2.09 a gallon, it doesn't make any sense to pay the extra six cents per gallon just because you have that option. One might argue that the more expensive gas station sells a better cup of coffee, or has friendlier employees, but the fact remains that if you patronize that station, you will may more for gas than is necessary.

So, view your pre-qualification loan figures similarly and be conservative when shopping for a home. A full tank of gas is a one-time small purchase, but your mortgage is likely to be the biggest single payment you make every single month for the next 30 years.

For other tips and advice on home-buying and avoiding foreclosure, visit the U.S. Department of Housing and Development's website here.