Print version by Ashton Nichols, Samantha Raudins, Lukas Udstuen and Lucia Walinchus
Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann Kuhlman
Reporting for the Eye on Ohio, The Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism-Ohio News Connection Collaboration


This story was funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

For years, Elliot Feltner's father-in-law operated an auto body shop in Cleveland. Later in life, a stroke debilitated the old mechanic, and his care proved a heavy burden for Feltner's wife, Linda.

Not long after burying her father, in 2009, Linda Feltner discovered her chronic cough was more than just bronchitis: it was cancer. She died three years later.

When Elliot Feltner finally sorted through the medical bills and the loss of his only family, he discovered the body-shop property he inherited owed considerable back taxes, which he couldn't afford. So he put the shop up for sale and told the county he'd use the proceeds to pay off the debt.

But after signing a buyer, the sale fell through because Feltner discovered the property had already been sold to the county land bank, he said without his knowledge.

"They called me one day and said, 'You don't own the property. Someone else does.' And I was devastated," he said.

The land bank then gave the property, valued at $144,500 in county records, to a private company that paid nothing for it. And taxpayers recovered none of the $68,089 in taxes and interest owed to them, money that could have gone to roads, schools and emergency services.

"The government can take properties through public domain. That's been the law for decades. But there's never been an occasion where the government has been allowed to take a property without compensating the owner for its value," said former Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann, who represents Feltner in the case.

In November 2019, Feltner's case reached the Ohio Supreme Court. Justices typically take an average of about six months to decide a case, said Edward Miller, the court's director of the Office of Public Information, although the time can vary widely.

"I think everybody's acting in good faith here. I don't think anyone has got bad intentions. But these folks, and particularly the folks at the land banks who are passing these properties on, had to know that there was value being taken from people in the process and that's not OK. The County Board of Revision would know because, guess what? The County Board of Revision also decides what the value of the property is. There's a county record that tells you what the value of the property is," Dann said. "(They were) stealing people's equity very consciously and openly."

Cuyahoga County declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation. East Side Automotive Services, Inc. did not respond to requests to comment.

In 2006, the Ohio Legislature passed the fast-track law, although it wasn't widely used until the mortgage crisis of 2008. Not to be confused with a later-expedited foreclosure process that goes through the court system, House Bill 294 created an administrative foreclosure process that skips the court entirely. Foreclosures instead end up at the Board of Revision, the panel that normally looks at the valuation of properties when a taxpayer thinks their property tax is too high.

Members of that board don't have to be lawyers; in fact, most are not. Its members also often are on the board of the county land bank, which receives most properties. Those properties then are passed, with clean title and no liens, onto developers.

"They are good people," Dann said, referring to the Cuyahoga Land Bank, "and they are very, very sincere in their desire to improve the community. And I can't compliment them enough on the innovation and the determination they brought to the process. But you can't do it without following the constitution. And that's the difference. You can't cut corners."

The Ohio Center for Investigative Journalism searched through thousands of records in Montgomery and Cuyahoga counties, where the greatest volume of Board of Revision foreclosures take place, to add up the costs to taxpayers, homeowners, and mortgage lenders.
In 2019, the Montgomery County Treasurer filed 207 unique foreclosure cases in the board. If all those cases close, taxpayers will lose out on at least $2,251,870 owed to public coffers.

In 141 of those cases, the house's value exceeded the amount of taxes owed. Homeowners, mortgage lenders and other lienholders lost or will lose up to $2,796,140 in 2019 alone. (Although houses sold at sheriff sales don't often fetch their listed value.)

In Cuyahoga County, the County Treasurer filed 3,856 Board of Revision cases in 2018 and 2019. If those cases close, homeowners and banks will lose $77 million worth of their houses' value. Taxpayers, who would have received $9 million at a sheriff's sale, instead get none of that money toward community services.

Homeowners in those cases owed a median of $1,249 in back taxes. In 855 cases, the outstanding tax amount is less than $500.
This amount vastly underestimates the amount of taxes owed to the county, however. In most cases, the government asked for restitution far below the amount owed. In one case, the treasurer asked for 13 cents in taxes -- both spelled out and in decimals -- for a property that hadn't paid its full tax bill since 2008.

John Lamb, a project engineer from Columbus, lost a property that had been in his family since 1965.

"It sucked of course. That house had a ton of memories," Lamb said. "We would go up there every Fourth of July when I was a kid."

His grandparents originally had built the house. But after his grandmother, followed by his mother, died shortly after his college graduation, he was overwhelmed with medical bills and had no other family for support.

To skip the court system, counties have to formally adopt the special Board of Revision foreclosure process. Eleven have done so, but most have not.

In Montgomery County, developers who do get free properties still have to pay a service fee, usually $3,000 to $5,000. New owners are also required to maintain the property up to community zoning standards, such as cutting the grass and fixing any broken windows, within six months of acquiring the property's title.

All properties that go through the Board of Revision process also are legally required to be vacant properties. But determining who lives at a property can be particularly difficult if homeowners take an extended leave of absence or the homeowner died, said Andrew Engel, who represents an heir who lost her share of her mother's home through the Montgomery County Board of Revision process. Her class-action case is pending in the Southern District of Ohio.

"Many of these property owners can't afford an attorney. Based upon my review of hundreds and hundreds of these cases in Montgomery County, the properties that go through these foreclosures are often owned or located in the poorer portions of town. And it seems that those at the lower end of the economic scale are bearing the brunt of this process," Engel said.

The Montgomery County Auditor's Office, the Montgomery County Treasurer's Office and the Montgomery County Board of County Commissioners declined to comment on the matter because it's against county policy when there is ongoing litigation, said Mike Brill, communications and community engagement manager at the Montgomery County Auditor's Office.

In October, Marc Dann filed a class action lawsuit against Cuyahoga County, on behalf of all similar parties. The County filed a motion to dismiss. The case still is pending in Ohio's Northern District federal court.

This collaboration is funded in part by the Ohio News Media Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation and The George Gund Foundation, and is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest.



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A new report shows Montana has the nation's most rapidly rising homeless population. Advocates for more affordable housing call the situation critical.

One Kalispell-based shelter is asking for state funding to expand, and do what it can to help.

The most recent Annual Homelessness Assessment Report shows Montana saw a 551% increase in its unsheltered population, the steepest rise in the country between 2007 and 2023.

Kalispell-based Samaritan House Executive Director Chris Krager said he feels the pinch every night.

"I like to think we can handle it," said Krager. "We're trying to address it. Samaritan House, we see between 95 and 105 people every night."

That's capacity for Samaritan House, which Krager said has been full every night for a decade - and often has to help people find other options.

He has asked for state funds to expand the facility, which would double its occupancy.

In addition to building single and multi-family housing, Samaritan House also plans to create housing for veterans.

Krager said they often experience mental health issues along with homelessness. The report shows Montana was one of only four states with an increase in homeless veterans.

"Kalispell is the largest city in Montana with no dedicated homeless veteran housing," said Krager. "So, we're going to fix that. The reason this is serious is because the nature of homelessness in Montana - certain times of the year, it could be fatal. So, we want to really be on our game, especially if it's cold out."

More than 30% of people in Montana's homeless shelters reported a mental health and/or substance use disorder in 2022. The report shows in some shelters, that number is nearly two-thirds.




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Georgia lawmakers appear to be taking a major step toward safeguarding property owners against people who occupy homes or apartments illegally, with what's known as the Squatters Reform Act.

House Bill 1017 passed unanimously in both the Georgia House and Senate. It would make illegally occupying personal property a criminal matter, rather than a civil case. This means the rightful owners can get people out of their homes sooner who don't belong there.

The move is expected to bring relief to such residents as Dan Rodgers, who said he once felt squatters had more legal protection than property owners.

"I think the new three-day process is going to benefit a lot of homeowners," Rodgers said. "It seemed like previous squatters' rights were giving them the opportunity to hide behind process."

Under the Squatters Reform Act, people would have to provide valid documentation of their right to occupy the property within three business days or face arrest for criminal trespass. Those who present documents would have their case reviewed within seven days to establish its legitimacy.

Georgia law has required homeowners to file an "Affidavit of Intruder" in the court system to remove squatters from their property, which can take weeks or months. Rodgers, who owns property in Muscogee County, said he hopes the new legislation will serve as a deterrent to those who previously sought to take advantage.

"I don't think that there's very many circumstances we could think of with a normal trespasser having as many protected rights as squatters do, and ending up being able to really affect people's livelihood," he said. "So, I really feel like it's a really good incentive for people to do the right thing."

The bill was sent to Gov. Brian Kemp this week and is pending his signature to become law.


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A case out of Oregon soon to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court could have a major impact on how cities treat homelessness. Oral arguments for 'Johnson v. Grants Pass' are scheduled for April 22.

It concerns an ordinance in the City of Grants Pass that banned people from sleeping in public, including a prohibition on the use of blankets and pillows.

Loren Naldoza, public policy advocate with Oregon Food Bank, which filed an amicus brief with 15 other organizations in the state in support of the plaintiffs, said homelessness isn't a lifestyle choice.

"It's an involuntary state of being because there have been systems or crises - like our housing crisis, our cost of living crisis or personal crises - that are impacting people across the state, that converge together and make it harder for people to stay stably housed," he explained.

The 9th District Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs that the Grants Pass law violates the Eighth Amendment against cruel and unusual punishment. Supporters of the Grants Pass law say cities should be allowed to decide their own policies rather than the federal government.

Naldoza said criminalizing homelessness isn't an effective tool and would only create more hunger and poverty, and added people who exit the criminal justice system struggle in many different ways.

"What you get at the end is criminal record, which makes it harder for people who are formerly experiencing homelessness to find a safe, stable or affordable place to call home. And it's also hard to get gainful employment, especially if the employment requires a background check or licensure," he continued.

Naldoza added there are more effective ways to address this crisis.

"What we really need to be investing in is care and compassion, and treatment and other resources that people actually need to exit their experience from homelessness," he said.