It's something she said she never thought would happen, with the costs associated with homeownership and the credit scores required for a bank loan. When her children got older, she decided to start looking for something outside of the rental market.

"I have rented for a very, very long time. I have three children. My husband and I always wanted to own a house but was never able to afford it," she said.

But due to a program through the Trumbull County Land Bank and a chance encounter at a local restaurant, her dreams have come true.

The Trumbull County Land Bank has an "Improved Property Program" that gives homeowners and investors an opportunity to purchase vacant properties at a low price and then own them after renovations.

Shaw didn't know about the program until someone at a restaurant struck up a conversation with her husband about it.

"Looking into it, we thought that maybe this is possible that we can own our own home," she said.

Shaw, who is originally from Braceville, now owns the home on Orlo Street in Warren. It wasn't easy, but Shaw said it was affordable.

The couple acquired the house from the Land Bank in 2019 for around $5,000 and began renovations the next year. It was challenging to find workers during the COVID-19 pandemic so Shaw and her husband did a lot of the work themselves.

There are requirements to purchase a home through the Land Bank. Certain renovation requirements must be met by a certain time period, and only after those are met is the deed signed over to the new owner.

The Trumbull County Land Bank details the procedure on its website. Residential properties listed on the Land Bank's website range from $10,000 to $89,900.

Shaw and her husband ended up spending about $40,000 to $50,000 on renovations, but Shaw said it was still more affordable than buying a home upfront, and the repairs weren't made all at once.

Shaw said after making the required renovations, she and her husband are now taking their time to make little updates to make their new house feel more like home.

"Just knowing that you don't have that mortgage, it just really helped a lot, so now it's just like totally affordable and the little money that you do make, you can use it to fix up the house," she said.

Now, she said she's trying to get the word out about the program so that others who may believe home ownership is out of reach know that it's an option.

"So anybody out there that has hopes of ever owning a house and don't know how they're going to do it, try Land Bank. You will be pleased and amazed and feel really, really blessed. I mean, just when you think you're giving up. It just happened for me, and I'm just so happy. So happy. Words can't express how happy I am," she said.

"I can just sleep better at night. I can plan for the future. I can spend more time with my grandchildren and my children. I can just do more," she added.

Such a program isn't just available in Trumbull County. Keondre Johnson, 30, of Youngstown, also worked through the Mahoning County Land Bank to renovate a home on E. Lucius Avenue.

Applications for the Mahoning County Land Bank's Deed-in-Escrow program are first open for those looking for single-family homes. After that, investors like Johnson are given the option to purchase.

Johnson's family lives in the area, and he owns a few local rental properties. He said his goal is to offer some more affordable and quality rental options in the area, where he has seen rent climb as high as $1,300 to $1,400 a month. He plans to list the house for around $850 a month.

"My goal is to kind of be able to build up the area because I grew up in this area," he said. "I don't want to see people having to move outside of where they're from to get nicer quality housing."

Johnson said he purchased the house for $15,000 and estimates he put about $27,000 in renovations. Through the program, he said the Land Bank provides an inspector so that he knows the estimated renovation costs upfront.

"For this area, houses are going, the median is like $65,000, so they still give you enough room to you know, step into a situation where you'd have equity," he said.

Organizations like the Columbiana County Land Bank and Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation also offer properties for sale, often below traditional prices in the market, after making their own renovations. You can find out more on the Land Bank's website and YNDC's website.

This is part of a series of stories that WKBN is looking into involving local housing issues in the Valley. Do you have a housing issue that you’d like us to look into? Send us your information here.

TG Real Estate owner Rollin Gosney said his agency, based in Columbiana, has been chosen by the online real estate marketplace giant Zillow to help connect agents with prosecutive buyers and sellers across most of Ohio.

Those who click on homes on the Zillow site will then be connected directly to TG agents in their region of the state.

"These people, ultimately, never used to get directed with our industry. It was also the big unknown or where did all the sellers go? Now, they are partnering with companies such as ourself," Goseny said.

Gosney says the new Seller Suite program should be online by early November.

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Auditor Ralph Meacham announced last week the tentative market values for the tax year 2023, and residential property owners will see a county-wide average increase in value of 38%. Now, those increases are broken down by municipality.

"No one really cares about property values. They care about property taxes. So, if you had a home and it was worth $150,000 six years ago and it's worth $225,000 now, you feel pretty happy, I think, if there are no new taxes involved. But, what really happened was we have to bring our assessed values up to sales prices," Meacham said.

In Mahoning County, as a result of the tentative reappraisal, Youngstown homeowners will see an average residential increase of 58%, Boardman and Austintown will see about 42%, while some of the rural townships will see ranges of 20% - 30%, as reflected in the chart below. 

You can appeal a property valuation. In December, the state will release effective tax rates, which are used with the new property values to determine how much property tax you'll pay.

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The agreements are known as Non-Title Recorded Agreements for Personal Service (NTRAPS) and came into the groups' radar last year when they were flagged by a number of title agents.

"We have identified at least 25,000. There are potentially quite a few more than that. We have identified them in 32 states -- so impacting well over half of the country. So the scope is large, although I always say just one would be unacceptable when you're talking about an unfair agreement that can have such a devastating financial impact on a consumer," said Elizabeth Blosser, vice president of government affairs for ALTA.

NTRAPS have been recorded in property records since 2018. They offer homeowners a one-time cash payment in exchange for exclusive listing rights to the home.

"What's happening is that real estate brokers are offering homeowners as little as $300 to sign listing agreements that will last up to 40 years," Blosser said.

Blosser said a violation of the agreement can trigger a penalty worth 3% of the home's property value.

These are being recorded in the property records in an attempt to create a lien.

"That does add costs and complications every time someone is looking to transfer or finance their real estate, and that includes accessing home equity," Blosser said.

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These agreements can cover not just the signers, but also their heirs, who may have no knowledge of the agreement. And according to Samar Jha, government affairs director at AARP, these companies often target people who aren't in the process of selling their homes.

"They will reach out to you and say, 'In the future, if you're trying to sell the house, if you sign this agreement, you don't have to look for a real estate agent, without disclosing once you sign the agreement what happens after that, and that's where the issue comes up, typically," Jha said.

Now, ALTA and AARP are trying to push legislation through each state to ban these types of agreements, and they've been pretty successful so far.

Ohio is among 16 states that have enacted NTRAPS legislation. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed HB 33 on July 3 after 830 of these agreements had been recorded in the state.

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The legislation follows a model bill that ALTA helped draft with input from AARP and national stakeholders. According to ALTA, it makes NTRAPS unenforceable by law, restricts and prohibits the recording of NTRAPS in property records, creates penalties if NTRAPS are recorded in property records and provides for the removal of NTRAPS from property records and recovery of damages.

There is currently no law banning NTRAPS in Pennsylvania, though the state legislature is considering HB 657 which would put restrictions on NTRAPS.

On its website, ALTA cited a lawsuit filed by then-Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro against Florida-based MV Realty. The lawsuit alleges MV Realty misled Pennsylvanians about its Homeowner Benefit Program, which offers a one-time upfront payment in exchange for exclusive listing rights.

According to a news release from the Attorney General's Office, the company's sales pitch over the phone suggested no risk to the homeowners because they pay nothing unless they sell their homes. After signing the agreement, however, some learned that the program allowed MV Realty to obtain a mortgage on the homeowner's real estate to enforce the contract's term, the release stated.

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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost also sought injunctions against MV Realty of Ohio, alleging that the contracts omitted crucial information and language required by state law and that those at the company were practicing real estate without a license.

Both cases are still pending.

WKBN reached out to MV Realty, which provided the following statement Wednesday afternoon:

"MV Realty and our team of licensed real estate agents have proudly assisted over 35,000 homeowners across the country through our innovative Homeowner Benefit Agreement (HBA) program. The HBA program compensates homeowners for the future right to list the home if they choose to sell within the term of the agreement.

The HBA Program is an innovative option that is first and foremost designed to benefit homeowners by ensuring they are compensated for the exclusive right to list their home. A right that up until now was given away for free.

If a homeowner decides to sell their home during the term of the HBA, MV’s locally licensed real estate brokers serve the same role as any licensed real estate broker and receive a typical sales commission for its services. This fee aligns with the standard market rate for virtually all residential real estate transaction commissions.

Notably, there are no liens put on a customer's property. MV files a memorandum that informs third parties of the existence of the agreement between the property owner and MV Realty.

MV Realty remains confident that the Homeowner Benefit Program fully complies with the law and benefits consumers who select MV Realty as their listing agent. MV Realty has voluntarily and temporarily paused entering into any new agreements.

We look forward to working with policymakers to address any concerns and continue this valuable program as an option to homeowners across the country.”

MV Realty

Blosser said in general, homeowners should be careful when signing any sort of agreement regarding their properties. It's always a good idea to seek legal advice before signing anything, she said.

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If such an agreement is signed, Blosser recommended that homeowners reach out to their state's Attorney General.

Blosser added that many county recorder's offices offer a free service to alert people if something is recorded against their properties, so she recommended reaching out to see if signing up for such alerts is possible.

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"We had a lot of clients who came in who were homeless or needing homes," said Dionne Dowdy-Lacey, executive director of United Returning Citizens.

The organization provides housing placement assistance, career opportunities and mentorship to those who have been recently released from incarceration.

Dowdy-Lacey said there are barriers during their search for housing, such as having previous evictions on their record or landlords who are hesitant to give them a chance.

"A lot of people just do not want to either rent or allow our returning citizens to be in their homes. And you know, some things that I could understand, but everyone needs a second chance," she said. "Not everyone that made a mistake is still in that mindset, is still doing those same things. Some people are rehabilitated; some people are different now, and they want to have a chance, and everyone should have a chance to have a home -- to be stable, to be in a healthy environment, so that you can grow, you can support your family so that you can just be a better tax-paying citizen."

In addition, they may find that living in a house or an apartment comes with additional challenges.

"So just someone coming from prison and being in a cell to come into a home that's a little smaller, that's manageable, that the rent is not so high in costs, it would give them more confidence, just not in the living space but just, you know, just having to be stable as a whole," she said. "Because we come to see, if they're not stable, that's when they come to recidivism, you know, going back to jail."

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Dowdy-Lacey visited Detroit and saw a similar program there. Cass Community Social Services built a community of 25 tiny homes for the formerly homeless, incarcerated and those who have aged out of the foster care system or are senior citizens. All of the residents qualify due to low income and at first, rent their homes for a year. Anyone who remains in the program for seven years will be given the opportunity to own the home.

Rev. Faith Fowler said the first group who moved into their tiny homes will officially become homeowners next year.

"I see that as a great milestone," Fowler said.

Fowler said tiny homes are not for everyone, but they're more affordable. Because private dollars were used to build them, it eliminated the mortgage for the residents. Residents pay $1 a square foot -- the smallest home is 225 square feet and the largest one is a little over 400 square feet. Rent stays at that rate, Fowler said.

The rent money is used for grass cutting, snow shoveling, and other maintenance, repairs and insurance.

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The homes are also built with solar panels to save on electricity costs.

Fowler cautions that if an agency is looking to start a similar program, it should start slowly.

"Put a lot of thought into the design of the houses and program you want to run, because once you get started, your energy is zapped in property management and building," she said. "We wanted, initially, to build all 25 at once. I'm glad we didn't because there's a great learning curve as you're handling a construction project and then as you're tending to residents and their needs."

United Returning Citizens is currently working to obtain $1.2 million to build six tiny homes in Youngstown. The plan would be to create a community hub in the center, and each home would have a garden and access to storage space.

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Dowdy-Lacey said vacant property owned by the county's land bank could be used for the project. She said it's worth giving the program a shot.

"We should support this; we need tiny homes here... We have houses that are torn down every year, like hundreds of houses, and so where are those people living? At least here, we can give them a small start... Let's start small and see where it goes."

Dowdy-Lacey said she is going down to Columbus next month for a meeting with local lawmakers. She plans to discuss the proposal and look for potential funding sources.

The organization also has a gala to raise money planned on Oct. 6 at Stambaugh Auditorium. "An Evening in Casablanca" features keynote speaker Jay Williams, president and CEO of the Hartford Foundation and the former mayor of Youngstown.

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Tickets for the event are available for purchase on United Returning Citizens' website, at its location on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown, or at Fancey Boutique, located at 5021 Market Street.

This is part of a series of stories that WKBN is looking into involving local housing issues in the Valley. Do you have a housing issue that you’d like us to look into? Send us your information here.

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The appraisals are done every six years according to Ohio law. People working for the county walked by or drove through neighborhoods to get information about buildings and homes in the county. That information, along with sales data, was used in determining individual appraisal values for taxation purposes.

"Concurrent with that, they're always looking at sales. We want to get to what's the real for-sale value of that property," said Mahoning County Auditor Ralph Meacham.

Meacham said the property taxes are based on time periods that have already passed, and they look at pricing data from 2022. We all know what the housing market did over the past few years, so those prices are reflected in the new valuations.

The latest assessment shows an average increase of more than 38% county-wide, but taxes will not be jumping that high.

"There's not a direct proportion between taxes --increase in taxes and increases in value," Meacham said.

Ultimately, the Ohio Department of Taxation takes the latest assessments along with individual local tax levies to determine effective rates across the state. Already, the dramatic increases in values in more than a dozen counties have lawmakers pushing the brakes.

"What we need to do is put a pause so that we do not see an increase of this magnitude for the property taxes of residents here in Mahoning County," said Rep. Al Cutrona, R-58th District.

Cutrona hopes the pending Ohio Homeowners Relief Act can be approved later this month to freeze property tax rates for the next three years. Still, local officials worry increases will create a ripple effect in communities with levies and bond issues on the ballot this fall.

The solution Cutrona is hopeful for includes a three-year pause to keep the property taxes stagnant.

Meacham says it could be the end of this year before the state determines new tax rates.

Meacham wanted property owners to be aware of the timeline of those appraisals and opportunities to appeal the new valuations.

2023 Tentative Reappraisal Timeline

August - State approves tentative values. The auditor releases new values on the County Auditor’s website and activates the reappraisal hotline.
September/October - The auditor holds virtual informal hearings for taxpayers with appraisers to discuss the new market value. Instructions for scheduling a virtual hearing will be posted on the auditor’s website.
October/November - State gives final value approval of revaluation, new construction, demolition and splits and plats.
December/January - The auditor submits tax levies to the State for tax rate calculations.
January 2024 - The state sends tax rates to the Auditor who then calculates property taxes. New property taxes are released on the Auditor’s website. The formal Board of Revision (BOR) appeal filing period opens on January 2, 2024.
March/April 2024 – The Board of Revision appeal filing period closes on March 31. Property taxes are typically due in March.

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New valuations are now on your property tax records online, including sketches and property characteristics. Taxpayers can obtain their new tentative property values by logging onto the Auditor’s page on Mahoning County’s website at www.mahoningcountyoh.gov, or by calling the Reappraisal Hotline at 330-740-2758.

Linda Klamm, who works as an attorney for insurance policyholders after catastrophes, lost her home to a firestorm in Oakland, California, in 1991, and has firsthand experience with the challenges of collecting on a policy.

“The sky went from being a reddish color to the sun looking bloodied. Then it quickly became black,” she said, of that year. “I loaded my 3-year-old and not-quite-6-year-old into the back of the car. We got a few things — our dog, one of our three cats, the kids. There were two ways out. By the time I was leaving, one was engulfed in flames.”

In the wake of subsequent fires, including wildfires in California and other states, Klamm offers assistance to policyholders on recovering funds. While homeowners tend to have more financial stability, renters more often face the burden of losses without a financial cushion, she said.

For those who do acquire a policy ahead of time, which Klamm encourages, fire and many other “catastrophic events” are typically covered to a point, but most policies still exclude earthquakes and floods.

Replacing the bare necessities is “all-consuming and exhausting,” Klamm recalls, of the days after the firestorm. “When I wasn’t driving or at work, I was working on the claim or shopping. My youngest cried every night and begged to go home.”

Even though she had trained to handle insurance claims, Klamm found the process of re-acquiring possessions, communicating with the insurance company, and rebuilding her life grueling — and that's with a policy in place.

The average cost of a renters insurance policy in 2023 was $148 per year, or about $12 per month, according to the most recent analysis by NerdWallet. That number’s based on a policy for a hypothetical 30-year-old with $30,000 in personal property coverage, $100,000 in liability coverage and a $500 deductible, but coverage rates vary widely by state and policy choices.

Only about 40 percent of rental households purchase renters insurance, according to a 2022 report by the Joint Center for Housing Studies by Harvard University, compared with 88 percent of homeowners who purchase coverage, according to a 2023 study by the Insurance Information Institute.

A new analysis from the nonprofit Financial Health Network has found that the uneven distribution of insurance coverage tends to leave low-income households lacking policies, especially in states that have experienced the greatest losses due to climate disaster.

“The cost of insurance products can act as a barrier,” the researchers found. “Some consumers prefer not to purchase insurance, especially if they are unaware of their risks or perceive their risks to be manageable.”

Asked why they choose not to purchase renters insurance, more than one in three polled said the cost was “too expensive” and they felt they had “no need for it,” according to the Financial Health Network.

States with higher-than-average annual losses include California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Washington, according to the Financial Health Network. The losses are incurred by flooding, hurricanes, landslides, and wildfires, among other unusual weather events, such as tornadoes.

“Losses from natural disasters are an equity issue,” the study’s authors write. “Those living in high-loss states were more frequently financially vulnerable than residents of low-loss states.”

Following a disaster, renters are not responsible for financing repairs to the building where they live, but still need to replace or repair belongings that are damaged or destroyed. As renters typically have lower incomes, less wealth, and lower financial health than homeowners, the difficulties have a compounding effect.

The authors of the Financial Health Network report recommend structural policy changes. They suggest states mandate grace periods for consumers who experience financial hardship and struggle to pay insurance premiums, to help renters keep coverage if they experience cash flow issues. They also recommend landlords increase the uptake of rental insurance by making it a default expense for renters, which they would choose to opt out of, rather than opting into.

Here's what to keep in mind:

WHAT SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT ACQUIRING RENTERS INSURANCE?

Many insurance companies will give you a discount on your renters insurance if you buy it along with another policy — such as auto insurance — which is known as “bundling.” For consumers who live in high-risk states, Klamm said, “the first piece of advice is to get it — renters insurance — and then to consider cash value versus replacement cost."

Insurance companies make this distinction between the kinds of compensation a policyholder receives after losses. Essentially: Would you prefer to receive the dollar value of what you own (the “cash value"), or the cost of replacing it (which tends to be higher, as goods depreciate over time)? If you opt for the “replacement cost,” you'll pay a higher monthly premium.

WHAT’S COVERED BY RENTERS INSURANCE?

Most renters insurance policies include:

— Personal property protection. If your belongings are stolen or destroyed, the insurance company pays (minus your deductible).

— Liability and medical costs. If you’re found responsible for a person being injured or property being damaged in your home, the insurance company pays.

— Loss of use. If you need to relocate after a disaster while your home is being repaired, the policy may cover hotel bills and other unexpected expenses in the interim.

REMEMBER TO UPDATE THE POLICY OVER TIME.

Klamm advises policyholders to check in and make changes to their coverage choices over the years.

“While people tend to get a policy and pay on it without changes, the limits get completely askew with reality as to what things might cost over time," she said. “So check in on those and see that they're adjusted, as you do tend to acquire more things.”

Part of the recently approved state budget allocated $100 million over the next two fiscal years to the Welcome Home Ohio program.

That includes, for the first time, money for the local land banks for the construction and rehabilitation of new residential properties. Land banks are eligible for up to $30,000 per unit and can also qualify for $90,000 in tax credits for the construction of residential property.

The program will be overseen by the Ohio Department of Development.

State Rep. Lauren McNally, D-Youngstown, said she can see how this program could be beneficial, particularly in the Youngstown area, where the costs of a new build may exceed the home's value.

"It alleviates that risk for new builds in an area where property values aren't significantly high, like Youngstown, but if we can get some new housing stock here, boy, would that attract people to want to live here. People always want the new, the nice, the better, as well as rehabbing homes. Some of our homes are very large, very old, you know, and just too costly to rehab in some scenarios," she said.

Debora Flora, executive director of the Mahoning County Land Bank, agreed.

"We're really happy that the legislature wanted to fund this particular program because we know that there's a need for affordable and workforce housing in the area, but it's costly to build right now, and so the Welcome Home Ohio fund will help with some of that cost by providing a subsidy toward new construction or to acquire a house that needs renovation and to accomplish that," she said. "It's been a long time coming for land banks, and we're really excited that we're in that moment, and especially that it's happening right now because the need is pretty, pretty intense."

The program does have a catch, though. Those who purchase a home that used the funding must commit to living in the home for five years. If they sell before that time period, they face a $90,000 fine. There are also income requirements for purchase, and the home can't sell for more than $180,000.

Shawn Carvin, executive director of the Ohio Land Bank Association, said while the overall program is positive, he has concerns about the five-year requirement and hopes that the Department of Development considers some of their concerns.

"We're very hopeful that once it gets to the guideline creation... we're hoping that they create some level of discretion in that because obviously, people's lives change -- they move, they get new jobs. There has to be some ability for them to get out of that contractual agreement for the five years," Carvin said.

Still, Carvin said, the program would create new homes that are sorely needed across the state.

"It's really the first meaningful investment that the state has made in the land banks renovating or building new homes in affordable housing," Carvin said.

According to Brian Bohnert, senior public information officer with the Department of Development, their team has been working on building out the program guidelines and planning informational webinars for prospective applicants in anticipation of the program's launch in the coming months. Bohnert said they have also been meeting with various stakeholders such as land banks and community leaders from across the state to get their perspectives.

This is part of a series of stories that WKBN is looking into involving local housing issues in the Valley. Do you have a housing issue that you’d like us to look into? Send us your information here.

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A friend who had been checking on her apartment read her the note that had been placed on her door at the Westchester Square Apartments in Austintown from the Brookfall Group, the new company that recently took over management. It said her monthly rent would be increasing from $575 to $780. The letter cited that the adjustment was necessary due to the income and expenses of operating the property.

One of those expenses is property taxes. Nearly every property owner in the Valley was hit with new tax bills this year that reflect an increase after the real estate market took an unprecedented turn during the pandemic, pushing tax bills higher. In some cases, property owners saw a 30% increase in their property tax bill.

Now, McGregor, who is 22 years old, is looking for a new place that she can afford.

"I am beyond frustrated, mostly because I know there are low-income people that can barely afford rent as it is," she said.

It may be a difficult task.

Over at the Hillbrook Apartments just five minutes away, resident Joshua Yohman is also dealing with a spike in rental costs.

When Yohman moved into the property three years ago, the cost of rent was $650 a month. But since moving in, the price of rent has spiked to $750, and he heard that it would be increasing again.

Yohman said he makes a decent salary, but with the increasing costs of food and gasoline, higher rent prices are just another challenge.

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"I was shocked because we're still going through the pandemic after the first raise, and everyone is going through hard times, and it seems like as soon as we get to the point where we're at level ground and we're able to make ends meet without having to go from paycheck to paycheck, they just raise our rent," he said.

AIY Properties, which manages Yohman's apartment complex and over 50 other residential rental properties, did not return several calls from WKBN for comment on the rent increase.

An employee of Westchester Square Apartments where McGregor lives said the company had no comment on their rent prices, saying if a resident had a concern, he or she should contact the office.

While it's happening locally, rent prices are also increasing across the state.

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Currently, rental prices are higher than in any year on record other than 2021, even when adjusted for inflation, according to the Ohio Housing Finance Agency’s 2023 Ohio Housing Needs Assessment. That report shows that more than 1 million Ohioans live in households that spend over half their income on housing costs. In addition, there are 447,717 "extremely low-income" renters in Ohio, but only 177,318 rental homes are affordable and available to them, the report states.

Rent.com, a website that lists available rental properties, has data that shows the climb in rental prices as well. The data is taken solely from rental properties advertised on the site, but Jon Leckie, a researcher for Rent.com, says it gives a good real-time look at what is happening across the state and country.

"In the United States, in general, rents are up a little over 15 percent over the last two years. You know, they were pretty steady there through 2019, and then as the pandemic hit, it took off pretty rapidly, so we're up about 15.5 percent over that two-year period -- that's more than $275 added to monthly rent bills, and that's a pretty significant increase," Leckie said.

In the Youngstown area, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment has climbed from $804 in February 2019 to $940 in June of this year. While prices have fluctuated, this year has shown some of the highest rental costs.

Leckie said rental rates in the Youngstown area appear to be rising at a much faster rate than the rest of the nation.

"When we look at sort of a regional level, the Midwest is a place where rents are growing the fastest compared to the rest of the nation, and part of that is the price component, that the prices are lower in the Midwest than are, certainly, in some places like the Northeast, so they have a lot of room to grow," he said.

The Coalition on Housing and Homelessness in Ohio also conducted a report, jointly with the National Low Income Housing Coalition. The coalitions found that full-time workers in Ohio now need to earn at least $19.09 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

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Their 2023 Ohio Out of Reach report also found another issue: out of the 10 jobs with the most employees in Ohio, only three earn more than $19.09 – registered nurses, general operations managers and truck drivers.

Amy Riegel, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, said when people think of housing instability, they think of someone who is out of work or going through a tough time, and that's just not the case anymore.

"So, the individuals who are really being impacted by this, I think it can be easy to dismiss this problem as, 'Oh yeah, that's always happened,' or 'It's always been like that,' but it's not true now. This problem has intensified," she said. "It's affecting more and more people, and for more and more people, the pathway to moving out of housing insecurity is so steep that it feels impossible of moving out of."

There are a few issues at play in the rising costs of rent.

Like most states, Ohio does not have rental control, so landlords are able to increase rent as much as they would like. In states that have rent control, or those that allow municipalities to enact rent-control measures, there may be caps on how much rent can be increased.

A shortage of affordable housing and higher interest rates have pushed more people into the rental market, Riegel said. She added that private investors are also buying up swaths of property in the state, creating fewer affordable options.

"Institutional investors are creating a significant problem within the state. Where they really focus is buying up single-family homes that are smaller sized, more moderately priced, so what they're buying up are starter homes. So that first home that so many people would purchase in their life are no longer available in many communities across Ohio. And the institutional investors are buying up thousands of units in Ohio," said Riegel.

It's a problem that also caught the attention of Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, who recently introduced a bill to crack down on corporate real estate buys.

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The Stop Predatory Investing Act would prohibit an investor who acquires 50 or more single-family rental homes from deducting interest or depreciation on those properties.

According to Brown's office, two big investors own more than 12,000 homes in just three Ohio markets, and other large investors don’t report how many homes they own.

"It undermines those communities. They're not keeping the property up. They're throwing renters out, and then they raise the price, and we want to stop them. It's not a free market thing; it's these companies are getting tax breaks to come up and buy homes, and ultimately what we want is, the best thing for these communities is that people own their own homes... to create wealth in their families," Brown said.

There's no good way to determine, across the board, where investors own properties. Ohio statute requires landlords with properties in counties with more than 200,000 residents to register their properties with that county auditor's office. But from WKBN's checks into the procedure, there appears to be no agency overseeing that registry, and many companies register each of their properties through separate LLCs -- so it's difficult to see just how many properties one company owns.

Riegel said having no statewide registry makes it harder to hold landlords accountable.

"Right now, one of the biggest issues is just being able to understand across the state what units are owned by the institutional investors and how fast and how quickly they're buying up the properties," Riegel said. "So just being able to understand the depth of the problem is an issue, and so that, through rental registries or other purchase-tracking systems is an opportunity that we have right now. And then as the investors who currently hold these properties, holding them accountable for the maintenance, the upkeep and the standards of this housing within our communities. If we do not allow them to suck all the equity out of these properties, it may make it less attractive for them to steal these properties from home buyers in our state."

Riegel said while this is a problem that is not unique to Ohio, leaders here may be better equipped to deal with the current issues at hand.

"The place where we're at right now in Ohio is a really important place because we have intensifying issues, but they're still problems we can solve. They're not to the point where it would take drastic measures," she said. "We have solutions that we are aware of, and we have a problem that is within reach. So if we choose to act as a community now, we will be able to address the issue at hand. It is our failure to act that will lead us to a situation like those other states that we don't want to model."

Yohman, who said rent is becoming something that most Blue-collar people can't afford anymore, said he hopes the industry takes another look at the issue.

"I would just hope that the corporations that own these properties take a look at the human side of things rather than the profits," he said.

According to Andrew Neuhauser, managing attorney at Community Legal Aid, a landlord can raise rent by any amount after the term of a lease has expired -- there is no limit. A landlord only has to provide at least 30 days' notice before any rent increase, which can happen at the end of a year for a one-year lease or the end of the month in a month-to-month lease.

This is part of a series of stories that WKBN is looking into involving local housing issues in the Valley. Do you have a housing issue that you'd like us to look into? Send us your information here.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, alleges that Joseph Pedaline, 71, sexually harassed female tenants at properties that he owned or managed in Youngstown since at least 2009 -- a violation of the Fair Housing Act.

According to the complaint, Pedaline subjected tenants to repeated and unwelcome sexual comments, touched them without their consent, entered their homes without permission, and offered to overlook late rent payments, waive rent or perform repairs in exchange for sexual contact. The lawsuit also alleges that Pedaline initiated evictions or threatened to evict tenants who refused his sexual advances.

The properties that Pedaline owned and/or managed are on Lora Avenue, Ohio Avenue and Fairgreen Avenue in Youngstown, according to the complaint.

According to the complaint, Pedaline grabbed a woman whom he was showing a vacant apartment to and told her, "This is the place where we have our rendezvous."

The complaint also alleges that he told a tenant who was late on her payment that she could reduce her rent balance if she cleaned out an empty apartment. She said she she arrived, there were no cleaning supplies, and when she asked about it, Pedaline told her, "There are other ways to work off the rent," the complaint stated. The woman reported that Pedaline then said she would not have to worry about the rent if she had sex with him, according to the complaint.

Another tenant reported that Pedaline evicted her without the court process by changing the locks after she refused to have sex with him.

When contacted Wednesday afternoon, Pedaline said he had no comment on the lawsuit as he received no information on it yet.

In 2021, Pedaline was honored by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society for his work in saving historic houses on Youngstown's North Side. He was known for painting the houses he owned in nontraditional colors.

The Justice Department's lawsuit against Pedaline seeks monetary damages to compensate those affected, a civil penalty and a court order barring future discrimination.

“Too often tenants with limited housing options are preyed upon by landlords, maintenance staff and others who have control over where they live,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “This lawsuit sends a message that the U.S. Attorney’s Office will not tolerate the exploitation of our vulnerable community members.”

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status. Those at the Justice Department are now asking those who believe that they may have been victims of sexual harassment or other types of housing discrimination at rental dwellings owned or managed by Joseph Pedaline or YLP LLC, or who have other information that may be relevant to this case, to contact the Housing Discrimination Hotline at 1-833-591-0291 (by pressing 1 for English, 2 for sexual harassment and then 01 for United States v. Joseph Pedaline and leaving a message).

Individuals may also send an email to Youngstown.Community@usdoj.gov or submit a report online. Reports also may be made by contacting the Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-800-669-9777 or by filing a complaint online.

The Justice Department launched its Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative in October 2017. The department’s initiative is led by the Civil Rights Division, in coordination with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country. The initiative seeks to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers and other people who have control over housing.

Since launching the initiative, the department has filed 36 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered over $10.8 million for victims.