Among all states, Ohio has the highest number of families who lost their houses for failing to pay mortgages. Ohio lawmakers Wednesday sought advice from experts on how to help the state out of the crisis.
Last year, 80,000 Ohio residents lost their homes. Most had taken out subprime loans that are more risky than traditional mortgages.
Homeowner advocates testified that unethical lenders often push homebuyers to borrow more than they can afford. Dover Democratic Congressman Zack Space says loan contracts should be more understandable.
"I've received home loans before. I am a lawyer, and it's difficult to navigate those waters," said Space.
St. Clairsville Democrat Charlie Wilson wants to require high school students to learn more about finance.
"In junior high, where they have math problems, they would have to do with interest rates and how they would work."
Ohio lawmakers agree that federal regulators should stop predatory lending. But for those who already accepted bad loans, they say there's not much to be done.