Homeowners facing foreclosure may wish to contact their mortgage lender or servicer to discuss available options. A repayment or loss-mitigation plan may be possible.
According to Dayton Daily News, the couple's case involved a property-tax dispute with the municipality.
Municipal staff initially told the homeowners the mistake could be fixed within two days, but the newspaper reports the fix did not happen on that timeline. By the time it unraveled, the couple had missed five months of mortgage payments, and their mortgage company had already started a foreclosure process against them.
Options for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure
The couple eventually complained to the Montgomery County Ombudsman about the municipality's handling of the matter. Per the newspaper's account, the ombudsman's office contacted the municipality only after securing the required permissions from the callers to act on their behalf — a standard step for the office before it intervenes in a resident's case.
The mortgage company ultimately received the check from the municipality and credited the homeowners' account retroactively back through April, the paper reports. With the escrow corrected, the couple was able to reinstate their home loan, closing out a dispute that had put their house on the line.
A Growing Caseload for a 55-Year-Old Office
The case is one of dozens the Montgomery County Ombudsman has fielded this year. The office has addressed 27 complaints in 2026, spanning categories including seven each for inspectional services and the water department, four for public works, two each for neighborhood development, municipal court, and waste collection, and one each for sewer maintenance, street maintenance, and taxation — the category that produced this case.
The Montgomery County Ombudsman handles complaints about government agencies.
The office assists residents of Montgomery County.
Ohio Property-Tax Assessment Corrections
The Supreme Court of Ohio advises homeowners facing foreclosure to contact their lender or servicer. A repayment or loss-mitigation plan may be possible.
The Ohio Revised Code requires county auditors to correct valuations or assessments on tax lists and duplicates in accordance with amended, supplementary, or final assessment certificates.
This is not the only time the ombudsman's office has intervened to keep a Montgomery County resident housed. A separate Dayton Daily News opinion item previously described the office helping a man avoid eviction, though further details of that case were not available.
How to Reach the Ombudsman's Office
Residents of Montgomery County who believe they are facing a similar dispute with a government agency can contact the Dayton Ombudsman Office, which investigates complaints about government agencies and services for county residents. The office is located at 11 W. Monument Ave., Suite 606, in Dayton, and can be reached by phone at 937-223-4613.
