Sat Nov 07 2009
By LISA NICELY
No one likes to hear about foreclosures, but there definitely has been an increase in cases around the six-county area.
Foreclosure filings in all but one county rose last year.
"Five out of the six counties saw an increase in foreclosures in 2008 compared to 2007," said Bret Crow, public information officer with the Ohio Supreme Court, which tracks foreclosure cases filed in county courts. "The number of foreclosures in Paulding held steady."
Paulding County had 126 filings in both 2008 and 2007, according to data from the Supreme Court. Henry County saw the biggest increase in filings, with 26 more filed last year (146) compared to 2007 (120).
Defiance County had 183 filings in 2008, up from 172 in '07, while Fulton County recorded 216 foreclosure cases last year, up from 192 in '07. There were 199 filings in '08 and 191 the previous year in Williams County, and Putnam County had 104 last year, compared to 81 in '07.
The Ohio Supreme Court bases its data on the number of lawsuits filed by lenders seeking foreclosure on a mortgage or a similar instrument against a borrower. Both commercial and noncommercial filings are included in the data.
All area counties have experienced a steady increase in filings since 2005, according to reports.
In Defiance County, common pleas court Judge Joseph Schmenk said of the number of cases filed: "We really started noticing an upswing in them in the middle of last year. Within the last two years, (the filings) have increased by quite a few."
In Henry County, Clerk of Courts Judy Sonnenberg said she really started to see an increase in 1998.
"It's not just foreclosure increases either," she said, adding that the court's has experienced an increase in money-only cases involving credit card debt.
With the increase, many borrowers are trying to work with lenders or go through mitigation programs to avoid foreclosing on properties.
"We have a court adjunct mediation program," said Schmenk. "The worst thing people can do is do nothing. The best thing is to get an answer filed on their behalf and open up a discussion with the mortgage holder to avoid it going to the foreclosure sale. Often times they can get something worked out with the lending institution short of losing their home."
When a foreclosed home goes up for auction bids start at two-thirds of the property's appraised value.
"Most time the lenders are holding significantly more than that in debt," said Schmenk. "We've noticed in a number of cases things get worked out and they are able to enter into some kind of accommodation that works for lender and mortgage borrower."
Schmenk encourages individuals facing foreclosure to take part in mediation programs.
There was a mediation just last week in Defiance County, said Cheryl Timbrook of the common pleas court. Overall, she said that they haven't had many requests for mediation so far.
Sonnenberg said Henry County has had a mediation program available for foreclosure for a year. She said there has been an increase in requests for mediation since the court started sending out information about the program as well as how to file an answer to the foreclosure summons received by defendants.
"I don't think many people knew about it before," she said.
Chris DelFavero, mediation coordinator for the state's Northwest Ohio Court Mediation Services, said he's seen an increase in individuals asking for foreclosure mediation. Northwest Ohio Court Mediation Services covers Henry, Defiance, Fulton, Paulding, Williams and Putnam counties. The program started last spring.
"With the help of the (Ohio) Supreme Court we established a process for referrals through the (county) clerk's offices," said DelFavero, who added that referrals started to pick up this summer. "Last month I had the most referrals since we started. I had 11 referred this past month. We started with just two or three a month, and now we have two a week."
DelFavero said that many cases involve jumps in interest rates, causing payments to increase or individuals who have seen a decrease in pay.
"Those are the cases we hopefully can resolve and come up with a repayment plan or refinance their rates," he said. "The general problem in the industry was the subprime rates. Some of it is the economy, with people losing their overtime. Sometimes loans are given based on people making $40,000 and then they lose their overtime so now they are making $30,000. They are working, but may have fallen four to five months behind. The lender usually will work with them."
DelFavero said it helps that more people are realizing that they can work with their banks if they have problems before problems escalate to foreclosure filings. He said he hopes to see foreclosure problems resolved.
"If the auto industry really falls apart it will go up," he said of foreclosures. "I'm hopeful, but not entirely confident, it will decrease."
Comments
By Posting to this site, you agree to our Terms of Service Be polite.
Inappropriate posts may be removed.
Crescent-News.com doesn't necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post.
Login above or Register to comment.
0 Total Comments Home | Back
Copyright Defiance Publishing, LLC 1995-2009. All Rights Reserved.
Content may not be republished without the expresse written consent of the publisher.
Content may not be republished without the expresse written consent of the publisher.
Dix Communications