The majority of the filings in Clark County are new listings of people who defaulted on their mortgages, according to the data from RealtyTrac.
But Tina Koumoutsos, executive director of the Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield, says that while the filings are new, many of the people have been delinquent on home payments for months, sometimes years.
Koumoutsos cited a period when banks were unable to do foreclosures.
“There was a moratorium on foreclosures so banks were in a holding pattern,” she said. “There were a lot of delinquent accounts and now they are taking foreclosure action.”
Because of this, Koumoutsos said, she expected an increase in foreclosures.
“We’re still dealing with the economy and job loss,” she said.
Local real-estate agents also expected to see an uptick in foreclosure filings.
“We knew there might be another wave hitting the (foreclosure) market,” said Lori Fulk, president of the Springfield Board of Realtors. “There aren’t as many (foreclosed homes) for sale as there have been in the past. On the regular real estate side, inventory is starting to move, and it doesn’t help prices.”
Real estate experts expected foreclosure filings would increase after the record $25 billion national mortgage settlement reached this year with the nation’s largest lenders. Properties that began the foreclosure process earlier this year or last year were in limbo until the settlement was final, said Daren Blomquist, the spokesman for RealtyTrac.
“Lenders appear to be slowly releasing a backlog of bank-owned properties into the market,” Blomquist said. “We anticipate that the lenders will release the backlog in manageable batches to avoid housing price declines.”
Fulk said she expects that the increase in foreclosures could make prices drop, but that there are plenty of buyers looking for opportunities.
The settlement helped lenders determine how to properly foreclose properties, a banking industry spokesman said.
“It’s got the process working again within the banks,” said James Thurston, spokesman for the Ohio Bankers League. “The banks want to get these distressed properties off their books. It’s in everybody’s best interest.”
In the meantime, organizations such as the Neighborhood Housing Partnership work to help people avoid foreclosure. NHP has seen more requests for assistance; it has foreclosure prevention programs such as financial assistance and negotiating to modify the terms of loans so they will be more affordable.
springfield area foreclosures by the numbers
38.5 percent increase in Clark County foreclosure filings in May from April, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.
187 total foreclosure proceedings of some kind filed in May
7 out of 10 is where Ohio ranked nationally in May for foreclosure activity, for a foreclosure rate of one in every 495 houses.
SOURCE: RealtyTrac Inc.
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