State and county foreclosures increase
Joel Pavelski
Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Beyond
Foreclosures in Hillsdale County followed the national downward trend in 2008, increasing 28 percent from the same period last year.
In 2007, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 12, there were 179 foreclosures in Hillsdale County. During the same time period in 2008, there were 228, according to Hillsdale County Register of Deeds Bambi Somerlott.
That means one foreclosure for every 205 permanent county residents.
"With only 267 [foreclosures] total during 2007, this represents a huge increase," Somerlott said.
This increase creates a problem for the City of Hillsdale.
Foreclosed homes are still maintained by the banks that seize them to meet city ordinances, said Dave Turnbull, a city code enforcement official.
"It isn't worth it for a bank to hire outside people to keep up one house," he said, "so they'll wait until they have 10 or more that need maintenance."
Increasing foreclosure rates are not exclusive to Hillsdale County - Michigan currently has the fourth highest foreclosure rate in the nation after California, Florida and Arizona, in that order.
In Michigan, one in 72 households were filed in foreclosure this year, according to RealtyTrac.com, which provides information to The Wall Street Journal and keeps the nation's largest foreclosure database.
Detroit has the highest metropolitan foreclosure rate in the nation, with foreclosure at nearly 5 percent.
Nationally, one in every 416 households received at least one foreclosure notice in August, 12 percent higher than July and 27 percent higher than the same month last year.
Greg Goforth, a real estate agent who specializes in selling foreclosed properties, said the increase in foreclosure rates is sharp in comparison to the previous year, but August's foreclosure rate is a much smaller increase than July's or June's, which may mean that the foreclosure boom is beginning to die down.
"While the rate of foreclosure won't stop increasing for a while," he said, "at least it won't continue increasing at the exponential rate it has been."
According to Goforth, Michigan homeowners will have to take what good news they can get.
"Now is the time to buy a home in foreclosure," he added with a smile.
In 2007, from Jan. 1 to Sept. 12, there were 179 foreclosures in Hillsdale County. During the same time period in 2008, there were 228, according to Hillsdale County Register of Deeds Bambi Somerlott.
That means one foreclosure for every 205 permanent county residents.
"With only 267 [foreclosures] total during 2007, this represents a huge increase," Somerlott said.
This increase creates a problem for the City of Hillsdale.
Foreclosed homes are still maintained by the banks that seize them to meet city ordinances, said Dave Turnbull, a city code enforcement official.
"It isn't worth it for a bank to hire outside people to keep up one house," he said, "so they'll wait until they have 10 or more that need maintenance."
Increasing foreclosure rates are not exclusive to Hillsdale County - Michigan currently has the fourth highest foreclosure rate in the nation after California, Florida and Arizona, in that order.
In Michigan, one in 72 households were filed in foreclosure this year, according to RealtyTrac.com, which provides information to The Wall Street Journal and keeps the nation's largest foreclosure database.
Detroit has the highest metropolitan foreclosure rate in the nation, with foreclosure at nearly 5 percent.
Nationally, one in every 416 households received at least one foreclosure notice in August, 12 percent higher than July and 27 percent higher than the same month last year.
Greg Goforth, a real estate agent who specializes in selling foreclosed properties, said the increase in foreclosure rates is sharp in comparison to the previous year, but August's foreclosure rate is a much smaller increase than July's or June's, which may mean that the foreclosure boom is beginning to die down.
"While the rate of foreclosure won't stop increasing for a while," he said, "at least it won't continue increasing at the exponential rate it has been."
According to Goforth, Michigan homeowners will have to take what good news they can get.
"Now is the time to buy a home in foreclosure," he added with a smile.
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