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Mortgage problems have local impact
By John Mason
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
COLUMBIA COUNTY — Some indicators suggest county homeowners have not been untouched by the national mortgage foreclosure crisis. The number of lis pendens notices, which are sent to homeowners by lenders to begin the foreclosure process, rose significantly in the period between April 2007 and April 2008.
As for county tax foreclosures, although they have not shown a meaningful increase, the number of homeowners on payment plans for delinquent taxes is up in 2008.
According to a list obtained from the County Clerk’s Office, the 30 lis pendens notices sent out in April of this year was the highest in the past 34 months, and the 70 notices sent out in the three months preceding that made that quarter the worst over the same period.
From January 2006 to March 2007, the quarterly average was 45 notices. Since April 2007, there has been an average of 60 notices sent each quarter. However, there has been a slight decline in the last two quarters, with 53 sent out in the second quarter and 54 in the third quarter of 2008.
The notices come from banks, lending corporations, and individuals, and advise property owners that court foreclosure actions have been commenced. The defendants in one action usually include several parties, individuals as well as banks and mortgage companies. The sending of the notice means the plaintiff has begun the title search.
“Historically, it used to be one or two a month,” County Clerk Holly Tanner said. “Now, it’s one or two a day.”
While a home can be lost for failure to repay the lender in a timely fashion, it can also be lost for unpaid property taxes. But the county attempts to give homeowners the opportunity to make amends before it takes their homes.
Columbia County Deputy Treasurer Harold “Bud” Sharp said that while the number of homes being foreclosed on is up over last year, last year was “way down.” Contacted at home Saturday, Sharp did not have the exact figures, but said it was about 14 this year compared to about nine in 2007.
The current foreclosures are for 2004 taxes; the process of doing title searches for 2005 properties is now in process.
“We work with property owners to give them a chance,” said County Treasurer Ken Wilber. “If we foreclose on 20 properties, that’s a lot. We do a lot of structured payment plans, in which they can pay the balance over a period of up to two years.”
Sharp said there are probably about 25 percent more payment plans now than normally at this time of year.
“There are probably about 180 right now,” he said. “I would have anticipated about 130 or 140. It indicates people are having a hard time.”
“Those [payment plans] seem to help a lot,” Wilber said. “We’ve been doing them since 1995. It’s an opportunity for people to keep current; but they have to pay all their new taxes on time, which is sometimes a problem. We work with them.”
Wilber said foreclosures don’t always mean someone is losing a home.
“Some are pieces we’ve sold other years,” he said. “People take a shot at it, and realize the property wasn’t what they anticipated, so they let the taxes go. A number of them are just land alone that the property owners no longer want to deal with.”
The foreclosure crisis has had an impact on lending practices in the county.
“Banks are doing due diligence,” said Mortgage Consultant Laura Starker of First Niagara Bank. “What does the borrower actually make? Are you unemployed, no income? No one’s lending to you.”
More scrutiny is being given to applications by self-employed people as well, she said.
However, she said, she wanted to dispel a misconception: For persons who can show an income, “there are still mortgages out there; you can still get a loan.”
A 30-year mortgage is below 7 percent, and buyers can still put 5 percent down, Starker said. “You’re seeing a return to the traditional bank: The lending is there; it’s solid.”
COLUMBIA COUNTY — Some indicators suggest county homeowners have not been untouched by the national mortgage foreclosure crisis. The number of lis pendens notices, which are sent to homeowners by lenders to begin the foreclosure process, rose significantly in the period between April 2007 and April 2008.
As for county tax foreclosures, although they have not shown a meaningful increase, the number of homeowners on payment plans for delinquent taxes is up in 2008.
According to a list obtained from the County Clerk’s Office, the 30 lis pendens notices sent out in April of this year was the highest in the past 34 months, and the 70 notices sent out in the three months preceding that made that quarter the worst over the same period.
From January 2006 to March 2007, the quarterly average was 45 notices. Since April 2007, there has been an average of 60 notices sent each quarter. However, there has been a slight decline in the last two quarters, with 53 sent out in the second quarter and 54 in the third quarter of 2008.
The notices come from banks, lending corporations, and individuals, and advise property owners that court foreclosure actions have been commenced. The defendants in one action usually include several parties, individuals as well as banks and mortgage companies. The sending of the notice means the plaintiff has begun the title search.
“Historically, it used to be one or two a month,” County Clerk Holly Tanner said. “Now, it’s one or two a day.”
While a home can be lost for failure to repay the lender in a timely fashion, it can also be lost for unpaid property taxes. But the county attempts to give homeowners the opportunity to make amends before it takes their homes.
Columbia County Deputy Treasurer Harold “Bud” Sharp said that while the number of homes being foreclosed on is up over last year, last year was “way down.” Contacted at home Saturday, Sharp did not have the exact figures, but said it was about 14 this year compared to about nine in 2007.
The current foreclosures are for 2004 taxes; the process of doing title searches for 2005 properties is now in process.
“We work with property owners to give them a chance,” said County Treasurer Ken Wilber. “If we foreclose on 20 properties, that’s a lot. We do a lot of structured payment plans, in which they can pay the balance over a period of up to two years.”
Sharp said there are probably about 25 percent more payment plans now than normally at this time of year.
“There are probably about 180 right now,” he said. “I would have anticipated about 130 or 140. It indicates people are having a hard time.”
“Those [payment plans] seem to help a lot,” Wilber said. “We’ve been doing them since 1995. It’s an opportunity for people to keep current; but they have to pay all their new taxes on time, which is sometimes a problem. We work with them.”
Wilber said foreclosures don’t always mean someone is losing a home.
“Some are pieces we’ve sold other years,” he said. “People take a shot at it, and realize the property wasn’t what they anticipated, so they let the taxes go. A number of them are just land alone that the property owners no longer want to deal with.”
The foreclosure crisis has had an impact on lending practices in the county.
“Banks are doing due diligence,” said Mortgage Consultant Laura Starker of First Niagara Bank. “What does the borrower actually make? Are you unemployed, no income? No one’s lending to you.”
More scrutiny is being given to applications by self-employed people as well, she said.
However, she said, she wanted to dispel a misconception: For persons who can show an income, “there are still mortgages out there; you can still get a loan.”
A 30-year mortgage is below 7 percent, and buyers can still put 5 percent down, Starker said. “You’re seeing a return to the traditional bank: The lending is there; it’s solid.”
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