Mount Vernon News

MOUNT VERNON — The nation’s foreclosure crisis is hitting home in Knox County and the spike in the number of people facing foreclosure is not likely to go down anytime soon.

The Knox County Clerk of Courts office reports 288 foreclosure filings in 2007, compared to 259 in 2006 and 219 in 2005.

The Ohio Supreme Court data differs slightly: It reports 365 foreclosures for 2007, a 55 percent increase compared to the number of filings in 2003. The data shows 298 in 2006, and 265 in 2005.

The numbers differ slightly, but the pattern is the same. Mary Jo Hawkins, Knox County Clerk of Courts, said she considers the local numbers to be slightly more accurate but added that different standards of counting foreclosure filings accounts for the difference. The county, for instance, does not count foreclosure cases involving bankruptcy, which it considers to be on hold.

The local clerk of courts office has felt this increase acutely. Hawkins said her office’s processing workload began to increase as far back as 2002, when the number of civil filings processed by the office jumped by 181 over the previous year. That increase, she said, were new foreclosure filings.

How does Knox County stack up compared to neighboring counties?

Supreme Court data shows foreclosures in Richland County have increased by 51 percent since 2003. In Licking, the corresponding increase is 44.1 percent. In Coshocton County, that number is 34.3 percent. Morrow County has had only a minimal increase in foreclosures over the last four years — 1.3 percent.

In Ohio, the supreme court projects 82,120 foreclosures for 2007, compared to 79,074 a year ago. The number of foreclosures has increased by 43.9 percent since 2003.

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing for Ohio estimates that 87,000 homeowners face imminent foreclosure.

A Mortgage Bankers Association report released in December showed that home foreclosures in the nation climbed to an all-time high in the third quarter, and Ohio is the top state in percentage of loans in foreclosure and ninth in delinquencies not yet in foreclosure.

Ohio Treasurer Richard Cordray has been petitioning local county clerks offices to take a lead role in helping homeowners facing foreclosures find ways out of the foreclosure quagmire. She said and Knox County Common Pleas Judge Otho Eyster have discussed the idea and both feel it is inappropriate for her office to provide legal counsel to someone being sued for foreclosure.

“We strongly feel that is practicing law which we consider to be crossing a line,” she said.

Hawkins said the clerk’s office processes the paperwork for the county common pleas court, and, though it has long provided basic information on free legal services available to Ohioans, it is difficult for her staff to be put in the position to help someone prepare a pleading.

In a letter to Hawkins, Cordray said estimates suggest that the number of home foreclosures will not abate anytime soon and will likely spike in January. He said Gov. Strickland’s newly-formed Foreclosure Prevention Taskforce recommends that homeowners served with foreclosure complaints get more information on what is required of them and where they can turn for help.

Over 200 lawyers recently answered a call put out by Ohio Chief Justice Thomas Moyer in which he asked for volunteers to help low income homeowners avoid foreclosure. He said lawyers have a duty to help homeowners facing foreclosures.

Moyer said lawyers can help mediate disputes between homeowners and lenders, which could help prevent foreclosure filings from leading to an actual foreclosure.

The Ohio State Legal Services Association has a variety of resources for homeowners in danger of losing their home available at www.ohiolegalservices.org.

The Ohio Department of Commerce also offers similar information for homeowners facing foreclosure on its Web site, www.com.state.oh.us, including information on how to avoid foreclosure, foreclosure assistance, predatory lending information, and has several links to other agencies that can help struggling homeowners.

Struggling homeowners can also get free advice and support 24 hours a day, seven days a week by called (888) 995-HOPE or by visiting www.995hope.org.