Local Foreclosure Activity Mixed

Local foreclosure numbers are returning to pre-recession times, but many homeowners are still struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments.

There were 86 Benton County and 50 Washington County homes in some stage of foreclosure last month, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties. Benton County’s foreclosure activity was up 21 percent from August 2012 while Washington County reported a 34 percent drop.

“It’s not a problem that is going away, but we don’t see it trending up,” said Joel Doelger, director of housing counseling for Credit Counseling of Arkansas. “There always have been and always will be people who struggle making their mortgage payment.”

The U.S. fell into a mortgage crisis in 2007, and foreclosures peaked in the two-county area in 2010 when they reached 6,985 for the year. There were 1,409 foreclosure filings through August this year.

Arkansas’ foreclosure rate increased 16 percent year-over-year to 638, bucking the national trend. August marked the 35th consecutive month national foreclosure activity dropped on an annual basis, falling 33.6 percent to 128,560.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, said shrinking foreclosure starts helped keep the overall level down on a national level.

August foreclosure starts across the country were down 44 percent from a year earlier, sinking to the lowest level since December 2005.

There were 32 starts in Benton County and 25 in Washington County in August, compared with 31 and 18 a year ago, respectively.

Doelger said it is possible for people to save their homes even if they do fall behind on payments.

Linda Burton is one person who fought for her home and won. The 77-year-old Springdale woman faced foreclosure after missing one house payment to Bank of America in 2009. She ran into financial problems after her foster daughter turned 18 years old and state funding ended.

Burton said she knew money would be tight without the state’s financial support, but she never questioned her decision to remain the caretaker of Samantha, a severely handicapped foster child she has taken care of for more than 10 years.

She contacted CCOA in 2010 and after more than two years finally secured a loan modification that lowered her monthly payments by $354 and dropped her interest rate from 6.5 percent to 5.25 percent.

“I would advise anyone who has trouble to immediately seek counseling,” she said. “That saved my bacon.”

Doelger warned people struggling to make their mortgage to be wary of scams.

“Rule No. 1: If you didn’t make the initial inquiry, be suspect,” he said. “Second, if someone is asking you to pay money to work on your mortgage situation, don’t. There is free help available.”

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offers resources for free help. CCOA the only HUD-approved counseling agency in the two-county area. Additional approved counseling agencies can be found at hud.gov.

“We can’t save every mortgage, can reduce the uncertainty,” he said.