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Housing advocates warn local crisis far from over. Other counties in region see increase
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Thursday, Jan 03, 2008
The number of new foreclosure lawsuits filed in Summit County dropped slightly last year, failing to surpass the previous year's total for only the second time in the last decade.
While that's positive news after years of significant increases, housing advocates warned Wednesday that the local foreclosure crisis is far from over. A new record could be set this year as many adjustable rate mortgages kick in with higher interest rates, they said.
''I hate to be a naysayer, but it just may be a small dip in our continuing problem with foreclosure filings,'' said Fred Vaughn, deputy director of the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corp. and director of the agency's Center for Home Ownership. ''It's good news, obviously. We don't want any increase, but it may be temporary.''
Last year, there were 4,522 foreclosure filings by banks and lenders in Summit County, compared to 4,553 the previous year, Clerk of Courts Dan Horrigan announced Wednesday. The totals do not include foreclosures start
ed by the county for failure to pay property taxes.
Other local counties Cuyahoga, Medina, Portage and Stark recorded increases, and court officials were surprised to learn that Summit's numbers dropped.
''We are not experiencing a decrease, unfortunately,'' said Kathy Fortney, clerk of courts in Medina County, where foreclosures jumped from 735 to 856.
Foreclosure filings went from 2,785 to 2,812 in Stark; 725 to 766 in Portage and 12,924 to 13,634 in Cuyahoga. A telephone message left for information covering Wayne County was not returned.
Summit court officials had predicted that new lawsuits would probably eclipse 5,000 last year and had no explanation for the slight decrease.
Horrigan and others said the decline might be related to the enormous amount of publicity given to foreclosures nationwide, to assistance being offered by attorneys and housing advocates, and to more people reaching out for help or fighting back against predatory lending.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
The number of new foreclosure lawsuits filed in Summit County dropped slightly last year, failing to surpass the previous year's total for only the second time in the last decade.
Get the full article here.

