Published: April 11, 2008 10:23 am      

County foreclosure rate behind national

As news of a recession makes the headlines nationwide, often citing a rising number of house foreclosures as a sign of economic downturn, the picture in Cooke County doesn’t appear as gloomy.

According to information from the Cooke County Clerk’s Office, there have been about 50 foreclosures since Jan. 1. With about 130 in 2007, the number of foreclosures is slightly higher than usual.

“There’s not as many as there are in Dallas or Fort Worth,” said Rebecca Lawson, Cooke County Clerk, “or where there has been a lot of growth in the housing market.”

A foreclosure is the legal proceeding in which a bank or other secured creditor sells or repossesses a parcel of property due to the owner’s failure to meet an agreement between the lender and the borrower, such as a mortgage or a deed of trust.

Thumbing through the notices of foreclosure, it appeared that most of the foreclosed properties were obtained through mortgages with large companies, such as Countrywide Mortgage, or national banking institutions. Very few of the foreclosures were done through local banks.

Residential foreclosures continued to rise across North Texas this month. For example, in Denton County the foreclosure rate was 40 percent higher than April of last year, according to information from the Foreclosure Listing Service. April foreclosures rose more sharply in Denton County than any of the other 10 North Texas counties listed by the service.

Lawson said when a property is being foreclosed on in Cooke County, a notice is placed on the second floor bulletin board at the Cooke County Courthouse 21 days prior to the sale.

She said investors wait in all kinds of weather to be the highest bidder on a repossessed property, which is sold from the east side steps of the courthouse according to a 1998 resolution passed by the Commissioners Court.

After the property is sold, the records are kept in the County Clerk’s office for a year, she said.

* * *

Though estimates differ, about 900,000 homes in the U.S. are currently in the foreclosure process — up nearly 90 percent from 2007.

According to Associated Press reports, the U.S. Senate passed a plan to curb the trend of rising foreclosures across the nation. But critics aren’t sure government intervention would help.

A proposal to award a $7,000 tax credit to people who buy foreclosed homes or homes on which foreclosure has been filed is one piece of a broader measure that awards tax breaks to homebuilders and banks. It’s chiefly sponsored by Republicans, but it has gotten a chilly reception from the Bush administration, as well as Democrats in the House.

The $7,000 credits are intended to help get foreclosed homes off the market, theoretically stabilizing home prices and keeping blighted houses from dragging down neighborhoods.

However, some economists say that making it easier to buy foreclosed homes makes it easier to sell them. Banks could be more inclined to foreclose on a house instead of renegotiating new terms with a homeowner behind on their payments.

At the same time, other economists say, the $7,000 credit could distort the market by making foreclosed homes owned by lenders more attractive to buy than other homes. That has the effect of lowering the value of homes occupied by people who are up to date with their mortgages.

Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, said such a plan may encourage banks to repossess properties more quickly.

Supporters, such as Sen. Johnny Isakon, R-Ga., said the credits would help to repair the “bottom of the market.”

A White House spokesman said the Bush Administration’s plan is to use an existing Federal Housing Administration program to enable more low- and moderate-income homeowners to refinance into government-insured mortgages with monthly payments they can afford.

It is a more modest version of a concept Democrats have recently been pushing to respond to the housing crisis, which would have the FHA back from $300 billion to $400 billion in restructured loans.

Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.netAs news of a recession makes the headlines nationwide, often citing a rising number of house foreclosures as a sign of economic downturn, the picture in Cooke County doesn’t appear as gloomy.

According to information from the Cooke County Clerk’s Office, there have been about 50 foreclosures since Jan. 1. With about 130 in 2007, the number of foreclosures is slightly higher than usual.

“There’s not as many as there are in Dallas or Fort Worth,” said Rebecca Lawson, Cooke County Clerk, “or where there has been a lot of growth in the housing market.”

A foreclosure is the legal proceeding in which a bank or other secured creditor sells or repossesses a parcel of property due to the owner’s failure to meet an agreement between the lender and the borrower, such as a mortgage or a deed of trust.

Thumbing through the notices of foreclosure, it appeared that most of the foreclosed properties were obtained through mortgages with large companies, such as Countrywide Mortgage, or national banking institutions. Very few of the foreclosures were done through local banks.

Residential foreclosures continued to rise across North Texas this month. For example, in Denton County the foreclosure rate was 40 percent higher than April of last year, according to information from the Foreclosure Listing Service. April foreclosures rose more sharply in Denton County than any of the other 10 North Texas counties listed by the service.

Lawson said when a property is being foreclosed on in Cooke County, a notice is placed on the second floor bulletin board at the Cooke County Courthouse 21 days prior to the sale.

She said investors wait in all kinds of weather to be the highest bidder on a repossessed property, which is sold from the east side steps of the courthouse according to a 1998 resolution passed by the Commissioners Court.

After the property is sold, the records are kept in the County Clerk’s office for a year, she said.

* * *

Though estimates differ, about 900,000 homes in the U.S. are currently in the foreclosure process — up nearly 90 percent from 2007.

According to Associated Press reports, the U.S. Senate passed a plan to curb the trend of rising foreclosures across the nation. But critics aren’t sure government intervention would help.

A proposal to award a $7,000 tax credit to people who buy foreclosed homes or homes on which foreclosure has been filed is one piece of a broader measure that awards tax breaks to homebuilders and banks. It’s chiefly sponsored by Republicans, but it has gotten a chilly reception from the Bush administration, as well as Democrats in the House.

The $7,000 credits are intended to help get foreclosed homes off the market, theoretically stabilizing home prices and keeping blighted houses from dragging down neighborhoods.

However, some economists say that making it easier to buy foreclosed homes makes it easier to sell them. Banks could be more inclined to foreclose on a house instead of renegotiating new terms with a homeowner behind on their payments.

At the same time, other economists say, the $7,000 credit could distort the market by making foreclosed homes owned by lenders more attractive to buy than other homes. That has the effect of lowering the value of homes occupied by people who are up to date with their mortgages.

Howard Gleckman of the Tax Policy Center, a joint project of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, said such a plan may encourage banks to repossess properties more quickly.

Supporters, such as Sen. Johnny Isakon, R-Ga., said the credits would help to repair the “bottom of the market.”

A White House spokesman said the Bush Administration’s plan is to use an existing Federal Housing Administration program to enable more low- and moderate-income homeowners to refinance into government-insured mortgages with monthly payments they can afford.

It is a more modest version of a concept Democrats have recently been pushing to respond to the housing crisis, which would have the FHA back from $300 billion to $400 billion in restructured loans.

Reporter Andy Hogue may be contacted at andyhoguegdr@ntin.net