Surge in foreclosures has local homeowners seeking help

Teri Duffy Community Housing Resource Center

The number of Clark County houses in foreclosure spiked in October, sending droves of desperate homeowners to the area’s only home mortgage counseling agency.

“We’ve been inundated (with requests for counseling). It is just nonstop,” said Teri Duffy, executive director of the nonprofit Community Housing Resource Center on Andresen Road. The center is the only local facility that offers federally approved foreclosure counseling, which many banks require.

The need for such help appears to have risen here and around the rest of the country, according to figures released today by RealtyTrac, a California real estate data firm. In October, 235 homes were in some stage of foreclosure in Clark County, up 41.6 percent from the 166 homes in foreclosure during the same month last year. Nationwide, foreclosures grew 25 percent in October over the same period in 2007.

Local foreclosure rates had appeared to be leveling off in September, when 144 foreclosures were filed in Clark County, up just 3 from the same month the year before. But the lull — down from more than 290 foreclosures filed here in August — was short-lived.

The number of Clark County homes in foreclosure in October jumped by more than 63 percent over September numbers.

The county’s foreclosures in October accounted for 5.5 percent of the 4,278 foreclosures filed statewide. Washington had the 17th-highest foreclosure rate out of 50 states, according to RealtyTrac, which incorporates data filed during several stages of foreclosure. Oregon ranked No. 16.

Duffy said her organization began fielding more phone calls — up to 30 a day — last month. She said some troubled homeowners have started to receive letters from the Washington state Attorney General’s office as a result of a lawsuit against subprime mortgage loans issued by Countrywide Financial Corp., which was bought by the Bank of America this year.

The settlement will grant nearly 10,000 Washington homeowners about $200 million in payment relief issued with the help of approved foreclosure counseling.

“Basically they’re directing folks to pick up the phone and call the counseling center,” said Duffy, who added that the nonprofit center is staffed with only one certified foreclosure counselor.

“She is booked solid for counseling appointments over the next three weeks,” Duffy said.

Duffy estimated that reduced household income, either from a job loss or cut in hours, was the contributing issue for most homeowners facing foreclosure.

Duffy also blamed Clark County’s sluggish housing market for the rise in local foreclosures. Clark County home sales have shown monthly declines through the year, dropping by 11.3 percent in September. In that month a total of 478 new and preowned houses were sold, compared with 539 homes sales in September 2007.

There are about 156,110 housing units in Clark County, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Before the countywide slump in sales, troubled homeowners could sell a house and get out of debt, Duffy said. “They could sell the house and it would be gone in a certain amount of time,” Duffy said. “But now it sits on the market. Things are just kind of spiraling.”

Cami Joner: 360-735-4532 or cami.joner@columbian.com.