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WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER.From the Westchester County Clerk. July 9, 2013 UPDATED JULY 10, 2013 WITH ANALYSIS BY WPCNR;

“The foreclosure activity in the first half of 2013 is the highest since the foreclosure crisis began,” reported Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni who serves as Clerk of the Westchester County Supreme Court where foreclosure actions are heard.

The information, though, does not signal a new wave of homeowners facing distress, according to an expert in distressed properties, Phil Faranda of J. Philip Real Estate, who spoke with WPCNR Wednesday morning. Mr. Faranda also runs the web newsite, www.nyshortsalesblog.com and www.jphilip.com

Faranda says these filings are filings of complete,  updated paperwork banks started three to four years ago when hundreds of people were being foreclosed on during what Mr. Faranda called the “robo-signing crisis” when the government declared a moratorium on instant foreclosure actions because people were losing their houses without getting due process in the courts. Faranda sees this sudden increase of foreclosures indicating that banks which attempted foreclosures in the county two to three years ago have finally gotten all documents necessary to begin the long process leading to repossession.

“I don’t believe this is the crisis it appears to be,” Faranda said, noting the inventory  would eventually come on the market, but not all at once. He did not  see the filings at all as  a new wave of new homeowners being unable to pay their mortgages. Some he said may not even know they still own those homes. Some he said, had already sold.them.

As the settlements of these foreclosures  come on the market, he said the properties would help real estate sales because buyers who could not afford homes at the steadily rising prices  would have lower priced homes to choose..

He added that the homes would be coming onto a stable market where mortgage money and favorable monetary policy by the government was available, and not in the climate of four years ago where mortgage money was not available. Prices were plummetting and there was no consumer confidence. Mr. Faran

The Office of the Westchester County Clerk reported one thousand four hundred and twenty six (1,426) foreclosure actions started between January 1^st and June 30^th of this year, as compared with eight hundred and twenty four (824) during the same period last year.  One hundred and fifty one (151) foreclosure judgments have been entered in the first half of 2013, in comparison to ninety three (93) entered during the first half of 2012.  A month-by-month breakdown of foreclosure filings follows:

“As foreclosure activity in Westchester County increases, so does the risk that our residents will fall prey to a foreclosure scheme,” cautioned Idoni who urged residents to seek help from a trained foreclosure counselor.  Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO), a non-profit housing agency with offices in White Plains and Mount Vernon, conducts Mortgage Default Orientation sessions most Wednesdays in their White Plains Office.  Trained counselors are available to help at (914) 428-4507 ext. 334 or by visiting www.wroinc.org.

For more information on the Office of the Westchester County Clerk, please visit WestchesterClerk.com or call (914)995-3081.