Foreclosure Woes In Siskiyou County

June 22nd, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosure Notice

Foreclosure woes in Siskiyou County in California are mounting. California default notices have reached record peaks. Siskiyou County ranks fourth in the state. There has been a 126% increase during the first quarter of 2008 from what it was during the same quarter in 2007 according to RealtyStore.com.

Other counties with high increases in foreclosures were Glenn (138%), Trinity (227%) and Mono (429%). Northern California as a whole showed an increase of foreclosures by 20%, while the entire state of California registered a rise of 38% during the first quarter of this year in comparison to the same period in 2007. It was the highest since the last 15 years. The market began the slide from 2005 and 2006. The default numbers noted by the tracking agency was the highest since 1992.

During the first three months of this year 106 NOD or notice-of-defaults were issued to house owners in Siskiyou County. The NOD is the first stage in the process of foreclosure. It was a jump of 47% from the previous quarter – the last quarter of 2007, as per county records. In May already a 5% jump has been noticed which does not bode well for the second quarter of the running year.

From 1st January to 10th June 2008 there have been 226 default notices – it being 26 less than last year during this period. Records show that there were 144 NODs in 2007 and 134 in 2006. In January 2008, 68 new foreclosure notices were given – an increase of 15 from 2007. In June till the 10th, 13 notices have been issued in comparison to only 2 in the previous year.

The main reason currently for the increasing foreclosures is the fall in house values. During 2005 and 2006 the factor at play was bad loans with spiking interest. The big question today is whether the country is or is not in recession. If in recession the mortgages in the sub-prime will worm its way into the traditional home loans causing further damage.

Most of the defaults of the first quarter had started sometime between August 2005 and October 2006 – the average being 23 months. In the previous year it was 16 months. Of all the house loans in default 32% are from the foreclosure process entailing refinancing or selling the house to pay off dues. A year ago that was 52%. The sluggish real estate market is adding to California foreclosure woes.