Home foreclosure filings in Oregon spiked last month. Four hundred and seventy four court foreclosures were filed in March compared to 295 in February. According to John Helmick, CEO of Gorilla Capitol, the increase was anticipated.
Helmick: "These are homes that have gone through the required mandatory mediation process, and so now they are able to file the foreclosures because under the new statute you have to go thought this mediation process before you can file the foreclosure."
Helmick says most other states in the U.S. are seeing a decrease in foreclosures. The Oregon legislature recently switched its procedure from a trustee to a judicial or court foreclosure process.
Helmick: "The states that have judicial foreclosure process like Florida, New Jersey or Illinois, they have foreclosure process that take three or four years to completely go through the process. That creates a drag on the housing recovery."
Helmick says 87% of the homes his company purchased during the last year were abandoned or vacant. He says renovating these homes and putting them back on the market will increase property value in most neighborhoods. The counties in Oregon with the most foreclosures during March were Clackamas, Jackson, and Lane.
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