Midland County Boasts A Lower Foreclosure Rate In 2007

January 28th, 2008

Midland County has achieved a lower rate of foreclosures in the year 2007 as compared to year 2006!! And the credit goes to Mr. Richard Enszer, Treasurer for Midland County.

With a goal to reduce rate of foreclosure and help people retain their real estate investments, Mr. Enszer has visited the poorest of families in Midland County, primarily to understand their issues and creating awareness among them on ways to retain their “parcels” (homes).

Quoting on some statistics for the county, he stated the following points:

Due to bank foreclosures, 157 owners lost their properties in year 2007 as compared to 180 owners in year 2006.
2007 also saw 9 more owners having to face foreclosure as they defaulted in payments for over two years. It was the same in 2006.
Year 2008 would see 181 property owners having to face risk of foreclosure as they have yet to pay their property taxes due in 2005. Failure on their part to make the necessary arrangements for payment would mean that these owners will have to forfeit their right to ownership!

According to Mr. Enszer, the figure 181 can be brought down considerably by calling and visiting these owners to remind and put pressure on them to pay their dues. This in a way would enable the owners to find ways and means to repay their outstandings.

“My record is seven and, if I can beat that, that would be an awesome thing to do,” he said. Mr. Enszer states that the late payers are primarily those who are poor and those who have mismanaged their credit cards and other debt. He also claims that some people are living in completely run-down properties as the owners have no funds for maintenance. Also, some properties which are auctioned by the bank are oddly shaped and new buyers cannot do much with them, in turn they are foreclosed again.

Mr. Enszer believes that convincing neighbours of such odd shaped properties to buy the same would help bring down the foreclosure rate. In his effort, he has started to send an increasing number of reminder letters to late payers, many of who eventually find ways to retain their properties, by way of borrowing from extended family, friends and non-profit organizations. He is also creating awareness among such property holders, informing them about “hardship forms”, which enable them to get an extension for up to One year. This would give them sufficient time to arrange funds.

In order to increase the success rate of his endeavour, Mr. Enszer hopes that law makers also join him in this effort.