Mortgage woes continue to afflict Northern Olympic Peninsula homeowners as Clallam and Jefferson counties see double-digit increases in foreclosed homes over the last year.
According to RealtyTrac, which provides foreclosure information, 31 homeowners have received a notice of trustee sale — meaning that their homes would be auctioned off within 90 days unless they can make the delinquent payments or file for bankruptcy — in Clallam County from January through August.
From January through August 2007, 17 homes received a notice of trustee sale in Clallam County.
That is an increase of nearly 46 percent.
In 2007, a total of 28 homes received a notice of trustee sale in Clallam County.
Eight homes received a notice of trustee sale in Clallam County in 2006.
Kathy Miller, recorder for the Clallam County Auditor’s Office, said she began to notice a sharp increase in foreclosure filings last summer.
“This isn’t the good ol’ days,” she said.
In Jefferson County, 51 home owners received a notice of trustee sale this year through August.
From January through August 2007, 40 homes received a notice of trustee sale in Jefferson County.
That is an increase of about 22 percent compared to the same time last year.
A total of 73 homes in 2007 received a notice of trustee sale in Jefferson County.
In 2006, 66 homes received a notice of trustee sale in Jefferson County.
Jefferson County Auditor Donna Eldridge said that she easily expects that the number of notice of trustee sales will this year will surpass the total from 2007.
“If the trend holds, we could see an increase,” she said.
Terry Roth, a private auctioneer in Clallam County, said about 20 percent of homes that are foreclosed are bought during the auctions that take place at the Clallam County Courthouse in Port Angeles.
The rest go back into the hands of the mortgage lender.
Roth said everyone on the economic scale is being affected.
In June, he said he posted a piece of property for foreclosure with a $4,300 per month monthly mortgage payment.
This year he has also posted a piece of property for foreclosure in Sequim assessed at $880,000.
A home in Port Townsend went back to the loan beneficiary for $607,500 in July.
According to RealtyTrac, Washington state — with 2,024 notice of trustee filings in August — ranked 21st on its list of state’s with the highest level of foreclosures.
The top three states, in terms of number of foreclosures, are Nevada, California and Arizona.
