Foreclosure actions up 53 percent through September

Mortgage lenders this year have stepped up foreclosure actions in Westchester County to a level not seen since 2009, according to county clerk records.

The 2,046 foreclosure filings in state Supreme Court through September amounted to a 53 percent increase from the same nine-month period in 2012. Foreclosure notices through the first three quarters this year already have surpassed total filings by lenders in 2012, when 1,812 foreclosure actions were begun, and in 2011, when the county had 1,655 filings, according to Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni.

From July through September, lenders initiated 618 foreclosure actions, a 20 percent increase from the third quarter of 2012.

Idoni said foreclosure judgments against defaulted property owners totaled 233 through September this year. The number already exceeds the 208 court judgments issued in 2012 and the 177 foreclosure judgments recorded in the county in 2011.

“There are ways to avoid or resolve foreclosures if you start early enough,” Idoni said in a press release. He urged persons facing foreclosure to get immediate legal assistance. “But please be sure to use safe, affordable avenues to save your home,” he said.

Idoni noted the nonprofit housing agency Westchester Residential Opportunities holds mortgage default orientation sessions in White Plains. Trained counselors are available by calling (914) 428-4507 or by visiting the agency”™s website at wroinc.org.