Spike in foreclosures

Home foreclosures in Westchester County nearly doubled so far this year compared with the same period last year.

The 1,426 foreclosures Jan. 1-June 30 edged out the 1,343 foreclosures in the first half of 2010 for top spot since 2006. The number for the first half of 2012 was 824.

In 2006, the county clerk”™s office recorded 766 foreclosures for the first six months. By 2007 as the economy soured, that number had ratcheted up to 1,012.

“The foreclosure activity in the first half of 2013 is the highest since the foreclosure crisis began,” reported Westchester County Clerk Timothy C. Idoni, who serves as clerk of the Westchester County Supreme Court where foreclosure actions are heard.

A total 151 foreclosure judgments have been entered in the first half of 2013, the clerk reported, compared with 93 entered during the first half of 2012.

“As foreclosure activity in Westchester County increases, so does the risk that our residents will fall prey to a foreclosure scheme,” said Idoni in a prepared statement. He urged residents to seek help from a trained foreclosure counselor.

Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO), a nonprofit housing agency with offices in White Plains and Mount Vernon, conducts mortgage default orientation sessions most Wednesdays in its White Plains office. Trained counselors are available to help at 428-4507 ext. 334 or by visiting wroinc.org.