Foreclosed Houses for Sale Rose in Franklin, Pennsylvania

The number of foreclosed houses for sale increased in September in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, based on county records. The Office of the Sheriff said that before the day of the auction of 81 foreclosed homes by the county, there were another 407 homes in the foreclosure process.

According to local officials, the county has been experiencing one of the fastest paces of foreclosures in the county in recent weeks. In November 2008, when the recession was just beginning, Franklin County had posted only 28 homes in foreclosure.

Lori Hardsock, real estate administrator for Franklin County, said that the Sheriff’s Office has been experiencing difficulties in delivering foreclosure and sale papers to the homeowners. She said documents about the final foreclosure stage and the notice of foreclosure sale need to be delivered to homeowners before they properties are listed for sale or delivered back to the lender.

In Franklin County, the foreclosure starts when the lender submits a foreclosure and sale filing to the Sheriff’s Office after the homeowner has been in default for several months. Hardsock enters the filing into the county’s foreclosure database.

The sheriff’s deputies contact the owners of the properties while lawyers for lenders submit additional documents to the sheriff’s office. Hardsock added that there are a lot of properties threatened with foreclosure that do not reach the sheriff’s list of foreclosed houses for sale. She said many homeowners have been able to work out reduced monthly payments with their lenders by extending the terms of the loans.

There are also those who are able to cancel their properties from the list hours or minutes before the foreclosure sale. Sheriff’s sales in Franklin County are held every other month on a Friday.

To protect homeowners, Franklin County does not sell a property if the lender does not send any representative to the sheriff’s sale. The sale for a certain property can also be done twice or for additional times depending on negotiations between the lender’s attorney and the court.

Typically during the sheriff’s sales, businesses and individuals bid on the foreclosed properties. Typically also, representatives of lenders and servicers bid for the properties to help increase the bids. Winners of bids need to pay at least ten percent of the final bid and need to complete payment within 10 days. If winning bidders are not able to pay the full amount within 10 days for the foreclosed houses for sale, their deposits are forfeited in favor of the Sheriff’s Office.

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