By Geoffrey Wertime, Staff Writer
Foreclosure rates have seen a rise both locally and nationally recently, and a number of local houses are either in foreclosure or on their way there.
In Burlington County, the sheriff’s office sold 475 in 2008, according to Sheriff Jean Stanfield. That’s over twice the amount since 2006, when it sold 205, and also much higher than in 2007, when the number rose to 312.
“It’s a significant departure,” she said, from what her office usually sees.
Between the second quarter of 2007 and the same quarter of 2008, the latest dates for which data was available from the New Jersey Association of Realtors, the foreclosure rate roses from 1.2 percent to 2.7 percent in the state, and from 1.4 percent to 2.8 percent nationally.
Locally, there are now seven houses scheduled for foreclosure in Bordentown Township, one in Bordentown City, four in Chesterfield, 13 in Florence, four in Mansfield, and two in Springfield, according to Sheriff Stanfield.
Most of the mortgages being foreclosed now were signed in 2006 and 2007, she added.
Bordentown Township Administrator Leonard Klepner said the township has seen no increase in foreclosures, with the same 20 houses approaching but never reaching that point over the past three years.
Bordentown City Mayor John Collom III said the city does not keep track of such statistics.
Florence Township Administrator Richard Brook said the township is awaiting information from the state on local foreclosures.
“We have requested the information so we can get a better idea of the impact on our particular municipality, especially those that could be related to adjustable-rate mortgages,” he said.
“Municipalities don’t usually specifically track foreclosures, but we’re going through some extreme times now.”
Mr. Brook said the township hopes to use the information to help homeowners. Possibilities include giving them information on available services, and perhaps even aiding them financially with affordable housing funds. He said he did not yet have specifics, “but anything we can do to help someone is a good thing.”
Bordentown Township Administrator Leonard Klepner said the town has long had a number of houses in some state of foreclosure and the situation has remained largely unchanged for the past three years.
Bordentown City Mayor John Collom III said the city is not tracking foreclosure statistics.
“I don’t know of any plan in town to deal with foreclosures,” he said.
Aubrey Fenton, a former member of the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the executive pastor at Abundant Life Fellowship Church in Edgewater Park, said the church’s Community Development Center has done a great deal of work with homeowners faced with foreclosure.
“It’s definitely increasing,” he said.
While Northern Burlington County “may not be the worst” area in terms of foreclosures, he said, the rate is rising everywhere, across lines of race, income, and location.
“It really is a dilemma that everyone is going to have to get their hands around,” he said.
He said a large number of houses in one municipality going into the hands of banks could be a problem for local government if that bank were to run into trouble, a common worry given the state of the economy.
“If banks falter or fail it could be extremely damaging for municipalities,” he said. “It’s best to keep homes in the hands of homeowners.”
Mr. Brook agreed, saying Florence hopes to keep foreclosures to a minimum.
“Foreclosures do impact the town on its tax collection percentage,” he said, “which also has an impact on school districts and the county. But more important is the person who’s providing for their spouse or their family.”
The Abundant Life Fellowship’s CDC has been counseling both those facing foreclosure and those approaching it in what is commonly referred to as preforeclosure. The biggest roadblock, he said, is getting people to come in before they actually go into foreclosure, and in getting information out to the public.
“There’s a lot of work being done at all government levels to try to help, but I haven’t seen the connection yet as it hits that family that is struggling,” he said.
Nationally, the White House unveiled the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan Feb. 18, which includes a provision to help homeowners facing foreclosure modify their mortgages.
One local program available to homeowners in the area is New Jersey’s Foreclosure Mediation Program, through which qualified homeowners can receive free foreclosure prevention counseling or foreclosure mediation.
The state rolled the program out in October 2008, and about 20 people in the county have filed for it so far.
More information on the program is available at www.njcourtsonline.com.
Banks and homeowners also have the choice to pursue a short sale, in which a lender agrees to take a smaller payment lower than was previous agreed.
Donna Reichert, one of the owners of Coldwell Banker Winzinger Reichert and Associates on Route 130 in Bordentown, said banks have been increasingly willing to enter into such agreements as the economy has weakened.
“The fact that we’re now doing short sales—we weren’t doing them a year ago,” she said. “You might see one once in a great while, but banks didn’t feel the need to negotiate.”
She said her company is currently involved in three short sales, as opposed to none a year ago.
“I think it’s probably going to become more prevalent, even then they just passed this housing bailout,” she added. “It can’t go into effect overnight.”
Indeed, even as the state and municipalities move to stem the tide of house foreclosures, most agree there is no quick fix.
“The situation’s not going away anytime soon,” the Rev. Fenton said.

