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Foreclosures on the rise again

Sales at auction increase for the first time in a year, according to sheriff’s office.

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By Jessica Heffner, Staff Writer Updated 8:47 AM Friday, February 12, 2010

Foreclosures continue to take their toll on the local housing market in 2010, with sales at auction increasing for the first time in a year.

According to the Butler County Sheriff’s Office, 226 foreclosures were filed in January, with 129 actually sold at auction. That compares to 165 filings and 93 sales during the same month in 2009.

Last year, more homes were plagued with foreclosure filings, but the national uptick in financial assistance offered to homeowners was keeping most properties off the auction block, said Jim Allen, sheriff’s office civil administrative specialist who organizes and executes the auctions.

But as a new lawsuit shows, even promised assistance can still have properties end up in foreclosure.

The Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, which assists homeowners facing foreclosure in Butler County, filed a lawsuit Wednesday, Feb. 10, against Bank of America for allegedly failing to follow through on promised loan remodifications.

Filed on behalf of 10 Ohio homeowners, the suit alleges that at an outreach event last October, Bank of America agreed to refinance their loans but did not honor that commitment. This did not allow residents to seek other finance options to save their homes, the filing says, because the homeowners trusted the company would follow through.

Legal Aid is asking the court to compel Bank of America to remodify the loans and pay punitive and monetary damages.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2843 or jheffner@coxohio.com.

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