Lee County Subsidizing Court Fees For Foreclosures in Other Counties

Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under Repo Homes |

Lee County is overwhelmed with repo homes – it having reached 22,000. As per rules the county has to send to the state the extra dollars from fees taken for processing foreclosures. The idea was to distribute the load equally among the counties. But the irony is that Lee County not only handles the maximum number of foreclosures it is subsidizing the court fees for foreclosures in other counties as well.

Lee County ranks first in the foreclosures in the state. Since the last two years there has been a whopping 1,769% spike in foreclosures. In three years the number has soared from 1,606 (2005-2006) to 22,243 (2007/2008). In 2005 a total number of 32,293 foreclosures had been filed. In these three years the fees collected amounted to $11.8 million. About 35% of the cases have been processed.

$200,000 or say $300,00) could be kept back by the country from the fees for the costs incurred for hiring extra workforce and payment of overtime. The county has to see to its own needs first. If the money is held back it is unsure what the reactions would be. The state expects to collect the extra fees before the year draws to an end in December, said Renee Watter, the spokesperson of the Department of Revenue of the state. She declined to comment on something that has not happened but might happen.

Foreclosure cases are piling up and negatively telling on the residents as well as the related services of the county. Empty foreclosed houses are falling apart attracting crime and disease. The value of adjoining properties is sharply going down. Those who continue to live in their foreclosed units suffer from tension and uncertainty because of an uncertain future. Apart from anxiety this situation creates an atmosphere of simmering hostility that fuels crime and vandalism. The courts grappling with foreclosures tend to neglect civil and other criminal cases. These cases too get delayed.

There is a strong feeling among many that the surplus money should be held back. The work that is being done by the local county office is awesome. Foreclosure filings are pouring in by the hour. The jump has been from 450 cases per month to 2,500. Sometimes the papers are not in order and have to be sent back. Tracking owners is a cumbersome job because many are from outside. All this is being done smoothly without suffering any nervous breakdown!