Mar 31, 2008 8:06 pm US/Eastern
Westchester Not Immune To Foreclosure Crunch
Well-To-Do Suburban County Feeling The Heat; Putnam County Leads State With Highest Rate
New York Ranked 30th In Country, Best Among Tri-State
OSSINING, N.Y. (CBS) ―
The subprime mortgage mess is being blamed for a big spike in the number of foreclosures in Westchester County.
For Matt Mickelson of Ossining, the American dream of home ownership has taken a distinctly nightmarish turn.
He blames the broker who sold him a complicated mortgage that could reset to a higher rate at any moment.
"I'm on the edge of foreclosure all the time because I don't know when the next shoe is gonna drop," Mickelson said. "When they say hey you're paying $2,500 now but next month it's $5,000, just because that's the way the ball bounces."
Mickelson hopes to avoid the growing list of Westchester homeowners who have received notices of foreclosure.
Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni says foreclosure filings are up 39 percent over the first quarter of last year and up more than 200 percent over the first quarter of 2005.
Many filings are hitting homes like 82 Maple Lane in Yonkers – in low-income neighborhoods.
"Lower income areas, particularly in Mount Vernon and Yonkers have been preyed upon by some mortgage brokers who did not qualify the residents properly," Idoni said.
Despite the increase in filings, the foreclosure rate in Westchester County is about average for New York State -- and New York is doing a lot better than many other places.
Nevada, California and Florida lead the nation in terms of the foreclosure rate. New Jersey is ranked 13th, Connecticut 14th and New York all the way down at 30th.
"Every day is like living with a gun to your head," Mickelson said.
For help, Mickelson has turned to Westchester Residential Opportunities. There's an agency like it in every county, providing help and hope to homeowners facing foreclosure.
Nassau and Suffolk lead suburban counties with the highest number of foreclosure filings. But Putnam County has the highest foreclosure rate – 1 in every 650 Putnam households has received a foreclosure notice.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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