Foreclosures Double in Tippecanoe County over Last Few Years

Indiana Foreclosure News & Information

Over the last few years, foreclosures in Tippecanoe County have more than doubled according to the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Sale Coordinator Marcia Murphy says the Sheriff's department sees 30 to 40 foreclosed homes per month, which equals more than 360 a year.

Lafayette Board of Realtors President Cheryl Butcher says the increasing number of foreclosures is hurting home owners and lenders. "Whoever has the title now, they're taking big hits on those homes because they're selling for a lot less, even if they're in good quality people don't want to pay normal market prices because they've been vacant for up to a year," said Butcher.

Butcher says most foreclosed homes sell for ten to twenty percent less than their original value. But while the outside of these homes many look appealing Butcher says the inside is sometimes a mess. "They'll take ceiling fans, they'll take light switches, and smoke detectors just anything they can take," said Butcher.

Remax Broker Sherrie Cocanower says foreclosures have increased over the last few years because some buyers can't really afford the payments, and they go on-line to get loans from out-of-state. "We really like for people to go see the local lenders because they are reputable, they do good background checks, credit checks," said Cocanower.

Cocanower says when homeowners can't pay and lenders foreclose, it takes realtors more than a year to get a house back on the market. "Trying to deal with some of these lenders, you don't always have the right phone number to call you can't get the information you need, you can't get people to call you back sometimes it's a nightmare," said Cocanower.

Butcher says having a foreclosed home in a neighborhood can sometimes affect the surrounding homes value since it usually sells for less. However Cocanower says foreclosed homes can also sometimes improve an area because many people buy the home cheap and spend a lot of money fixing it up.

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