By Mike Copeland

Tribune-Herald business editor

Foreclosures continue to set a torrid pace in McLennan County, with postings up in December and for all of 2008.

The county ended the year with 1,110 foreclosure postings, a 13 percent increase over the 909 last year, says Foreclosure Listing Service.

Fittingly, the year is ending with 85 properties posted for foreclosure in December, a 12 percent increase over last year.

Bad news for some homeowners means good deals for people like Pete Arvizu and Paul Hubbard, two of the many who don’t miss the monthly foreclosure sales on the courthouse steps.

Arvizu said he “definitely” has noticed an increase in home foreclosures, while Hubbard said he looks for properties he can buy for 12 to 15 percent less than what he believes is market value.

One local nonprofit agency is trying to help people on the verge of losing their homes, and it has received a $49,680 federal grant.

“Getting this support for our foreclosure counseling means that we can continue to help more local homeowners find solutions to stay in their homes,” said Roy Nash, president and CEO of NeighborWorks Waco. Nash said home values in the county remain resilient compared to those in the rest of the country. But record-high foreclosure figures show that “by no means are we out of the woods yet.”

NeighborWorks Waco spokesman Chad Klawetter advised homeowners who fear they may have trouble making their house payments to call NeighborWorks Waco as quickly as possible.

“Oftentimes, non profit counselors can make more headway in working out payment plans than homeowners, unfortunately. So even if you haven’t missed a payment, give us a call if you are expecting problems. The further you get behind, the more difficult it becomes,” he said.

Klawetter said NeighborWorks Waco continues to host a foreclosure prevention clinic at 6 p.m. every Thursday at 922 Franklin Ave.

George Roddy Sr., president of Foreclosure Listing Service, said 24,666 pieces of real estate were posted for foreclosure this year in a nine-county Central Texas region that includes McLennan County, Travis County and Bell County.

“That’s compared to just 19,811 for all of last year,” Roddy said.

The number of foreclosures posted in McLennan County this year represented a double-digit increase from last year (13 percent), 2006 (29 percent), 2005 (26 percent) and 2004 (22 percent).

Picking up the pieces

Foreclosures are two-sided creatures. One person is losing a home because he or she can’t make payments, while others bid on that home on the steps of the McLennan County Courthouse.

Waco attorney Paul Hubbard never misses a foreclosure sale. He said those expecting to get “steals,” or to walk away owning a home for 50 cents on the dollar, typically will be disappointed.

“Lenders appear to frequently bid the amount of the debt, and often that’s more than the property is worth,” said Hubbard, who keeps going back because he occasionally can find a property 12 to 15 percent under value that he can add to his 60 homes, most of them rentals.

Hubbard said if figures show more homes being posted for foreclosure, that must be the case. “But I don’t count them,” he added.

Pete Arvizu and his son, Pete III, own a carpet business and like to buy houses on the side to fix up and sell or turn into rental properties.

“We’ve been going to the foreclosure sales at least seven months, and we’ve definitely seen an increase in foreclosures,” said Arvizu, who added he’s bought three homes at the sales. He has sold one, he said, and he almost is finished remodeling the two others.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reports that a record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage was at least one month behind on payments or in foreclosure at the end of September.

But there was a bit of good news in a report by RealtyTrac, which said nationwide more than 259,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in November. That is down 7 percent from October, but 28 percent higher than a year ago.

Falling home values and stricter lending standards have ensnared millions of U.S. households in what some are calling the worst recession in a decade. The Federal Reserve predicts that new foreclosures this year will reach about 2.25 million, more than double pre-crisis levels.

Government to step in

Loan giant Fannie Mae has announced a plan it hopes will help renters who live in foreclosed properties it now owns. It will sign new leases with renters, effectively transforming itself into a national landlord.

“There are renters all around the country who have been holding up their end of the bargain and paying their rent faithfully, but the landlord got into trouble, and so the renter is now unfairly facing eviction,” said John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “It’s really good news that Fannie Mae is doing this. Now the question is whether the private sector will follow suit.”

Fannie Mae is a government-controlled mortgage finance company.

mcopeland@wacotrib.com

757-5736