Foreclosure lawsuits dipped in the first six months of the year in Summit County.
The county recorded 1,333 mortgage and tax foreclosure suits — a 28 percent decline from the same period last year and the lowest amount for the first half of the year since 2001.
Summit has been seeing a downward trend in such lawsuits, said Sandra Kurt, county clerk of courts.
In the last half of last year, there were 1,052 filed.
Experts have attributed declines in recent years to a variety of factors, including a stronger job market, an improved housing market and government-sponsored programs designed to help troubled homeowners.
So far this year, 30 percent of the foreclosure lawsuits have been filed by Woods Cove, a Beverly Hills, Calif., investment firm that purchased thousands of property tax liens in the county over the last several years.
Unable to collect delinquent payments and interest from homeowners, the firm has been foreclosing on the properties.
Summit County has had a major problem with foreclosures. Over the past five years, more than 16,800 foreclosure lawsuits have been filed. They peaked at 4,548 in 2006.
Lawsuits don’t always lead to someone losing a home but are a strong indicator of economic and housing troubles in a community.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.