One of the biggest surprises – and announcements – from Mayor Tom Henry’s State of the City address had little to do with city government at all.It will now cost slightly more to buy a foreclosed property in Allen County.
The commissioners Friday doubled the county foreclosure fee to $200 to help recoup the costs for administering the sales.
In 2005, the state allowed counties to charge up to $200 a sale, as long as the county could justify the expense. At the time, the county raised its $10 fee to $100.
Sheriff Ken Fries said the fee should be raised to recoup his department’s staffing and training expenses to handle foreclosed properties. He said the county’s 2007 pay increase for officers was one of the factors necessitating the fee increase.
The sheriff’s office handled 2,533 foreclosures in 2008 and 2,505 last year. It handled 221 in January this year. The department was averaging less than 2,000 annually just a few years ago.
The increase will not affect people whose homes are being foreclosed. The fee is paid by the entity that files for foreclosure, typically a mortgage company. Commissioner Bill Brown said those costs will then likely be passed on to whoever buys the home during a foreclosure sale.
The law also allows the county to charge an additional $100 fee for services, such as serving eviction orders.
The fee revenue will be placed in the county’s general fund but will be tracked separately to help offset some of the sheriff’s personnel and training costs.
Foster home OK’d
In other business, the commissioners approved leasing the Yoder and Kryder houses to White’s Residential and Family Services for a foster home.
The company will pay the county $1,800 a month starting in April to use the two buildings. One will be used as a foster home for up to six children, and the other will be used as the company’s headquarters. The county closed the homes last summer after the state determined White charged too much for services reimbursement.
Brown said the agreement would help fewer children than the previous arrangement, but it was better than letting the homes go unused. He said it provides a good foster home for children at no cost to the county.
