Real Estate

Year of foreclosures for Westchester County

A new wave of foreclosures is hammering tony Westchester County.

Now, as the aftermath of the Great Recession’s economic pain grinds on, even those whose wealth once insulated them are feeling its bite.

Last month, foreclosures vaulted 90 percent from the year-ago period, according to the real-estate research company RealtyTrac.

Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni calls 2013 the worst year for foreclosures in the county since 2008.

Westchester’s renewed foreclosure pain comes amid a continuing crisis for New York and the nation. One in every 978 housing units nationwide was in foreclosure last month, according to RealtyTrac, while foreclosures in New York state jumped 98 percent compared with October 2012.

Idoni had expected a 25 percent increase in foreclosures this year as banks head back to court again following a slowdown that began in 2010.

Foreclosures in New York plummeted in late 2010 after Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman responded to the robosigning scandal with new rules requiring banks’ lawyers to verify the accuracy of their foreclosure filings.

But 2,046 foreclosure actions were started in the first three quarters of 2013 — outstripping the full-year totals of 1,812 in 2012 and 1,655 in 2011.

“Boom, it came down like an avalanche this year,” Idoni said.

He advises troubled homeowners to seek legal assistance if faced with a foreclosure notice.

Westchester foreclosure defense attorney Linda Tirelli has been seeing more clients from wealthy neighborhoods who have run out of savings.

These homeowners once worked full time to pay their mortgages and taxes, but can’t meet these expenses on the part-time hours that have become their new norm.

“People have put it off as long as they could,” says Tirelli.