Hoosick Falls A Hot Spot In The Eastern Portion Of The County
by Doug La Rocque
The New York State Comptroller’s Office has recently released a new report on home foreclosure rates across the state that indicate the numbers since 2013 have returned to the levels seen in the recession that started in 2008 and peaking a year later. In the immediate Capital District, Rensselaer County has seen the largest percentage of increase. [private]
Rensselaer County Chief Fiscal Officer Mike Slawson said the East Greenbush and Schodack areas have been significantly impacted, but perhaps the largest concentration of foreclosures is in the Village of Hoosick Falls.
All one has to do is drive around the village to take in the scope of vacant housing. The Eastwick Press recently reported on the plight of these abandoned homes. Mayor David Borge said that at this time there are 35 to 40 houses in bank foreclosure. County CFO Slawson says of 65 to 70 buildings currently in tax foreclosure, about 25 of them are in the Hoosick and Hoosick Falls area.
Solving the problem is not easy. Mayor Borge said it can take up to two years to determine which bank might be holding the mortage, and he claims most are not very forthcoming. And besides the unsightliness of these unoccupied homes, the lack of maintenance creates health and safety concerns. These buildings can become a hot bed of drug and other illegal activities. Some, like the former American House, bought on e-bay by a concern out of Las Vegas, have serious structural deficiencies. Also of concern is property values. Not only does the deterioration of these structures reduce their value, it often has a negative impact on the value of homes in their immediate neighborhood.
From the county’s point of view, the number of tax foreclosures can be a real fiscal burden. When property taxes go unpaid, it is incumbent upon the county to pay the towns what they would have collected, in effect making the towns whole in their tax collections. The county however, rarely recoups all the money they have lost when these properties go up for auction. CFO Slawson told The Eastwick Press the county has lost between three and four hundred thousand dollars over the last two years. Some of this will be recouped in penalties and interest, but it is up to county taxpayers to make up the rest.
There are some rays of hope however. New York State has budgeted 50 million dollars to help communities across the state deal with the abandoned home problem. Mayor Borge said however, none of this money has been dispersed yet and it appears it will be springtime before cities, towns and villages begin to see any of these funds. He said the Town has hired an attorney to help them deal with these recalcitrant banks, and says Wells Fargo has shown some signs of more cooperation of late.
The Comptroller’s office said the number of filings over the summer appears to have leveled off and, in fact, decreased in the county ever so slightly, but the numbers remain nearly double those of the pre-recession years.
The loss of WCW in Hoosick Falls coupled with the significant number of job losses in nearby Bennington, Vermont, is identified by the County as one of the driving factors of the foreclosure predicament, a fact not lost on those in Hoosick Falls and Rensselaer County. Many people have been working hard to rectify the problems, with a number of different initiatives. Not the least of these is Hoosick Rising.
The first part of this article’s purpose has been to help identify the scope of the problem. The report to follow will highlight the efforts being brought to bear to turn it around. Not only in Hoosick Falls, but all of the Route 22 corridor as well.[/private]