Treasurer Releases Latest Foreclosure Numbers

berriencountygood-54
berriencountygood-54

252 Berrien County properties have been foreclosed as a result of taxes that remain unpaid from 2016. Berrien County Treasurer Bret Witkowski tells WSJM News the deadline to pay for that year was April 1. He says he’s glad to report many property owners got themselves into payment plans on time.

“We’re very thankful for the 550 people or so who got into payment plans to avoid foreclosure,” Witkowski said. “We’re just glad people are doing that. The goal is to have people stay in their properties as long as they can meet the public obligations that they have.”

Witkowski says the total number of foreclosures this year was slightly up, but that’s because 20 of them involved one property owner who had empty parcels all around Benton Harbor, and 45 of them were condo units in a former hotel along Riverview Drive in Benton Harbor. Witkowski says 45 of the hotel’s 90 units were foreclosed as they have several different owners. He plans to help the residents of the 45 foreclosed units find new homes. As for the rest…

“It’s just kind of an interesting situation in what do you do with that? I don’t have an answer for the public today, that’s for sure.”

Witkowski says foreclosed properties will go up for auction July 30. The listings of those properties will be released in June.