Housing fallout evident in Nelson County

Foreclosures in Nelson County 2008

-Feb. 8, 2008. 1.426 Acres located on Tanbark Drive near Avon for $214,200.

-Feb. 11, 2008. .69 acres located near the intersection of Va 151 and VA 56 near Massie’s Mill for $69,900.

-Feb. 14, 2008. 2.09 acres located on Hunting Lodge Road in Schuyler for $105,600.

-Feb. 19, 2008. 3.051 acres located in Monocan II Valley at Wintergreen for $111,000.

-April 24, 2008. One acre of land located on Va. 151 in Massies Mill near Rose Union Church for $176,798.

-May 12, 2008. 1.19 acres located on Va. 560 in Shipman for $240,985.

-May 15, 2008. Two plots of land in the Lovingston district for $129,164.28.

-May 30, 2008. One lot of land in the Lovingston district for $198,692.

-June, 6, 2008. 5.156 acres in the Schuyler district for $111,264.

-June 20, 2008. 40.5 acres located on Va. 631, Va. 840 and Va. 847 near Afton for $243,000.

-July 18, 2008. 4.999 acres located at Rockfish Woods for $27,000.

-Aug. 4, 2008. Condo Unit 438 at Three Ridges Condominiums in Wintergreen for $194,925.

-Aug. 6, 2008. 2.5 acres in the Lovingston district for $29,700.

-Aug. 11, 2008. Lot 33 in Chestnut Springs in Wintergreen for $547,500.

-Aug. 18, 2008. Land near Gladstone for $61,466.47.

-Sept. 15, 2008. 1.542 acres on Va. 722 near Lovingston for $116,364.

-Sept. 15, 2008. 2 acres in Massies Mill for $88,345.

-Oct. 23, 2008. .87 acres near Arrington for $45,650.

-Oct. 27, 2008. Chestnut Flat Back Country Parcels in Wintergreen for $40,047.08.

-Nov. 17, 2008. .527 acres near Va. 804 and Va. 805 in Schuyler for $106,250.

The number of foreclosures in Virginia doubled during the first 11 months of 2008, compared with all of 2007.

In Nelson County, the number of foreclosures shot up from 10 in 2007 to 20 in 2008.

Data analyzed by the Richmond Times-Dispatch shows 27,938 foreclosures statewide in the 2008 period for all property types, including single-family homes, businesses, condominiums and lots. In 2007 in Virginia, the total was 14,022, an increase of 99.2 percent.

Nationally, an estimated 2.2 million homes in the U.S. were in foreclosure in 2008.

Just as many homes, if not more, are at risk this year, and industry experts say the problem isn’t likely to subside until 2010.

The type of properties in foreclosures in Nelson reflect this trend, ranging from condominiums in Wintergreen priced at half-million dollars to small plots in Lovingston with prices of less than $30,000.

Nelson County Commissioner of Revenue Jean Payne said she couldn’t pinpoint any one reason for the increased number of foreclosures in the area.

“I guess, just like the TV says, it’s the economy,” Payne said.

Daniel Rutherford, a Lovingston attorney, acts as a trustee for some of the note holders on foreclosed properties in Nelson.

“As the trustee, we would be the ones that would go in and just make sure that the rules and procedures were followed,” he said.

Last year, Rutherford was the trustee on one land foreclosure and has handled at least two real estate transactions in which people were buying foreclosed properties.

“The foreclosure I did, it seemed like the individual bought it, hoping to hold onto it for a few years and then sell it,” he said. “The economy and real estate market definitely played a role. He couldn’t sell it and couldn’t afford the payments.”

The Richmond area was hit with 2,248 foreclosures last year through November, nearly four times the total for all of 2007, or 287 percent.

Residential foreclosures cut across all income levels and house styles and prices: A foreclosure is a boarded-up house for $26,900 near Armstrong High School in Richmond. Or it’s a new $1.9 million mansion in the Rivergate neighborhood in eastern Goochland County.

Both were foreclosed and repossessed last year by lenders.

The city of Richmond, with 599 foreclosures in the first 11 months of 2008, recorded the most in the region of 20 localities, followed by Chesterfield County with 466 foreclosures and Henrico County with 428, according to Times-Dispatch data.

Virginia has fared better than most states in its mortgage delinquency and foreclosure rates. Still, areas such as Northern Virginia are among the nation’s hardest hit.

Nelson County Times staff writer Erin McGrath and Times-Dispatch Special Projects Editor Randy Jessee contributed to this report.