Land court swamped

Apr 04, 2008 (Boston Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- -- Thousands of abandoned foreclosed homes across Massachusetts will remain shuttered for months due to a case backlog at the overwhelmed Massachusetts Land Court.

Karyn Scheier, chief justice of the Land Court, acknowledged yesterday that a deluge of foreclosure applications has swamped the court. New cases are now coming in at a rate of 145 per day.

At the current pace, the court will handle nearly 36,000 new foreclosure applications this year due to the subprime-mortage mess -- up from just under 30,000 last year and about 20,000 two years ago, Scheier said.

"Staffing levels are not up and we are struggling," she said.

Real estate attorneys say the paper jam is adding an extra two to three months to an already frustratingly slow process of selling off foreclosed homes.

The result is buyers who purchase homes at foreclosure auctions and elsewhere can't take title to properties quickly -- and abandoned and shuttered homes remain neighborhood eyesores for months longer than many had hoped.

"It's taking an inordinate amount of time," said Blaise Berthiaume, a North Brookfield attorney and a member of the Massachusetts Bar Association's Property Law Section Council.

Attorneys say the entire process for foreclosing and then selling off homes can take at least six months.

Bob Holloway, a Peabody real estate attorney, said the Land Court is "just overwhelmed" by the caseload.

In late 2006, state Auditor Joseph DeNucci issued a stinging report about the Land Court, saying it faced a giant 66,289-case backlog.

But Scheier said a new computer system has allowed the Land Court to dispense with "huge amounts" of those old cases over the past year or so.

Today's problem is caused by market conditions, she said.

On May 1, the court could get some relief when a new state moratorium takes effect, requiring a 90-day waiting period to file foreclosures after a homeowner defaults on mortgage payments.

But that delay will give the court only a temporary respite, if the market doesn't fundamentally change, industry experts say.

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