Following a very successful series of meetings with southern Berrien County residents at the library in Niles to help people avoid foreclosure by his office, County Treasurer Bret Witkowski will hold another this weekend in Buchanan.
“We probably put about 70 to 75 homeowners and property owners into payment plans to help them avoid foreclosure,” Witkowski tells WSJM News. “So now we’re going to hit the Buchanan, Galien and Bertrand areas this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Buchanan library, and we’re hoping for the same type of results.”
Witkowski says there are around 1,200 properties county-wide in danger of foreclosure, but that includes the 400 or so who have entered into payment plans with his office. He believes the number of properties facing foreclosure for not paying county property taxes will start to drop next year. Witkowski says many times, people don’t realize they don’t need to come up with all of the money owed immediately, and the plans can be spread out to make paying the taxes work within budgets.
