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September 2, 2014

Mass. foreclosure petitions up in July

Foreclosure petitions climbed throughout Massachusetts in July, with a 72.5 percent rise in foreclosure starts compared with July 2013, The Warren Group reported Tuesday.

Lenders filed 702 petitions to foreclose, which mark the beginning of the foreclosure process,  compared with 407 filings recorded in July 2013. This marks the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year increases in petition filings, according to Boston-based Warren Group. So far this year, 3,966 petitions have been recorded, up 20.2 percent from the 3,300 starts filed during the same period a year ago.

"2013 was an unusual year in the foreclosure world as foreclosure procedures and legislation underwent revisions. Now that most of that has been settled, lenders are more comfortable moving forward with foreclosures from a legal standpoint," said Cassidy Murphy, editorial director of The Warren Group.

However, foreclosure deeds, which represent the completion of a foreclosure, dropped significantly in July, Warren Group reported. Deeds declined by 41 percent compared with July 2013, with 177 deeds filed compared with 298, marking the fourth consecutive monthly drop. In all, 1,552 foreclosure deeds have been filed so far this year, down 17.3 percent compared with the 1,876 through the first seven months of last year.

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