A rather sad email fell across our desks this morning.  It’s from J.E. “Chip” Harding, the Albemarle County Sherrif.  He explains that:

The number of evictions in Albemarle County has risen approximately 40% since 2006. So far this year we have seen approximately 285. With the economy currently on the “down swing” we can only anticipate the numbers to continue to climb. In an effort to bring assistance to families in jeopardy I spent some time researching and meeting with agencies that might be able to provide assistance. They have all agreed that it would be helpful if the Sheriff’s Office provides referral information as early in the eviction process as possible. Starting today a letter from my office will be attached to all civil process affiliated with eviction.

It’s a sad time for people who own houses beyond their means. As Jim Duncan explains in his analysis of the 2nd quarter housing marketing, “I think that the calls for the proverbial “bottom” are premature.” So, if you are in this sinking ship, you can at least get a little help from Albemarle County.

Chip provides a lot of information in the letter:

You can call Love, INC at 977-7777 MACCA- CARES at 295-3171 ext.4 and the Salvation Army at 295-4058. Piedmont Housing Alliance at 817-2436 has counselors specialized to assist you in avoiding foreclosure.

[Read the Full Letter Here] [pic]

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You may or may not have seen our little birdie before. Maybe you are not a frequent reader of the site or maybe you are color blind (’cause he sits on the top right). I looked over the old thread where we introduced him to you and realized that you have a lot of ideas for his names. I’m going to setup a poll to narrow down the choices for names. The top names or so will be included in the final, shortened list and there will be one last voting round. Feel free to add names and tell your friends!

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