A dozen stunned West Tisbury property owners crowded the normally quiet town assessors meeting this week to question their assessments and tax bills, which have more than doubled this year.
Home foreclosure petitions were up sharply on the Island in 2007 over 2006.
A total of 69 homes were listed for foreclosure by ForeclosuresMass.com, a commonwealth reporting agency, for the 12 months ending Oct. 31, 2007, compared with 41 homes in the same period the year before. Island foreclosures averaged about 30 homes per year between 2003 to 2005, according to the same reporting company.
The town of West Tisbury has filed a lawsuit against a mainland subprime mortgage company that loaned more than half a million dollars to an affordable homesite owner in town who had no ability to repay — and then foreclosed on the property.
The lawsuit charges Saxon Mortgage Services Inc., a Texas-based lending institution, and Fremont Investment and Loan of southern California, with unfair, deceptive and predatory lending practices.
There is no such thing as a seagull.
The Sun Dog clothing store on Main street in Edgartown has a simple door sign: “Open seven days. Year-round.”
But while more Island businesses are choosing to remain open year-round despite the winter’s long chill, it is not always simple.
Their reasons for staying open differ, but all include a degree of community service, the benefits of expanded name recognition and the desire to attract and to keep an experienced and stable workforce that maximizes their summer business.
New home construction costs on the Island could increase more than 10 per cent as a result of new state building codes requiring one and two-story buildings to withstand winds of 110 miles per hour beginning Jan. 1.
For some prospective home owners and builders, the changes have already blown away their plans.
Tisbury building inspector Kenneth Barwick said he already has heard from home builders on a budget.
