The foreclosure postings for Bell County and much of Central Texas in 2008 are final and, according to a company that tracks such information, it was a bad year for a record number of home and property owners.

Foreclosure Listing Service president George Roddy Sr. said seven of the nine Central Texas counties they track hit historical highs.

“The highest gain was a 34 percent surge in foreclosure posting activity in Bell County with 1,847 postings filed in 2008 compared to 1,381 compared to all of last year,” Roddy said.

Foreclosure data typically run a month ahead of the calendar because the deadline for a lien holder to file for foreclosure in Texas is 21 days before the monthly auction. Thus, the December auction will be for property foreclosed on up until Nov. 11. The auction is held in front of the county courthouse annex on the first Tuesday of each month, which is this Tuesday.

Bell County’s high foreclosure rate has been attributed partly to the large number of VA loans acquired by Fort Hood soldiers, Bonnie Brown, foreclosure analyst, said.

Because of their mobile lifestyle and the strain deployment brings on their families, these loans could end in foreclosure, said Deborah Huddleston, a mortgage consultant who specializes in VA loans at CTX Mortgage in Killeen.