Dallas-Fort Worth residential foreclosure postings for the August courthouse auctions dipped below 4,500 for the fourth consecutive month and have declined 14% compared to August 2010, according to Foreclosure Listing Service Inc. FLS said 4,024 residences were posted for August foreclosure auctions compared to 4,671 notices in the year-ago period. The firm’s president cautioned about reading too much into the numbers. “Although this is certainly welcomed, good news … I believe the catalyst behind this slowdown is simply the fact that lenders are taking more time processing distressed properties scheduled for foreclosure and that they are trying to be more careful with paperwork,” according to George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service. Last fall, servicers were caught up in a robo-signing scandal in which employees at law firms servicers employed were accused of filing documents en masse with no knowledge as to whether the information was correct. The scandal resulted several of the nation’s largest banks placing a temporary moratorium on foreclosures and set off state and federal investigations. Still, for the past six successive months in Dallas-Fort Worth, foreclosure postings have declined compared to the year-ago period, Roddy noted. The deadline to file a foreclosure posting at the courthouse on a home to be auctioned off at the Aug. 2 foreclosure sale must occur no later than 21 days prior to the auction in Texas. The state has a nonjudicial foreclosure method, meaning mortgage servicers are not required to file a lawsuit and go through the courts to foreclose on a home. Write to Kerry Curry. Follow her on Twitter @communicatorKLC.