Home ownership is a large part of the American Dream; however, the current housing crisis is making many rethink that dream. The housing crisis is hardly new, and neither is the reality of foreclosure. But as pressure increased on major banks in 2011 after the “robo-signing” scandal, many had hoped that things would turn around in 2012 after many homeowners were found to be facing foreclosure without any individual reviewing their individual circumstances. Unfortunately, the numbers still don’t look good and for more homeowners foreclosure remains imminent.
With the foreclosures many banks watched themselves closer for a while and in some areas foreclosure rates went down slightly, but in some areas foreclosure has continued to be on the rise. According to a Reuters report, one watchdog group, 4closurefraud.org has discovered a large rise in March 2012 foreclosures by major banks in Palm Beach County, Florida. Even though they have yet to rise as high as 2010 figures, foreclosures have gone up as much as seven times where they were a year ago.
While, originally, subprime rates were often blamed for the crisis, hard economic times seem to be what is fueling this next wave of foreclosures. Job loss and other unexpected expenses have made it hard for many people to keep their mortgages afloat. Many are simply trying to buy time, hoping the economy will get better and they will somehow be able to crunch the numbers and get everything to work.
Of course, while some claim a turnaround is coming it doesn’t happen overnight, and keeping the banks honest and preventing as many foreclosures is of prime importance. Knowing that someone is there to keep you up to speed on your legal rights can help you ride out the storm until the winds change for good.
Source: Reuters, “Americans brace for next foreclosure wave,” Nick Carey, April 4, 2012