Foreclosure Times The Best Or The Worst: That Is The Question
It is a matter of opinion whether the times are good or bad. For the investor looking for quick returns the time couldn’t be better but for those being evicted from houses that have been their homes the days are dark and long. It is the same story cutting across the nation.
From reports released by The Federal Reserve and National Bankers Mortgage Association foreclosures have increased by over 60% in February 2008 as compared to what it was in the previous year. Locally the news was even worse. In February the number of foreclosures doubled in February this year – there were 82 foreclosure listings as compared to 41 in February 2007. Westerly headed the lot with 25 foreclosures – all coming from various localities like North End, Beach Street and Crestview Drive. All these places had double figure foreclosures. Mortgages sales were high in South and North Kingstown.
The sub-prime mortgages and also predatory lenders are primarily held responsible for this debacle. There is a distinction between the two. A little more than a year ago Rhode Island General Assembly had passed a law known as The Home Loan Protection Act. It placed regulations on lending and gave protection for the borrowers from predators. As a result it was reported that the number of sub-prime lenders had gone down. Thus the bulk of local foreclosures did not seem to come from sub-prime lenders. Laura Lisi from Eastern Bank Mortgage Center says that she has not come across a single foreclosure this year, as yet. Their company gave the right mortgage to the right persons. Peter Fister from Bench Mark Mortgage has the same story to tell. Since they opened in November last year there has not been a single instance of foreclosures. They do not dabble in sub-prime.
There are however a brood of investors trying to fish in troubled waters of foreclosures In Washington County 85 houses are being foreclosed. One can get all the details from the official website. It is this continued squeezing of the U.S real estate market that is leading to the continued and persistent foreclosure crisis that is refusing to go away or respond to any preventive measures. Side by side with the fall in the housing market is the drying up of the mortgage loans. This has aggravated matters. During the housing boom the lending standards were lax and this should not have been allowed.
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