Foreclosures Are Galloping Ahead Without Slowing Down
Foreclosures are galloping ahead right across the country without slowing down. This is despite various measures being taken, particularly by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to suspend foreclosure proceedings during the holiday season till 9th January.
In Bell County the foreclosure postings have increased by 32% from December 2008 and also from January 2008. In Williamson the figures are worse with a 50% hike. In McLennan the spike is by 68% during the same period of comparison. Across the country foreclosures have increased by 28% in comparison to November 2008.
Fannie Mae said in a press release that it is expediting plans to get foreclosure victims to enter into a new arrangement by which monthly payments will be more affordable. The interest rate will either be reduced or the loan term extended. Payments may also be deferred. The plan is targeting those borrowers who have defaulted for three or more months.
The president of FSLI, George Roddy sr., expressed surprise that foreclosures continued to jump despite all these measures. He said, “January’s posting activity remained extremely high compared to this time last year. For the January foreclosure auctions, there has been no substantial easing in the filing of foreclosure notices.” Roddy however added that in the Bell County the foreclosure numbers under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had dropped slightly. But it was not up to the expected levels and a far cry from what is required to stem the tide of raging foreclosures. The postings initiated by Fannie and Freddie in Bell County account for 23% of the total number of foreclosures. He bemoaned, “For the most part, there was not a significant change in the share of postings filed regarding Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac loans.”
In Bell County the foreclosure postings for January 2009 have gone up by 64% in comparison to January 2007 and a staggering 77% in comparison to January 2006. Most of these are because of the swing in fortune of soldiers of Fort Hood facing multiple overseas deployments. Analyst Bonnie Brown of FSLI points out, “46% of the residential postings filed for the upcoming January foreclosure auction in Bell County were on delinquent VA loans.”
To contain foreclosure rescue fraudulent practices the Attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott and Senator Craig Estes (Republican) are taken legal initiatives to hone down and penalize the offenders. The law being drafted stipulates that those who promise prevention of foreclosure must do so in writing that must be plain and understandable.
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