Foreclosure Numbers Cannot Measure Human Pain

Posted in Foreclosures, August 1st, 2008 |

Numbers, statistics and analysis! But foreclosure numbers cannot measure the human pain and agony of being evicted from houses that have been their homes.

Marvin Davis and his wife drive past their old house and sigh to see weeds overtaking their once well maintained lawn. This was the house where they had raised their children. Five years ago they had surrendered to foreclosure but the pain continues to burn in their hearts.

Each foreclosure has a personal individual story to tell. For 64-year-old Davis the predominating factor was his ill health. He had bought the house twenty years ago when the weather was fine. He had a job and earned $26 per hour. Counting overtime he could pocket $80,000 per year. But things changed drastically from 1999 when Davis suffered a heart attack. Within one year he was compelled to retire. His wages were cut by half. While his income changed, the mortgage on his house remained the same. Medical bills began to pile up and he with his family had to leave the house before the foreclosure proceedings could complete its full run. They left. They could not pay. His company, General Motors nipped at the employee’s benefits like pension and medical help. He bemoans the fact that General Motors has forgotten about who built the company from grass root levels to Olympian heights. He warns that with the slump in the automobile industry today the country is doomed to fall tomorrow. When the funds were exhausted Davis lost the will power to put up a fight. Today he squarely blames the foreclosures, outsourcing of jobs and greedy business interests for his downfall. He did not spare the government either for doubling and even trebling property tax.Today the Davis family roughs it out in a mobile home just a few blocks away from their old address. The couple is dependent on the income of their children.

In May there were 1,055 houses in foreclosure or about to enter the dreaded zone in Madison County. In Indiana there were 4,909 foreclosure postings that calculates to a rate of 1:561. According to reports released by RealtyTrac on 10th July, foreclosures increased by 53% in June 2008 from June 2007. Across the country there were 252,363 foreclosure filings in June this year. It presents a grim national foreclosure rate of 1:501. Experts opine that lax lending practices coupling with adjustable rate mortgages against the background of an economic slump have contributed to this foreclosure crisis.