Metros Fast Hit By Foreclosures

Posted in Foreclosures, November 26th, 2007 |

The current year has witnessed some of the highest numbers of foreclosures hitting the nation. The metro areas are some of the worst affected zones.

The Beardon couple of Loganville got a bolt from the blue when they returned from a holiday last July. Sorting through the volumes of mail that had piled up, the first one they picked up was a foreclosure notice. They had refinanced their home loan in 1999. Now they are suing their mortgage company for wrongly bungling accounts and laying the blame at their door.
This is just one instance of what is happening to thousands – nay millions of others across the country. Professor Carswell of Georgia says that wrong mortgages, crisis in family life like loss of job, divorce and ill health or the like are responsible for this spiraling of foreclosures. Sobering numbers are coming in from 13 metro counties – Fulton, Deklab, Cobb, Gwinnett, Clayton, Cherokee, Douglas, Fayatte, Henry, Rockdale, Forsyth, Bartow and Hall. Metro Atlanta has seen more than 53,000 foreclosure listings in this year. In October alone 6,800 units were foreclosed. There has been 25% rise in foreclosures in the past year – the highest numbers being in Fulton, Deklab and Gwinnett counties.

Many factors have contributed to this malaise but the prime culprit seems to be the sub-prime mortgage category with its adjustable rate of interest. A counseling agency based in Atlanta comments that there has been a 200% rise this year in the number of persons seeking advice and help related to foreclosures. Two years ago four counselors managed the desks but now there are forty of them coping with the rush. More will have to be enlisted. Of those seeking help 25% came too late for help. They had vainly tried to sort out matters themselves with the lenders.

The foreclosure virus is not contained within the lender-borrower court – it has spilled over to contaminate all sections of the society and economy. Neighbours of abandoned foreclosed houses are seeing the price of their property fall, as the area becomes crime prone and dangerous. A survey shows that at the same time counties lose $5,000 towards tax collection.
The empty houses are tempting teens to take to skip schools and play truant. Soon this develops into serious crime. Soon entire Atlanta will be branded as an unsafe zone. It scares the politicians who are now beginning to sit up.