Financial Reflections

If you’ve read my previous posts, you will know that foreclosure has been on my mind lately. Not because I’m facing foreclosure myself (I’m doing fine in that department), but because I know of about a dozen homes within walking distance of mine that are for sale — and have been for some time.

With that in mind, here’s five stories from around the US I found that give a window into the current foreclosure crisis, and how we’re dealing with it:

1. In Corpus Christi, TX — A reporter takes a look at foreclosure day at the courthouse — and the last second attempts people take to save their homes.
2. Desperation breeds scams: USA Today warns of foreclosure scams.
3. Incentives to help you keep your home: Fannie May and Freddie Mac will pay lenders to help people stay in their homes.
4. Leveling off on the Emerald Coast? Northwest Florida reports that foreclosures are leveling off.
5. Don’t Bet On It: 1 in 43 homes in Nevada filed for foreclosure last quarter. Legislators are thinking of new laws to fight the crisis.

Believe it or not, I once was in an “exotic mortgage,” an interest-only mortgage to be specific. Thank goodness I got out of it before things got really bad. It seemed like such an easy way to get into the house I wanted. I managed to see the writing on the wall before the mortgage crunch hit and was able to refinance to a fixed rate mortgage.

The foreclosure crisis will pass with time, but I wonder if we will learn from the lessons of the past. When good economic times make for easy money, banks start essentially giving it away. It happened before with stocks, and now it happened with homes. I do hope that the measures being enacted now will find a way for banks to help people stay in their homes without the banks going under.

Have a foreclosure story? Share it in the comments below: