September 5th, 2008
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It is the code officers who are burdened with the ugly task of executing foreclosures – no easy task. Cheryl Lander listens to the ring of the phone early in the morning and knows that the work ahead is not palatable. Cheryl is a code enforcement officer of Bradenton and apprehends the call is concerning enforcement of foreclosure in her area. She has to attend to a multiple jobs – unkempt garden, damaged windows, festering garbage and stagnant pools.
Her latest call was regarding a fire in an empty foreclosed house. The Bradenton Fire Department wanted her to obtain inspection reports pertaining to a house including prior violations. A sudden fire in a foreclosed house is no longer news – it has become a commonplace matter.
The problems relating to abandoned empty foreclosed units are countless – persistent termite attacks, unkempt gardens and wobbly structures. All these and others had become issues of public safety requiring the enforcement board’s attention. A meeting was held comprising of the board and the attorney of the bank. The latter was apprised of the situation and told to either demolish the house or to bring it up to code rule standards. Nothing happened.
In Manatee County there were 3,605 foreclosures since the beginning of 2008. The increasing numbers are putting a lot of work pressure on the code enforcement staff. Foreclosed house offences range from vandalism to tall grass, termites and rodent menace. Bradenton has four officers who can quickly locate the foreclosed units in their area. It is a difficult task to balance violation of rules by foreclosed houses and those by ordinary houses. Nearly half the complaints come from the foreclosed abandoned units. The most challenging task is to research and find out the particulars of the owner and then contacting them.
In Palmetto also the foreclosures were overwhelming. The city had to reassign the coordinator for human resources who had experience in public works to help code enforcement officers. Foreclosure is not just about the house but the chain of attendant problems relating to the vacant unit. More foreclosures mean more work. The banks have earned a reputation for going back on their words about maintaining the repossessed units. Ultimately it is the taxpayer’s money that funds the expenses. In many cases lawns have to be mowed by public utility services because of the callous attitude of banks. Routine invoices are sent to banks. But that does not mean that the city always gets recompensed.
Florida Bank Foreclosures by Top Counties
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September 3rd, 2008
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Brunswick County is the centre of foreclosure fury and behind each one there is a sad personal story to tell.
On Donna Reisen’s 40th birthday her lender, Wells Fargo is ready to auction her house in the court premises of Brunswick County. There is nothing much to celebrate for Donna on that day. It will begin the mark of a new chapter in her life, which she will start anew with her eight-year-old son Brandon. It will be sans the three bed roomed house that she had bought six years ago for $79,000. The money had come after working on three jobs. Her asthmatic mother lives nearby but cannot accommodate the family with three dogs that sleep with Brandon. Most probably the dogs in any case will have to be given to a shelter for adoption.
This is just one story – there are many as the foreclosure numbers pile up. The intensity of its attack is acute in Brunswick County. Till 31st July there have been 542 foreclosure postings – double that of the figures of 2007 during the first seven months. Already the number is more than the total number of any one-year during the past decade. The percentage of increases in Gates, Tyrrell and Graham counties having less population was proportionately higher in comparison to the previous year. Relatively the 55% jump in Pender and New Hanover counties appear modest. According to Melanie H. Clark of Brunswick Superior Court things got hot since the autumn of 2007. Since then the pressure is on without a pause.
There are many causes behind this foreclosure surge – lax lending practices, sub-prime mortgages and faltering economy especially among the beach communities. The investors relied on the retired persons and fun loving stream of vacationers to continue to pump money into demand for housing. During bad days one could sell off the house and get out of a financial fix. But things have become extremely difficult in a cool real estate market.
As foreclosure numbers increase the sale figures drop. In Wilmington sales dropped by 44% in July this year. The average drop of real estate prices fell by 8% between two periods according to Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors. In July 195 houses were sold - it being half the numbers sold in July 2005. The average price of a house was $234,000 marking a drop of 29% from what it was three years ago in July.
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September 3rd, 2008
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A woman in Massachusetts could not bear the strain of foreclosure and took her own life. The troubled days of foreclosure linked suicides is opening up another angle of the crisis – the mental stress on society. Carlene Balderrama of Massachusetts had faxed to her lender that by the time they would foreclosure on her house she would be dead. It came to be true according Raymond O’Bera the police chief of Taunton.
According to reports, PHH Mortgage Corporation had been conducting foreclosure proceedings against the house occupied by Carlene. She took her life at a critical time when within few hours the house was going to be auctioned. Bidders had started to roll in. By that time she had fatally shot herself with her husband’s rifle.
Though this case has been closed it underlines the traumatic times the country is passing through. Locally the incident sent shock waves throughout the community consisting of about 60,000 residents who live here about 40 miles to the south of Boston. Many are talking as many are in the foreclosure net. Financial stress is beginning to show up in an ugly way in tragedy. With no end in sight psychologists opine that cases like this are beginning to become quite common.
Dr. Charles Nemeroff chairperson of psychiatry at Emory University, Atlanta said that stress is a big factor in triggering off suicidal tendencies. Today stress is related to the foreclosure crisis. Dr. Nemeroff is the president of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Dr. Harold Koenig of Duke University Medical Center, Durham, said, “Suicide is certainly a response to hard economic times.” He citied the instance of the 1929 stock crisis, that was followed by a spate of suicides. Nadine Kaslow of Grady Memorial hospital Atlanta and of Emory University, said that this type of financial pressure is often connected with important psychological problems. There is no doubt that the foreclosure crisis is responsible for this. Dr. Bruce Cohen of Harvard Medical School aptly comments that the loss of a home equates to the loss of a loved one or loss of a job.
Meanwhile according to RealtyTrac foreclosures shot up by 121% during the second quarter this year in comparison to the second quarter of 2007. It calculates to 739,000 houses being foreclosed upon which tantamounts to a foreclosure rate of 1:171 houses. Houses are occupied by families – human beings that laugh or cry. In Massachusetts the count is 16,173 foreclosures being affected like the Balderramas.
Massachusetts Bank Foreclosures by Top Counties
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September 3rd, 2008
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Within a year foreclosures in Virginia has tripled from what it was in July 2007. Over half the foreclosures are coming from the northern parts of the state according to ReatlyTrac. Virginia ranked 10th in national foreclosure rates noting 5,745 foreclosure postings in July. This calculated to a jump of 55% from the previous year [...]
Continue reading: In A Year Foreclosures In Virginia Triples
September 1st, 2008
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KBC of Belgium (New York branch) has filed foreclosure proceedings against upscale retirement communities in Sumner. The bank asked Judge Thomas Teodosio to allow the non-profit owner of the unit (Sumner on Ridgewood) to act as court receiver and see to the marketing and sale of the estate. The matter will be taken up Summit [...]
Continue reading: Upscale Retirement Communities in Sumner Facing Foreclosure
September 1st, 2008
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The distressing foreclosure stories project that foreclosure victims stagnate both financially and mentally. It was a striking eye-opener in the wake of the recent recession in the US. Interviews and surveys of families that have faced the foreclosure axe show that they hope to straighten their financial position to pre-foreclosure status. Undoubtedly they were totally [...]
Continue reading: Foreclosure Victims Stagnate Both Financially And Mentally
September 1st, 2008
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As the foreclosure bus rolls on a new kind of operation begins. All that is required to get aboard the bus is some money and a little time. The bus will take the potential buyer and the interested to view the foreclosed houses that have been seized by the banks. The bus rides are free [...]
Continue reading: The Foreclosure Bus Rolls On
August 31st, 2008
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Firms endeavouring to clean up the mess of foreclosed houses come across the memories and mementos of homes.
Matt Paxton is one of the many assigned by banks in William County, to clean and clear up abandoned foreclosed houses. Walking into one on Eames Lane in Dale City he finds clues of yester days [...]
Continue reading: Memories of Home in Abandoned Foreclosed Houses
August 28th, 2008
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The $4 billion foreclosure plans may fall through in California. The county officials are unsure whether they have the infrastructure to utilize the funds.
The Congress saw in the plan a way to ease the foreclosure problem and allow for affordable housing. Keeping this in few the fund was created to purchase, repair and then sell [...]
Continue reading: Foreclosure Purchase Plans May Fall Through In California
August 27th, 2008
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The issue uppermost in the minds of voters is the foreclosure crisis and politicians wooing votes are grappling for answers to explain away the tragedy.
Quite a few years ago Sister Barbara Busch had started a programme to make the community financially literate. Today Sister Barbara is thankful for having done so because in the middle [...]
Continue reading: Politicians Grappling For Answers to Explain the Foreclosure Crisis
