Foreclosures and the Individual

October 6th, 2008

The media is full with numbers and statistics trying to measure the damage done by the housing crisis. But the agony caused to the individual by foreclosures cannot be gauged by figures. The banking giants and jumbo institutions are tottering but the real story is how the foreclosure related economic slowdown is hitting the common American – the people that make up the nation.

Deborah Walker living in Vista, California is a middle-aged widow whose only income is from her disability payments coming in from Social Security. This did not allow her to buy clothes for her 13-year-old son even before the foreclosure crisis struck. David occasionally attends classes in a nearby school but is mainly schooled at home. He is afraid to go before the other children who make fun of his clothes since he wears the old jeans of his mother that he has outgrown. Even cheap jeans worth $5 or $6 are well beyond her means. Deborah often goes without food so that her growing son is at least well fed. As a result she has lost 26 pounds in nine months.

To make matters worse she suddenly learnt that her annual help cheque of $350 from the state would not be coming. She uses this money to buy essential clothes and meet Christmas expenses. She just cannot understand why “every time there is a crisis, it’s the poor, disabled, children and seniors who end up having to pay for it.” The foreclosure crisis has led to a halt in property transactions and this has reduced the states to penury.

It is not just the individuals, small business concerns are also gasping to survive. The housing industry has seriously restricted their operations leaving them stranded in a frightening situation. Terry Segerberg of Mesa Industries, Cincinnati tries to assure his employees about the “rosy future” but is doubtful as to whether he is misleading them. Segerberg explains, “How do you know what’s the right decision to make for yourself? Is my money safe? Is my mortgage safe? How do you know? You’re just a regular Joe trying to do your job.”Tobin Robins deals with constructing customized houses in Atlanta. He has put eight houses in the market with a price tag of $1 million or more for each. It is unsure when and if he will manage to sell these.

The general feeling is that the mortgages have created few winners and countless losers allowing foreclosures to have the last laugh.