Three Year Grant For Milwaukee Legal Aid Society

March 18th, 2008

Milwaukee in Wisconsin is the largest city in the state. The city is the seat of Milwaukee County on the shores of Lake Michigan.

There is an ongoing programme involving 19 states for whom $6.5 million has been granted. From this the Legal Aid Society will be given $300,000 to help local residents continue to light the fires in the houses that are their homes. This 3 year grant from the Institute for Foreclosure Legal Assistance will allow the society to take the help of extra staff who have the expertise in dealing with foreclosure prevention. There is a growing need for proper legal representation in the region.

According to reliable online source in Wisconsin there has been a rise of foreclosure activity by 113% in February. The organization’s operation for providing legal representation for civil matters will see into the matter of predatory lending on home equity loans. A hot line number has been started for troubled borrowers.

It is apprehended the forthcoming years will see a further rise as the teaser rates expire throughout Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel comments that during the first three weeks of the current year more than 1,000 foreclosures have been listed in Milwaukee County – this being the most densely populated region in the state. What is causing worry that in 2007 only 2,850 houses were sold. Wisconsin is breaking its own previous records. Approximately 87% of all the sales scheduled so far are in Milwaukee city. Suburban areas too have not been spared. Foreclosures are hitting all and sundry without caring for income brackets. The year 2007 saw this dramatic increase and many are blaming for speculators for this. Today when prices are at an all time low the investors are fining it more profitable to walk off. In 2007 in Milwaukee County 92% of the foreclosed units were repossessed by the lenders.

In October 2007 Wisconsin had recorded three times more foreclosure listings compared to October 2006. It was up by 67% compared to September 2007. In October there were 2,506 postings – making Wisconsin rank 22nd in foreclosure rankings across the nation. There was one foreclosure for every 997 houses. Across the nation the ratio was one for every 555 houses. Defaults were down by 9% indicating that perhaps the efforts of government and lenders were having some effect. But bank repossessions increased by 35% making the picture confusing and unpredictable.