Today, according to a report from the Center for Responsible Lending (a nonprofit agency formed to fight predatory lending), the nation isn’t even halfway through the foreclosure nightmare.
As of February, 2.7 million homeowners who received mortgages from 2004 to 2008 have lost their homes to foreclosure. It estimates that 3.6 million households remain in serious jeopardy of losing their homes. The report states: “It is notable that these serious delinquencies represent only a sub-set of likely foreclosures ahead, since they do not include foreclosures on loans originated (outside of 2004 to 2008) or those that are not yet at imminent risk.”
Two other bullet points from the study, based on an analysis of 27 million mortgages originated from 2004 to 2008:
• Florida leads the nation with 17.4 percent of first mortgages on owner-occupied homes that are seriously delinquent or in foreclosure.
• Foreclosure rates are worse for homeowners who took out risky loans touted before the housing bust.
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The agency concluded in a statement: “The bottom line: The foreclosure crisis isn’t going away. Families that could have benefited from homeownership are instead being kicked down the economic ladder, home prices keep falling and economic recovery remains stalled. Many home losses have been and will be unnecessary. With so many losses still ahead, lenders must end loan servicing abuses and get serious about sustainable loan modifications that keep families in their homes.”
