Foreclosures on the Fast Track: Are You Next?
The general counsel for FHFA (Federal Financing Housing Agency) testified last week, complaining that individual states and cities where getting in the way of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac foreclosures by extending mediation services and putting other policies in effect which slow down foreclosures according to Realtor Mag. The number of new foreclosure filings has been skyrocketing over the last couple months. Perhaps more importantly so has the number of actually possessions. In fact, in Florida saw a 90% increase in possessions by mortgage lenders in February alone! This gets even worse for you out there if your mortgage is less than $250,000. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal those with loans under this amount are evicted 6 months faster than their ‘wealthier’ counterparts. Perhaps you aren’t motivated enough to sell your home fast for cash yet but that doesn’t mean you can sit by and do nothing. If you aren’t interested in being proactive to save your home or completing a short sale so that you can perhaps walk away debt free and with a few thousand dollars in your hand that is entirely up to you. However, it is clear that if you are behind on your home loan the day will come that you have to move out and it may not be far away. That’s OK because you have been stashing the money into savings every month instead of mailing it into the bank for your mortgage payment right? The problem is that there are now millions more people in your same situation which are going through foreclosure and now need to rent too. This is perfect for landlords who can take their sweet time to select from the best tenants who are willing to pay the highest price. Unfortunately this also means rental agents are so busy it could take you over a month to get into a rental. This is not an attractive time to be stuck in a hotel in many parts of the country, that’s if you can even find a room in many coastal cities. Oh, then there is the fact that rental rates have already been rising and in places like San Diego they are expected to soar by over 30% in the next 3 years according to a CNN Money report.
It isn’t just the banks speeding up foreclosures in the last couple of months, now the government wants your home foreclosed on and fast!