Mortgage Lowdown

Foreclosures are a painful reality in Bay Area as increasing numbers of homeowners are in danger of losing their homes. These people are finding themselves unable to pay their home mortgages or sell for enough money to cover their loans. Nearly 3,000 homeowners in the nine-county Bay Area got default notices from their mortgage lenders in the April-through-June period.

According to experts, house values are not appreciating at the expected rate. At the same time, homeowners are unable to handle rising monthly payments on their adjustable-rate mortgages. These increasingly popular and controversial loans have made homeowners rush to loan officers. They want to refinance their adjustable-rate mortgages or second mortgages into fixed-rate loans. Mercurynews.com reports:

Experts said the spike in defaults suggests that as home prices flatten or drop and higher interest rates squeeze household budgets, even more Californians will slide toward foreclosure in the coming months.

Read more: Bay Area foreclosures spike; still near historic lows

To reduce the number of foreclosures in the Taunton-Attleboro area, Massachusetts, Pro-Home Inc., a non-profit group is counseling homebuyers before they get into trouble. The group is trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure navigate their way through the crisis.

According to recent statistics, foreclosure figures in Massachusetts have shot up in the past few months. Figures for the second quarter show that foreclosures have increased 66 percent. This figure leaves in its trail, ruined families, their finances in a mess and an uncertain future. These people may even not be able to envisage a future where they could get back into a home of their own. I know all this sounds scary, but we should get beyond the fear and look for solutions.

You probably couldn’t do much about the bursting of the housing bubble. But you cannot disagree with me when I say that you’ve done your bit to worsen your situation. How so? Well you allowed an aggressive lender pressure you into buying a home you just couldn’t afford. Or you fell into an online mortgage lender trap, which seemed so great — you didn’t need to prove income and were qualified for much more than you could afford. I mean, why couldn’t you see through this trick. It was too good to be true. Right? Then why didn’t your alarm bells ring?

Fine, I guess I’ve done my bit. Now for people in the Taunton-Attleboro area, there’s help. Pro-Home doesn’t just advice you on what you can do. It actually offers concrete help. As of now, I don’t have many details on these guys. But I promise, I’ll be back with some more info on this group and any other in other states. Till then, try holding onto your homes.

The housing bubble has burst and the market is finally cooling. And that has left many Americans with a problem that was easy to ignore during the boom — Inflated appraisals of home values. Contracostatimes.com reports:

Now, however, prices are leveling off in many places and falling in some. Some homeowners are finding that the market value is below what past appraisals led them to believe. For sellers, that can mean being forced to drop their asking prices.

Read more: Inflated appraisals bungle refinancing