You’d have to be freaking Mary Poppins to be optimistic about the economy and would need a whole lot more than a spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down: You’d have to swallow all of Cuba’s sugar fields.
And, what is the cause of our economic woes? That’s right. The housing/mortgage/credit crisis which is now spreading to even those who just rent their homes from others.
The New York Times is reporting that a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association shows that “one in eight foreclosures was non-owner occupied.” Worse, the article goes on to say that the figure “probably underestimates the problem.”
Essentially what is happening across America is that property owners caught up in the mortgage debacle are foreclosing in record numbers and their poor renters are given the boot not even knowing what hit them and often with little or no warning.
The Times highlights Nevada–which has been very hard hit by the mortgage crisis–where 28 percent of mortgage defaults are in non-owner occupied houses or apartments.
And, there is yet more housing crisis related bad news, this from Detroit where there is a prediction that auto sales could hit a 15 year low.
Reuters quotes one experts as saying “…I think the mortgage issue is going to freak people out and that will hit pretty hard in ’08.”
Now, for the good news……………………………………………………………………………………
Related posts:
- Looking for Some Deals? Scoop Up Over 350 Foreclosed Homes at Auction, Starting at Only $5000
- Buying at the Foreclosure Auction: Beware of Occupied Homes – A Horror Story that Could be YOU!
- News Shocker! Economist Actually Gets It. Why Existing Homes Fell in ’06
- Finding real estate bargains with government foreclosed properties
- Renters: Beware of the Fake Real Estate Agent Scam (video)
Article Author: Charles FeldmanCharles has written 179 articles for us.
Visit Charles's Website: http://www.thefeldmanblog.com
Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog, as well as on The Huffington Post.
Joshua Dorkin
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
This isn’t good news. Especially since the holidays are coming up.
This can literally happen to anybody. Think about it….who in this country besides movie stars, rock stars, and basketball stars, really own their homes?
Almost all homes in this country are owned by banks. Anybody down on their luck can default on their home loans.
Sad but true
The news is bad all over if you pay attention to the press. What they don’t tell you is good news about certain healthy markets. In the Austin area, the foreclosure rate is down 8% for the year. Sure, we’ve been hit by the lending melt-down, but we’re basically very healthy. If you’re looking at news, try not to pay too much attention to the doom and gloom of the “national” market.
Now that’s a really bad news. It’s freaking me out already..
i think the press is looking at the national average, the numbers as a whole….
sure, there may be some pockets of the country not hit as hard. I used to live in austin, it’s not a very big city…….
as for the people being hit by this, i doubt it’s hard for them not to pay attention the the doom and gloom, especially if facing losing their homes.
This is one of the many reasons our rent to own business has seen an increase in homeowners (most facing foreclosure) investigating lease options and searching for rent to own houses. While some are turning towards mortgage refinancing as a way to avoid foreclosure, those that are unable to obtain a new mortgage consider rent to own houses as a means to stay in a house rather than move to an apartment.
I tried to help a lease-option buyer who got caught in this storm. Ultimately, Freddie Mac would not cooperate with a “tenant” in place. Long story short, she had to move (again), Freddie Mac (and the American tax payer) ended up with another asset owned and the crooked “seller” keeps her down payment and rent and walks off without paying any on the loan.
‘This is one of the many reasons our rent to own business has seen an increase in homeowners ‘
That’s definitly true:)