The Foreclosure Report

Foreclosure 'Backlog' In Mississippi

From the Clarion Ledger. "Mississippi is not in the Top 10 states for foreclosures for the time period. Mortgage consultant Ralph Hays in Flowood, said Mississippi did not make the Top 10 because many mortgage companies in the state didn't push consumers toward interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgages in which payments rise as interest rates rise."

"'In the larger metro areas in the Northeast and Midwest they have pushed those,' he said. 'The way they advertised it was more affordability for your house payment. They failed to educate people about what would happen as interest rates moved up.'"

"Jim Adams, managing member of Brown Dog Properties, said mortgage lenders have been hesitant to foreclose in Mississippi since Hurricane Katrina. Adams speculates this time next year Mississippi could lead the nation in foreclosures because of a backlog of foreclosures waiting to be processed."

"Adams said his company works with mitigation lenders to buy homes that need repairs and are about to be foreclosed upon. 'We worked with someone in south Jackson who owed $69,000 on his home, and we bought it for $39,000,' he said."

"The homeowner keeps a foreclosure from happening, and the mortgage lender mitigates its losses, he said. The mortgage lender can hold the homeowner responsible for the difference in what is owed and what a house sells for, but 'most of the time they don't,' he said."

posted by Ben Jones @ 10:10 AM