You may have noticed a couple pieces of bad news circulating in the media the last few days.
One is that foreclosures have continued to climb, according to the quarterly statistics put out by RealityTrac. Why the increase? Apparently banks have been delaying a lot of foreclosures as they’ve tried to implement the federal foreclosure program. Another likely reason is that a growing number of adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) are starting to kick in and make it impossible for those homeowners to keep up with mortgage payments.
And yet another reason is the increasing rate of unemployment. Not only are people losing their jobs, but the alleged economic “recovery” is not doing a great job of creating new jobs.
The co-existence of these two trends is, of course, very troubling. The greater the rate of foreclosures, the bigger a toll it will take on the economy. And that of course likely means more bad news on the employment front in the near future.
What’s the solution? A moratorium on foreclosures for those who have lost their jobs has been suggested by James H. Carr, the Chief Operation Officer for the National Community Reinvestment Coalition. “We do need to think more carefully about a bridge so people aren’t being kicked out of their homes as they are looking for employment,” Carr said in a recent Washington Post article.
Whether this is likely to happen is another matter. According to the same article, the Mortgage Bankers Association says the mortgage industry is meeting over the next month to discuss solutions. Though of course, the mortgage industry at this point has a much better reputation for creating problems than solving them.
In the meantime, if you’re a New Yorker facing bankruptcy, foreclosure or other financial struggles due to job loss, or you’re worried about losing your job and want to understand your bankruptcy and non-bankruptcy options, please feel free to contact me for a free initial consultation where you can get all of your questions answered.
Go to Brooklyn NY foreclosure attorneys to learn more about Rosenberg Musso & Weiner LLP and/or to set up a free consultation.
