Posted by Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq.
2010 was the worst year in modern history with regard to homes being foreclosed on in the United States. One million American families were forced out of their homes. It is estimated that we will break this horrendous record in the year 2011 and more than a million families will be forced out of their homes due to foreclosures.
It is estimated that more than five million mortgage holders are more than two months behind in their mortgage. Unless more jobs are created by the Obama administration, it is expected that more Americans will lose their jobs in 2011. As foreclosures increase, the home values in the areas with high levels of foreclosures decrease.
2.9 million homeowners received foreclosure filing notices in 2010. This amounts to virtually one in every forty-five homeowners receiving a foreclosure notice. In December alone, more than a quarter of a million homeowners in the United States received a foreclosure notice. As incredible as this sounds, this is good news! This is the lowest amount of foreclosure notices in the past thirty months. The reduction in foreclosure notices was caused by banks reviewing their foreclosure processes after there were numerous instances where it was found that evictions and foreclosure documents were being inappropriately handled by financial institutions. There has also been lawsuits by the Attorney Generals in all fifty states that have put banks under greater scrutiny regarding their practices concerning foreclosing on homes.
Arizona was the leader in 2010 in foreclosures. One in every seventeen households in Arizona received a foreclosure notice. Florida came in second. One out of every eighteen homeowners in Florida received a foreclosure notice. Approximately fifty-percent of the foreclosure notices in the United States were in the five states of California, Illinois, Arizona, Michigan and Florida.
Suffolk County on Long Island had the highest foreclosure rate in New York State in the year 2010. Although the foreclosure rates in New York are lower than many other states, they are still extremely high by traditional standards. The foreclosure crisis in the state of New York is causing real estate values to be depressed.
Our law firm represents New Yorkers in foreclosure defense proceedings. We litigate foreclosures on behalf of our clients in the five boroughs of the City of New York, Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, as well as Westchester County. We attend foreclosure conferences on behalf of our clients, we deal with bad faith predatory lending issues, mortgage modification problems, mortgage modification programs and defective foreclosure lawsuits. We are available 24/7 to assist our client. Feel free to call us should you need help to save your home! Our telephone numbers are 1-800-344-6431, 516-561- 6645 or 718-350-2802.