Foreclosures Pass One Million Mark For 2009

A Chicago Sunsel from 45th Floor Marriott Hotel

Last week the nation reached a dismal milestone: one million new foreclosures initiated since January 1 this year.  In addition to devastating the families who lose their homes, the neighbors suffer, too. Our updated “spillover” analysis shows that 69 million households who just happen to be located near foreclosures will lose $502 billion in property value — about $7,200 per family.

If Congress had only approved the Mortgage Modification bill, to allow bankruptcy judges to modify home loans, it wouldv’e given several hundred thousand homeowners at least a fighting chance to stay in their homes.

“Hopefully” the Hope for Homeowners and similar programs will have some effect, but there is no sign of it yet. I am having some luck suing mortgage servicers and lenders that made “toxic” or predatory loans to my clients, or have violated mortgage servicing laws. As part of a settlement, we demand that the loan be modified to more reasonable terms. But I can only help a small number of people, compared to the number that could have been helped had the law been changed.

Can’t get your loan modified? Call your Member of Congress! They are the ones, particularly the U.S. Senators, that defeated the mortgage modification bill. If you can’t get a loan modification, call your U.S. Senator’s office and tell them that you need help getting a reasonable loan modification of your mortgage.