Last May, Maryland has the 22nd highest foreclosures rate, up from its 28th place last April. The 69 percent increase is worrying groups like ACORN or the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. According to the group, if local officials and residents would like to avoid the negative consequences of having such a large inventory of Maryland foreclosure listings, they should act now. Here are some of the group’s recommendations.
First and foremost, the group recognizes the major role that mortgage lenders played in the current foreclosures situation that resulted to the thousands of Maryland bank foreclosures in the market. During the housing boom, many mortgage lenders engaged in predatory lending practices and allowed borrowers with poor credit ratings to take out loans that are not equivalent to their stated income. To make it even worse, they enticed these borrowers to choose adjustable interest rates. Once the interest rates started re-setting after two years, the amount of mortgage due each amount ballooned by an average of 40 percent.
Because of this, ACORN is also asking the Congress to pass legislation in order to protect borrowers from such unscrupulous lending practices as well as urge mortgage companies to impose a moratorium on every house foreclosure that resulted from subprime loans.
If these recommendations were considered, there could be hope for these owners facing foreclosures. They could work out new payment arrangements with their lenders. If the foreclosure situations improve and home values appreciate, these owners could also try to sell their homes with the help of foreclosed property brokers like MostlyForeclosures.com. They could avoid a nasty foreclosure proceeding and if they have more than enough equity on their home, they could have some money left after the mortgage debt is paid off to start a new life.
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