Is There Foreclosure Trouble in Kitsap County?
The State of Washington's foreclosure rate was higher than the national average, yet still ranks 27th in the country for foreclosure activity, according to The Seattle Times. Kitsap County, however, saw 49 bankruptcies in the last year, which is a 29 percent increase since January 2007.
According to many realtors and foreclosure experts, there is a small increase in home values but prices in the area are generally flat due to over construction. Many say the only homes that are selling are the bank owned properties.
A common situation where people end up in foreclosure is when a homeowner has decided to refinance their fixed rate mortgage to an adjustible rate mortgage (ARM) with terms that they didn’t really understand or pay attention to. Suddenly, the homeowner is faced with a major emergency or a major medical crisis, which they may try to deal with by maxing out their credit cards. In a panic now, they decided to dig out from under the debt by attempting to get a home-equity line of credit only to find out their home has tanked in value due to the slow market. Since they've added a new debt and a giant prepayment penalty because of the ARM, they won’t qualify. They will either need to sell their home or declare bankruptcy. Not all who fall into foreclosure are deadbeats. Many are normal, responsible, working adults who have come under extraordinary circumstances.
In Kitsap County, some are feeling the heaviness of subprime ARMs or predatory loans which were sold to people with poor credit. Since February 10, 2008, Kitsap County had 68 foreclosures and 263 pre-foreclosures, according to www.foreclosure.com. On top of this, school districts, the Navy and other employers are laying off workers. Suddenly, foreclosures are quickly taking over as people are unable to keep up with their payments.
Thankfully, the State of Washington is helping. Governor Gregoire authorized $1.5 million for counseling and education for people to help them avoid bad home loans and for those who are scraping by trying to pay the loans they really can’t afford. Also, the Washington State Housing Finance Commission will set up funds to community agencies who sponsor the counseling and education. Educating consumers about loans and helping them understand the different types of loans will help them be better prepared or help them with the situation they find themselves in now.
The best advice is to find a reputable foreclosure expert the very minute you find that you may be facing foreclosure and find out what your options are.
Victim or Victor - the Choice is YoursYou could lose everything or you could come out of this with more than you ever thought possible. It all rides on your decision to contact us. The sooner you do that, the better the outcome. Get started and stop foreclosure now by answering a few questions for us . To Talk to Someone Now Call: 1-888-I-SAVE-80 There's no obligation. In fact the initial consultation is FREE. And that may be all you'll need to stop the foreclosure for good. Learn what you can do to avoid or stop foreclosure in Alaska. |