Foreclosures Pick Up Speed

June 23rd, 2008 | Tags: Foreclosures

Foreclosures are picking up speed in the counties of Bowling Green and Warren County. It is apprehended that the increase will continue without letting down.

Initially it was the large cities that bore the brunt of foreclosures but slowly the menace is spreading its tentacles. The local foreclosure numbers are far bigger than the previous year. Till 17th June inclusive, there have been 128 foreclosure sales as compared to 189 during the entire 12 months of 2007. This is as per the records of Warren County Circuit Clerk office records.

The number of forcible evictions has also increased over the figures of the previous year. In 2007 there have been 20 but this already 16 have been noted. The Warren County Sheriff’s office handles the problem of forcible removal.

The foreclosure figures do not always paint the correct picture because in many instances the deed is handed over to the lender instead of foreclosure – this being beneficial to both parties.

The position in Bowling Green is relatively better comments Mayor Elaine Walker. She quips, “The issue in Bowling Green is not that we’re in a mortgage crisis, but how to avoid a mortgage crisis.” It will not be allowed to go the Louisville, Memphis and Tennessee way where the foreclosures have hit in a bad way. Tennessee has witnessed a triple rise. Bowling Green benefited when Congress took steps after the first foreclosure seeds sprouted. Most of the mortgage firms are now cooperating with people to see that foreclosures are avoided; however there are some exceptions.

According to figures released by Mortgage Bankers Association Kentucky had a delinquency rate of 5.72% during the first quarter of this current year. Generally this is the tendency – low during the first half of the year and high during the last quarter.

The proportion of foreclosures in the fixed mortgages and adjustable mortgages are .94% and 1.14% respectively. For sub-prime mortgages it is 4.79%. Kentucky holds the 15th rank in the national delinquency figures and 12th as regards foreclosure listings. A close look at the mortgage companies exposes some of them to be predators. These loans can work only if the real estate market continues to spike. The most likely victims are those who have strayed from the path of the traditional mortgages.

Foreclosures have set up a chain reaction by affecting house valuation and that in turn is affecting sales.