Figures recently released indicate that over 23% of homes financed with mortgages in the U.S. are upside down, meaning that the owner owes more on the mortgage loan than the property is worth. In most times this number is in the 5% range.
This statistic is for the fourth quarter of 2010, and it is up from the figure reported in the third quarter of 2010 by about one percentage point. Unfortunately it looks like this trend will continue for a while, since the average prices of homes sold has been dropping for a number of consecutive months and is expected to drop another 5% before the end of 2011. This means that people who are close to being under water on their mortgages may also become a statistic.
The situation is even worse is some states. In Nevada the number of homes with upside down mortgages is about two-thirds, and in Las Vegas the figure is more like 80%. In Michigan, Arizona, Florida and California the averages are approximately 50%. In the states where the housing market was especially booming in the bubble period, like Nevada and Arizona, home prices have since dropped by half or even more on average.
What can a person who finds himself in this situation do? If the homeowner is fortunate and is still employed and can make house payments, they will probably just have to do so and wait for home prices to recover. If they need to move, they could have a problem. They might be able to get their lender to agree to a short sale, but this is unlikely if the lender knows the homeowner is employed and is capable of continuing to make house payments. They could also come up with the difference in cash between the loan amount and the selling price and take the loss themselves, if they really must move.
Some homeowners who bought houses at the peak of the boom and who are now substantially under water are employing another approach. This has been called strategic default. Homeowners in this case are stopping making payments and letting their property go into default, even though they are employed and can afford to make their monthly payments. They take a big hit on their credit rating, but they get out from under a huge debt. Some, according to this author's sister, a real estate agent in Phoenix, Arizona, are even getting pre-qualified for another mortgage on another home, and will default subsequent to doing that. They thus are in another house and their bad credit has not affected their ability to get into that home. Of course the mortgage holder then must take the loss on the original property.
This statistic is for the fourth quarter of 2010, and it is up from the figure reported in the third quarter of 2010 by about one percentage point. Unfortunately it looks like this trend will continue for a while, since the average prices of homes sold has been dropping for a number of consecutive months and is expected to drop another 5% before the end of 2011. This means that people who are close to being under water on their mortgages may also become a statistic.
The situation is even worse is some states. In Nevada the number of homes with upside down mortgages is about two-thirds, and in Las Vegas the figure is more like 80%. In Michigan, Arizona, Florida and California the averages are approximately 50%. In the states where the housing market was especially booming in the bubble period, like Nevada and Arizona, home prices have since dropped by half or even more on average.
What can a person who finds himself in this situation do? If the homeowner is fortunate and is still employed and can make house payments, they will probably just have to do so and wait for home prices to recover. If they need to move, they could have a problem. They might be able to get their lender to agree to a short sale, but this is unlikely if the lender knows the homeowner is employed and is capable of continuing to make house payments. They could also come up with the difference in cash between the loan amount and the selling price and take the loss themselves, if they really must move.
Some homeowners who bought houses at the peak of the boom and who are now substantially under water are employing another approach. This has been called strategic default. Homeowners in this case are stopping making payments and letting their property go into default, even though they are employed and can afford to make their monthly payments. They take a big hit on their credit rating, but they get out from under a huge debt. Some, according to this author's sister, a real estate agent in Phoenix, Arizona, are even getting pre-qualified for another mortgage on another home, and will default subsequent to doing that. They thus are in another house and their bad credit has not affected their ability to get into that home. Of course the mortgage holder then must take the loss on the original property.
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