Foreclosures On The Rise But Atlanta Bankruptcy Can Help
Every month, just like in October, foreclosures increased throughout the Atlanta metro area. This time, they increased at a higher clip than usual.
Foreclosure in Atlanta and throughout the state has been a problem that has hampered local and state economies, made housing prices plummet and caused many homeowners heartache.
Yet bankruptcy, usually Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Atlanta, can help homeowners save their houses. Atlanta bankruptcy lawyers have been able to help many people save their houses through this process. By eliminating debt and setting up a payment plan for three to five years, people can hang on to their homes and still pay off the debt that is causing them so much stress.
With foreclosure notices constantly on the rise, the real estate market will not recover for years or perhaps decades. An increase in foreclosures means a steady decline in prices for houses. And as unemployment remains steady, this spells disaster for the economy.
Most analysts believe that major banks halted their foreclosure processes last fall in order to revisit how they could handle all these foreclosure cases -- millions nationwide -- without illegally signing fraudulent documents, using robo-signing practices and fabricating documents to support their foreclosure filings.
That's why 15,000 fewer foreclosure notices have been filed this year compared to last. But now that banks appear to have gotten that figured out, they are again starting to file hundreds of thousands of notices and nearly 11,000 in the Atlanta area alone, the newspaper reports.
Analysts with Equity Depot told the newspaper that the numbers show a large number of second and third foreclosure notices, meaning banks may be taking action against people who are furthest behind in payments. Another trend is that more foreclosure notices are being filed against people with prime mortgages, rather than sub-prime mortgages, which were made to people with greater credit risks.
Cobb County set a new high for the year in October with 1,333 notices sent out, while Douglas (410), Hall (332) and Rockdale (259) counties also experienced highs. DeKalb, Fulton and Gwinnett counties all hit more than 1,500 notices for the month.
There have been 102,094 notices filed in the metro Atlanta area this year compared to 117,437 at this time last year, the newspaper reports.
Some could take the latest statistic as a good sign, given that notices are slightly lower than they were last year, but considering banks severely halted their foreclosure filings for the better part of a year while states investigated them for robo-signing and illegal document filing and they're still close to last year's levels shows that they have more than made up for the time lost.
While it's true that banks appear to be going after the most delinquent borrowers first, many homeowners are at risk. And even people far behind in making payments can save their homes through bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy immediately stops foreclosure and ensures that creditors are shuffled to bankruptcy court as it stops them from contacting the homeowner.
If you need to speak to an Atlanta bankruptcy attorney call the DebtStoppers Bankruptcy Law Firm at 800-440-7235 today for a free debt analysis.
More Blog Entries:
New Law Would Allow Georgians to Use Retirement For Mortgage Payments to Avoid Foreclosure: October 14, 2011
Georgia Among Top 5 in Nation For August Foreclosures: September 23, 2011
Additional Resources:
Foreclosure notices spike in metro Atlanta, by Christopher Quinn, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution