According to RealtyTrac, foreclosures rose 30% in February across the US, compared to a year earlier. And when compared to January, February filings were up 6%.
The spike in foreclosures was helped by the expiration of statewide moratoriums in Florida and New York. The trend is expected to continue as voluntary moratoriums by nationwide lenders are set to expire. For example, J.P. Morgan Chase’s voluntary halt to new filings ends today, and Bank of America is extending on a week-to-week basis. Adding fuel to the fire is the reset of approximately $60 Billion in Alt-A and option ARM loans expected in the 2nd quarter.
In New Jersey, foreclosure filings were down 40% from January. Banks repossessed 654 homes statewide, down 34 percent from the January. In Pennsylvania, foreclosure filings increased by more than 10% in February compared to the prior month, while sheriff sales and reposessions held steady on a month-to-month basis.
Lee M. Herman is an attorney with offices in Media, PA and Haddonfield, NJ. For thirty years, he has prosecuted and defended collection lawsuits in state and federal courts on behalf of lenders and borrowers. He can be reached at (610) 891-6500 or by email at lherman@lmhlaw.com. His website is lmhlaw.com
1 response so far ↓
William J. Maschke // April 14, 2009 at 7:06 pm
I for one am glad to hear that my fellow NJ homeowners are doing better than other places around the country. I don’t want to see anyone lose their home it is part of the reason for the site I added. Since I know there are people all over that are struggling, I have the site to help. Any homeowner should do their best to keep their hard won homes. If my site helps people do this then I can feel good that I helped someone that needed that sort of assistance.