A report released this week by Lender Processing Services indicates that the delays for lenders to process foreclosures have reached record highs.
As of the end of June, this year, there were 4.1 million home loans across the nation that were either greater than 90 days delinquent, or in some stage of foreclosure.
Of the 2.2 million loans that are in some stage of foreclosure, the average homeowner has not made a payment on that loan in a record 599 days.
And of the 1.9 million loans that were 90 or more days delinquent, 42% of the homeowners had not made a payment on over a year, and the average delinquency was more than 13 months - also a record.
The rate of foreclosure starts is three times the rate of foreclosure sales - which means that the number of homes in some stage of foreclosure is growing.
This backlog, due to lender delays in both initiating and processing foreclosures, does not bode well for the future of the housing market. The high number of homes that have not yet entered foreclosure means that the foreclosure numbers right now are artificially low. And it means that, once lenders catch up on their paperwork, these homes will move into foreclosure and the foreclosure rate will then become even higher.
However, the backlog does present an opportunity for delinquent homeowners who have not yet been foreclosed upon. These processing delays essentially buy them time to find other alternatives for settling their debts - such as negotiating a short sale.
If you are a homeowner, and would like to learn more about short selling your home, please go to: http://seattleshortsales.com/homeowners/
If you are a real estate agent, and would like to learn about our no-fee short sale service, please go to: http://seattleshortsales.com/agents/
Comments
Post has no comments.