Foreclosures are on the Rise

According to an article in the Star-Telegram, the number of foreclosures in Tarrant County have increased by 35 percent since November 2008.

The article said:

“At this pace, and with only December’s postings remaining to be filed, I fully expect D-FW residential postings for 2009 to top 60,000, which will be an all-time record high,” Roddy said in a statement.

The number of foreclosures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area has already tripled since 2000. And that number continues to increase as job losses rise and the availability of credit declines. Even homeowners not facing foreclosure are feeling the pinch as the value of their property slips.  Many homeowners are faced with severely upside down mortgages that may not correct themselves for another 5 years, if that. Some homeowners who were previously not facing foreclosure are now considering abandoning their homes as they face declining values, the inability to sell the property and in some cases large cuts in their salary that makes paying an expensive mortgage difficult, if not impossible.

For homeowners trying to stop foreclosure or facing difficulty paying their mortgage because of a job loss, salary cut or other debt obligations, bankruptcy may be a viable option.  Many debtors who file bankruptcy are able to discharge their unsecured debt while keeping their home and getting another chance to improve their finances.