Foreclosure Fast Track Puts Delinquent Texas Homeowners on Curb in 41 Days

[Purveyor]

By Thomas Korosec

May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Carlos Perez and Belinda Castillo of El Paso, Texas, were two months behind on their mortgage in January when the lender demanded that they catch up or face foreclosure. Two months later, their three-bedroom, Southwestern- style house was auctioned on the courthouse steps.

Forty-one days is all it takes for some Texans to lose a home to foreclosure. That fast track from default notice to forced sale is the quickest of any U.S. state, according to a report from the Texas Housing and Community Affairs Department.

A bill in the Texas House, already approved by the state Senate, would give homeowners more time to rework loans, seek legal help or find their own buyers. Homeowner advocates say it doesn’t go far enough.

“We have seniors who were put into these adjustable-rate loans when they needed to pay their hospital bills,” said Jane Junkin, lead organizer for Houston Acorn, a community group that advises homeowners. “To save their houses, we need more tools.”

Current law allowed lenders to foreclose on 25,259 Texas residences in the first quarter, a 14 percent increase from the fourth quarter, according to Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac Inc., a real estate data service. That compares with a 9 percent increase for the U.S. as a whole, according to RealtyTrac. The state’s jobless rate rose to 6.7 percent in March from 4.6 percent a year earlier.

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BLOOMBERG: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=ayrzHa5HjiuM&refer=home

[MineralMan]

1. And, no doubt, people who have names ending in ez or es

get tossed out in the shortest time possible. It's Texas, after all.

[able1]

2. So?

If you rent an apt. and get two months behind, your behind is gonna be thrown out. Why should it be any different for someone
in a house?

[MineralMan]

3. Well, lots of lenders are working with borrowers

to work things out to help them in these times, when so many have lost jobs. Some people seem to care about people who have fallen on hard times through no fault of their own.

But...thanks for your concern. I'm sure you'll never find yourself in such a situation, so there's no need for you to empathise with anyone who has fallen on hard times. You've got yours.

[Purveyor]

5. What you said and thank you...for saying it. eom

[Junkdrawer]

4. Let's see...

Loss of equity...

Destruction of neighborhood home values...

Destruction of neighborhood safety...

Triggering of Credit Default Swaps...


and that's just off the top of my head...