Sunbelt Cities Top Foreclosure List

Twenty cities in sunbelt states accounted for the top 20 foreclosures rates among metro areas last year, according to RealtyTrac. Nine of the top 20 foreclosure rates were in California, eight were in Florida, two were in Nevada, and Arizona had one. Many of those areas have a lot of seniors who might be able to save their properties with reverse home mortgages.

Las Vegas Foreclosures

Las Vegas had the highest rate of foreclosures for a metro area with a population over 200,000; 12% of its housing units receiving a foreclosure notice in 2009. No. 2 on the list was Cape Coral – Ft. Myers, Fla., followed by Merced, Calif. Although it isn’t surprising that cities in these states continued to struggle with housing, the RealtyTrac data shows that other areas are starting to be affected by more foreclosures.

Unemployment Contributes to Foreclosure Rates

“There is evidence that we’re entering a new wave of foreclosures, driven more by unemployment and economic hardship than what we’ve seen over the past few years,” James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said in a statement. “Areas like Provo, Utah, Fayetteville, Ark., Portland, Ore., and Rockford, Ill., all posted foreclosure rates above the U.S. average in 2009. And markets like Honolulu, Minneapolis, and Seattle saw foreclosure activity increase at more than twice the national pace over the past 12 months — although all three of those markets still had 2009 foreclosure rates that were at or below the U.S. average.”

Reverse Home Mortgage Can Help

For seniors who are struggling to make mortgage payments or facing the threat of foreclosure because they can’t pay their property taxes, a reverse mortgage could help. A reverse loan can supplement a fixed income and keep you in your home. The money doesn’t have to be repaid until you move or die.

Gather quotes from several lenders to find the best reverse mortgage for your situation. After reviewing reverse mortgage guidelines and comparing quotes, you should be in a better position to decide if one of these loans can keep you from becoming another foreclosure statistic.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 1st, 2010 at 7:32 pm and is filed under Reverse Mortgage . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.