USA TODAY / AP: About 1.9 million homes entered the foreclosure process in 2011, fewest since 2007 when the recession began, according to a report Thursday by the foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac.
There have also been problems with the way some lenders were handling foreclosures. Specifically, they have been signing off on home foreclosures without first verifying documents — a practice referred to as “robo-signing.” Many of the largest U.S. banks reacted by temporarily stopping all foreclosures, re-filing previously filed foreclosure cases and revisiting pending cases to prevent errors…
RealtyTrac said 2011’s foreclosure activity is 34% lower than 2010 and the lowest since 2007. The Great Recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009… (more)
EDITOR: It makes little sense for some people to lose their homes simply because they could not afford the high set interests rates and the mortgage amounts are far above current market values. The homes remain empty, often vandalized, and the security owners lose an average of a third of the value in the turn over. Nevertheless, the government was unable to come up with a way of re-setting those loans to current interest rates and values without recognizing that the banking system was in large part insolvent. For the most part, the financial systems only recognizes their loss when a transaction takes place, so they have been given a respite to remain afloat.
