The front page of today’s Boston Globe had a feature article about the foreclosure auctions in this area. The process here in Massachusetts is different than in other states. In MA the auction is held at the house. Auctions rarely take long, but the devastation is long lasting for the former homeowner and the neighborhood. Banks just don’t get this.
There is no doubt some people should not have been given no income verification loans, and that some ARM were set up so the homeowner would fail, but for a large part of the homeowning public they are just underwater due to real and present hardships. Loss of job, health, divorce (usually caused by money issues) are just some of the reasons. These auctions are not the ones I am talking about.
I am talking about the ones where the home owner is in need of a short term modification for the long term gain of the bank, the homeowner and the neighborhood. What is wrong with these bank officials? What do they know that is driving their behavior other than the record profits they are showing again. It was reported that 82% of these auctioned homes are bought back by the bank. How in the world is this good for the bank. Had they not put the family through this they could have continued to make some money on the home rather than force the eviction and have another home on another block vacant.
The world is ready for a new breed of bank and banking system, this one is broken and the people running it are the money changers that Jesus threw out of the temple so long ago. A community bank that understands its community. One that will sit down with you and work out what you need. One that lives in your community and isn’t beholden to faceless board members.
Here in MA there were 10,0008 deeds filed at foreclosure from January to September. This is ten thousand families, ten thousand neighborhoods, communities in the thousands across just this state. It is deplorable and the banks should hang their head in shame rather than force another homeowner out without the benefit of sitting across a table with them in an honest effort to work things out.
Note: I spoke with a Raveis Agent yesterday who suggested the reason the banks foreclose and buy back so quickly is because they need to more the non-performing loan to the performing side of their balance sheet. While this makes perfect sense and is probably true it doesn't negate the callousness of their actions in not working with the home owner to make their note performing. It is in the banks power to do so by modifying the loan, right?
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