Help for Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

November 20, 2008

Everyone seems to agree that flooding the market with empty, foreclosed homes does not help neighborhoods maintain stability – either as a way of living, or regarding the value of homes. Empty homes do nothing for a neighborhood.

Recently some organizations are taking tentative steps to allow homeowners who are defaulting on their mortgage to remain in their homes –at least for the time being.

Fannie and Freddie Mac have announced that they are freezing foreclosure sales until after the new year while they review strategies and the future of their organizations. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. recently announced foreclosure-prevention programs that aim to reduce interest rates, extend repayment schedules and, in the case of Citigroup, reduce loan amounts, to help borrowers keep their homes. But the programs have focused primarily on loans wholly owned by those companies because they feel they have more authority to rework those mortgages.

HSBC is also making more options available to more people. For example, it is contacting customers before their adjustable-rate loans reset to higher rates and freezing the current rate or allowing the borrower to pay a rate below what the new rate would be. The bank also is lowering fixed rates for selected borrowers. All this in an effort to stave of foreclosures.

One way of stabilizing markets where supply exceeds demand is to regulate supply. That way the people who can buy homes can buy from sellers who can’t afford to stay in their current home. But, amazingly enough, new home construction is still going on – even in saturated markets. Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg suggests, only half-jokingly, that the Treasury should impose a moratorium on home building. "It sounds like lunacy, but we have to destroy the housing capital stock to help put a floor under the market," he said.

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Local Information for Corpus Christi, TX

Latitude: 27.742857 -- Longitude: -97.401927

Other Area Cities: Rockport Corpus Christi Portland Aransas Pass

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Corpus Christi is the county seat of Nueces CountyGR6 and a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the region known as South Texas. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 277,454 people (though a July 1, 2004 estimate placed the population at 281,196), making it the eighth-largest city in the state. The translation of the city's name is Body of Christ, given to the settlement by the Spanish, in honor of the Blessed Sacrament (Eucharist). The city is often referred to as "The Sparkling City by the Sea," particularly in literature promoting tourism. Locals and natives often just call it Corpus. Since 2003, the city has earned numerous awards including: All-America City 2003 Digital City One of the best cities to stretch your paycheck One of the least depressed cities in the nation The city is home to Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi is served by the Corpus Christi International Airport on the west side of the city. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Texas 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Corpus Christi	Texas	United States
Population	277,454	20,851,820	281,421,906
Median age	33.2	32.3	35.3
Median age for Male	31.9	31.3	34
Median age for Female	34.4	33.4	36.5
Households	98,791	7,393,354	105,480,101
Household population	272,122	20,290,711	273,643,273
Average household size	2.75	2.74	2.59
Families	70,465	5,247,794	71,787,347
Average family size	3.27	3.28	3.14
Housing units	107,831	8,157,575	115,904,641
Occupied units	98,791	7,393,354	105,480,101
Vacant units	9,040	764,221	10,424,540

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