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.

As of 12/05/09 the Valerie Edmonds RePage is ranked at 2,817 with 75 points.
The monthly top RePage owner will receive a cash prize. Help this agent by bookmarking this site and posting it to blogs and other Web pages and encourage others to visit.

Local Information for Asheville, NC

Latitude: 35.579862 -- Longitude: -82.55581

Other Area Cities: Flat Rock Asheville Hendersonville Fletcher Black Mountain Arden

Enter our Photo Sweepstakes and Win $200 for your Asheville photos!

Click on Photos to Enlarge. To see all Asheville area photos Click Here.

Submit your photos of Asheville and become eligible to win $200. Click Here for details.

Asheville is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, and is its county seat. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,889. It is the largest city in western North Carolina, and continues to grow - as of 2004, the Census Bureau estimates that Asheville's population is 70,400.[2] Attractive to hip and creative young people as well as to hip and creative retirees, Asheville has been listed in both Rolling Stone and Modern Maturity as an ideal place to live or visit. The open and accepting character of the city is evidenced by the many lifestyles and beliefs that coexist peacefully there. Asheville has been named the "most vegetarian-friendly" small city in America.[1] The art scene is especially active, and Asheville has become a mecca for potters, painters and musicians, with much of the current creativity inspired by the folk art and old ballads of early Scottish, English and Scots-Irish settlers. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

North Carolina 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Asheville	North Carolina	United States
Population	68,889	8,049,313	281,421,906
Median age	39.2	35.3	35.3
Median age for Male	36.4	33.8	34
Median age for Female	41.8	36.7	36.5
Households	30,690	3,132,013	105,480,101
Household population	65,678	7,795,432	273,643,273
Average household size	2.14	2.49	2.59
Families	16,737	2,158,869	71,787,347
Average family size	2.81	2.98	3.14
Housing units	33,567	3,523,944	115,904,641
Occupied units	30,690	3,132,013	105,480,101
Vacant units	2,877	391,931	10,424,540

Visit US Census