I suggest that you sit down as you read this. What am I about to tell you is really troubling.
I just did some research. I went back and looked at the number of foreclosures in the United States on a yearly basis since 2005.
In 2005 there were 850,000. In 2006, there were 1,200,000. The number increased to 1,300,000. That almost doubled to 2,300,000 in 2008. Over the four years from 2005 through 2008 the total number of foreclosures was 5,650,000.
We all have been hearing about how severe this crisis is. Let me tell you – the predictions are that it is going to get much worse.
They are predicting that in 2009 there will be 2,400,000. Analysts at Credit Suisse, a financial services group, have predicted that in the four years from 2009 through 2012 there will be 9 million foreclosures.
Let me repeat that – 9 million foreclosures. That is almost double the number of foreclosures from 2005 through 2008. We thought that the number of foreclosures in 2008 was high and that the number would most probably drop. Boy, were we wrong.
Is the system going to be able to handle the volume? Are the new people who will be facing foreclosure going to be able to get the help they need to fight it and save their homes? How many people are going to fall through the cracks and lose their homes because of an overwhelmed system which can’t handle the volume?
As I think about this, I realize that in the next four years, it is going to be crucial, yes – crucial, for people facing foreclosure to get help from a lawyer or an expert in the field as soon as the process starts. Otherwise, they may get lost in the process and lose the home the most desperately wanted to save.
If you happen to be facing foreclosure or feel that you may become a victim of it down the road, start to do the work today to save your home. Check in your area to see which lawyers are the best at fighting foreclosure. Find out the names of the best experts at loan modifications. Talk to them. Choose the one you are most comfortable with and ask them to represent you.
Much Success,
Mark Elkins
