Fewer North Carolinians upside-down in mortgages than other states, but still reasons for concern

FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA NEWS SERVICE
This year, thousands of North Carolinians will lose their homes to foreclosure. For the last five years, the Tar Heel state has seen more than 50,000 foreclosures every year, compared to about 15,000 a year before the crisis began, according to research by the Center for Responsible Lending.

The Center’s senior counsel for government affairs, Chris Kukla, says North Carolina has more programs than most states to help homeowners save their homes, but more needs to be done.

“We still need to be aggressive in trying to head off foreclosures that are reasonably avoidable. If servicers were willing to do more to try to restructure the loans, that would make them affordable.”

In 2006, at the beginning of the foreclosure crisis, the Center for Responsible Lending predicted 2.2 million Americans would lose their homes nationwide. The country has already surpassed that number: More than 2.7 million have lost their homes.

North Carolina, compared to other states, has fewer homeowners who are upside-down in their mortgages. “Upside-down” refers to mortgages on which the owner owes more than the home is worth. In California, more than half of the mortgages fit that criteria. That number stands at 10 percent in North Carolina, Kukla says.

“We’ve been fairly aggressive in saying we need to do a lot more to try to stave off foreclosures that don’t need to happen.”

People of color are disproportionately affected by foreclosures. One-quarter of African Americans and Latinos have lost or are in danger of losing their homes, compared to 12 percent of white homeowners.

Information on programs available to help homeowners in North Carolina is at www.ncforeclosureprevention.gov.

— by Stephanie Carroll Carson