Foreclosures

Foreclosures taking longer to complete

(02/18/2011) Many consumers across the country are facing the looming threat of foreclosure, but they now have longer to straighten out their finances before losing their home.

Homeowners had more time to rectify their mortgage problems during the past 12 months, according to the latest statistics from Lender Processing Services. Foreclosure ticked up 1.7% in the final month of 2010, but between December 2009 and the end of last year, the average amount of time that a foreclosed property had gone without a mortgage payment jumped to 507 days, up from 406 days.

With this extra time, consumers may have been able to seek ways of avoiding foreclosure, such as refinancing their existing home loan. By checking the latest online rate tables, they can find the best local rates and potentially make their mortgages more affordable.

Despite the increase in foreclosures, though, the latest statistics showed a steeper decline in delinquency, which fell 2.1%, the report said. Delinquent payments are often a sign of future foreclosures, so a drop in the former may signal that the latter will slide in the coming months.

 

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