new wave of foreclosures stands to hurt people who may have never taken out a mortgage: renters.

Something to keep in mind as you read this multifamily rental buildings are separate from standard commercial loans and fall into their own category

Washingtom Post Story

Janeia Sandiford, a 24-year-old GED student in New York, has two young children and a deteriorating apartment. When a leak over Sandiford's bathroom and kitchen caused the ceiling to flake off and then cave in, nobody came to fix it for a year, she said. She lacked heat most of last winter, and she has duct-taped her loose-fitting windows in place to cut down on drafts.

Fannie Mae, which had bought much of the debt from the original lender, entered foreclosure proceedings for Sandiford's building early this spring.

In Chicago's Cook County, 328 multifamily rental buildings were in foreclosure by the second quarter of this year, compared with 185 last year, according to a yet-unreleased study by the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University.

In Los Angeles, foreclosures for buildings with five or more units totaled 78 -- encompassing 1,344 units -- in the first three quarters of 2009, compared with 49 buildings and 432 units over the same period last year, and 13 buildings and 239 units in the same period of 2007, according to the city's housing department.

In New York, housing analysts estimate that the number of apartment units in buildings at risk of default because of upside-down loans -- in which the property is worth less than is owed on the loan -- could range from 50,000 to 100,000.

Don't think your safe because your a renter

When this crisis started my girlfriend and I were renting a house just down the street from where our new apartment is now. We had no clue that there were any problems at all until the mortgage company sent out a representative to lock the doors to the property. The landlord at the time had been in foreclosure proceedings for 4 months(While illegally collecting rent on a property he did not own.) The mortgage company gave us 1000 bucks to move out. I can imagine this has happened to thousands around the country as this crisis has deepened.

If you are renting a house, BE SURE TO CHECK IT'S STATUS, and be sure you're not paying rent to a person who does not own the property.

The way things are looking there will be a bunch of empty multi-family properties owned by the banks while millions will be homeless.

Another line.

I guess tossing people onto their ears into the street is just business.
Sad as it may sound, it's the truth.
Is it OK morally? Of course not.
Then again, "ethics" was never something that came into consideration when all those mortgages were made anyhow.

So as usual, the little guy is always left holding the bag.

Hadn't heard this one. Very interesting/disturbing.

There have been several economists saying that the worst is yet to come. I'd say we're pretty screwed...freefall hasn't started yet...but it seems like we're ever closer to the precipice.

the only option I can see... and it's really a horrible option...
Is for the federal government to take control of the mortgage industry...

between fanny and freddie they already control 2/3 of American mortgages. at least fanny has let defaulted mortgage holders rent their homes so they were not completely displaced. As it stands now were going to have to pump billions more into both these programs but without some compassionate oversight... we risk turning millions of families on the streets... when I say millions I mean some 2.5 million last year 3.5 million this year (not individuals, families) and who can say what 2010 will bring?

yes I hate the idea of even bigger government but what other choice is there?

reply to post by DaddyBare


The other choice would be to not allow these institutions to make these fraudulent loans in the first place. We can do this by enforcing existing fraud laws and re-establishing Glass–Steagall. This is common sense regulation. The fact is we don't need the government to take over anything. We do need them to enforce laws and contracts. And so long as the government itself is enabling these mortgage companies and individuals to commit fraud then it won't end, even if the government does take it over.

I'm renting right now...I've never owned a house...although that will change soon. I will be taking advantage of the first time home buyers tax credit and getting a house at a low price. I need a bigger place to raise a family as this apartment is very small. This will also enable me to pay the hospital bills that we have accrued and will also help me pay off my truck...which is killing me.

The ship is going down. Take what you can get now people....it's too late for them to fix it. The dollar will fall. Take whatever scraps you can....after all...the government has had no problem giving the banks trillions. Take what you can. What are they going to do? Tax us all? We don't have any money. Everyone is already in debt up to their eyeballs.

The stimulus package should have only whent to programs like the housing credit...in which people can get affordable housing at a low FIXED interest rate.

In the end though...it's not going to matter. Get what you can now and don't feel bad about it. We cannot stop what has already become an inevitability.

reply to post by DaddyBare


Here's a interesting news story just released and it's after the fact.
Home sales rise to highest level in 2.5 years

WASHINGTON - Home sales surged for the second month in a row in October, climbing to the highest level in 2 1/2 years as first-time buyers rushed to take advantage of an expiring tax credit.

Home sales nationwide are now up nearly 36 percent from their bottom in January, data Monday showed, though they are still 16 percent below the peak in autumn 2005. At the current sales pace, there is only a 7-month supply of homes on the market and in some areas there are bidding wars.

reply to post by SLAYER69


Well I too contributed to that October sales figure... but I bought a 6 acre 4200 sq ft 4 bd 2 bath mini farm for the staggering sum of $12,000....
not what any would call a turn around... this so called 7 month supply only takes into account what is currently on the market... it's thought there is almost a two and a half year supply of unsold homes....

once again the press is withholding all the facts