You know what…i don’t know much about foreclosures on a home; but, my family came closer to it than i want to think about this past winter. I know that foreclosure is happening to more and more people. I live in a state where the economy is all but paralyzed. People are loosing their jobs, left and right. The cost of living is skyrocketing. I know people who are working two jobs and still are struggling to survive. I also know people who have gone to donate blood and plasma just so that they had gas money to drive back and forth to work. This puts the quality of life into the depression era, as far as I am concerned. Foreclosure can happen to anyone because, right now, the economy stinks.
This past week, we have heard about a couple of high profile people, Evander Holyfield and Ed McMahon, who are possibly loosing their homes to foreclosure. One of them, Ed McMahon seems an unlikely candidate to loose his home to foreclosure…however, Ed explains his situation. He says that he wasn’t paying attention to how his money was managed by business people. He also says some personal difficulties such as divorce and a broken neck decreased his finances and his ability to work. He says that he worked hard all of his life. Alot of people are in the same situation…maybe they can’t even retire or pay for their child’s college because of their financial situation and the possible loss of their home.
Ed McMahon talks about the million, or so, people in the United States that are now facing foreclosure and says that he understands how people are working hard and due to their personal circumstances they could lose their homes. Many of them, Ed says, didn’t do anything wrong…maybe they lost their jobs or face medical, financial difficulties…but because of those situations…they are being forced out of their homes that they worked so hard to have. He says he would like to tell them to find the best help available and to not give up.
Those explanations are real life for alot of people. It has been recently estimated that 1percent of home mortgages have gone into foreclosure from January- March of this year alone; that is around 447,723 families. Divorce, job downsizing, health issues and the economy are putting more and more people in jeparody of loosing their homes. For most people, their home is one of their biggest assests or investments. How does this concern you? Let’s take a look…
The problem is…as the economy worsens…more people loose their homes and that means that more homes are on the market. Say you want to sell your home…how are you going to do that with all of the houses sitting empty on your street, in your neighborhood, or your town or state? And if you are lucky enough to find someone who wants YOUR house….will they give you what you have to have financially for it? Housing that is devalued further complicates the issue. Propety values plummet in areas where there are many foreclosures. When people owe more on their house then it is worth, because of the devaluing of it…they can’t sell it without taking a huge financial loss; not to mention coming up with the money to move somewhere else. The stress and the emotional toll it takes is devastating. It is a bit like a chain reaction…because then their credit is damaged…and finding another place to live is difficult, relationships take a beating in times of financial crisis too. Other people can be quite judgmental and often people feel ashamed of what they are going through. The changes that a family has to go through in a foreclosure has a far reaching impact on schools, jobs, relationships, health and emotional well-being. I heard a random number tossed about in a news report of between 7-8,000 people enter into foreclosure procedures a DAY! Those numbers are staggering…and devastating to our economy.
There are those who say…well, those people shouldn’t have tried to live outside of their means. That may be true in some circumstances; but, many of those in foreclosure had good paying jobs when they bought that home in good faith, they may have been in perfect health when they bought their home, the economy might have been healthier at the time of the home purchase. Life is full of changes; foreclosure can happen to anyone!
Write where you are 
Almost one year ago to the day I put my home in Tampa on the market to move to Charlotte. It was a positive move, getting married, to establish a new family by blending his and mine. It was the best change I ever made in my whole life….not a moment of regret. And yet here we are, house is still on the market for forty some thousand less than when we started. Credit is now bruised, there are bills that haven’t been paid, the stress can take a toll if you let it. Now we blend the current cost of gas, food and everything else into the mix……geeez…..
I won’t let my current financial drama affect the fact we still make the best change of our lives, but some days the stress of financial doom can really take a girl over! When will this end?
That is so true, it could happen to anyone. I try not to think about it too much and to trust that God will provide and so far he has.