In Grand Rapids, the rates of foreclosures have increased dramatically over the past year. KentCounty is averaging about 100 foreclosures a week right now. The crisis is a result of a number of factors including lay-offs in the furniture and auto industry over the past several years as well as more buyers opting for adjustable rate mortgages which are adjusting upwards and increasing payment levels significantly.

As a real estate agent, I have negotiated foreclosure and pre-foreclosure sales for my clients. Each part of this process is gut-wrenching and often laden with anxiety and guilt. The fact is that unwanted, disruptive events can come suddenly into anyone's life; illness, a bad financial decision or investment, job loss, business failure, death or divorce can plunge anyone of us into a situational crisis that is unexpected. But, there are some disturbing patterns that are evident amidst all this chaos.

The Mask:

Traditionally, a mask is worn to cover and conceal one's true identity or activity. Perpetuators of crime hide behind it's anonymity to shield themselves from prosecution. The crisis in foreclosures in West Michigan is mask which veils a broader dimension of involvement beyond those whose homes are being forfeited. Perhaps, the nature of the injury could be succinctly stated as creating inventive methods and means to over-extend financing to individuals in a manner that puts them at severe risk for default.

Lending models are extremely accurate in their predictive ability to determine default rates. Adjustable rate mortgages have historically been viewed by the lending industry as a high risk alternative. But in the last couple of years adjustable rate mortgages and interest only loans have skyrocketed with double digit increases. The temptation to be over-extended/leveraged on debt has knocked on our door in different forms. Sometimes it has arrived as a letter, a call or fax describing an incredible "teaser" rate for a few months or years. In other instances, the delivery was via loan officers willing to finance anyone or anything for a fee. We have been regaled by TV commercials starring incredible testimonials of individuals who got out of a debt crisis by creating more debt!

Many segments of the industry and society have been co-conspirators; appraisers created inflated values to buttress shaky real estate transactions. Sometimes the misdeed was the action of a homeowner in concert with a buyer who created fake documents to substantiate a false transaction or an investor allegedly "flipping a property". But, the point is that somebody designed the letter, somebody made the call or TV commercial; the appraiser, loan officer, Realtor, homeowner & buyer where not nameless or faceless. Who is the somebody? The somebody is us. Everyone who chose to turn a blind eye or to participate, everyone who knew the truth and ignored it, everyone who was consumed with greed or who was just plain ignorant.

All of us have worn the mask. The crisis in the real estate industry is not unrelated to our collective choice as a society to be irresponsible in our spending habits and personal decisions. In fact, we no longer refer to ourselves as humans, we are now called CONSUMERS, a term which may reflect some unconscious desire to divorce ourselves from the implications of our decisions. The consequences have now returned home to roost...literally as all of us are being confronted by the prospect of potentially thousands of homes placed on the market because of a foreclosure proceeding.

The good thing about a mask is you don't have to wear it, it can be removed. An African proverb says: At anytime that you choose to wake up, it becomes morning for you. We can each choose to wake up and take individual responsibility and control for our financial lives. We can remove the mask and take a critical look at our personal spending habits. We can choose to walk away from transactions which are not financially wise or prudent. We can choose to say NO to acquiring additional credit and increasing our debt load.

The crisis has spurned some positive results. Housing affordability has never been better. Last year, ABC News featured Grand Rapids as one of the most affordable places to live in America! In the past 12 months, I have witnessed an urgent call to education amongst real estate professionals and mortgage lenders. There is more widespread understanding of what constitutes illegal activity and this light makes it more difficult for darkness to hide misdeeds. There are obviously many more lessons to be learned, and all of us will be learning them.

Copyright 2008 Audu Real Estate All Rights Reserved

More info on your stop foreclosure information search:

Get Free Foreclosure Advice and Free Refinance Quotes
Get your free on-line foreclosure refinance quote and free advice from foreclosure mitigation specialist in minutes. Compare real offers from top national subprime and hard money lenders... more...

Get Info On Macomb County Michigan Foreclosures Whether You're A Distressed Homeowner or an Investor
When it comes to preventing a foreclosure, individuals that are residing in Michigan have a few options. For example, foreclosures in Livonia Michigan and Macomb county Michigan foreclosures help to illustrate this point. This is because when looking at the statistics surrounding the rate of Macomb ... more...

Stop Your Michigan Home Foreclosures Dead In Their Tracks
The home foreclosures Michigan has to offer can be very beneficial for those who are looking to purchase homes at a very attractive price, all while helping the current owners to avoid Michigan real estate foreclosures. Michigan has unique state laws, including the regulations and options which ... more...

Foreclosures in South Florida In June 2007
First and second quarter of this year the number of foreclosures in South Florida was nearly the same but they have dropped this past month, with Miami-Dade County seeing the biggest drop-offs. There were 6,630 foreclosures in South Florida in the second quarter compared to 6,673 foreclosures in ... more...

Making Dallas Foreclosures Work For You
In November of 2006, according to the RealtyTrac? U.S. Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report, RealtyTrac? U.S. Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report the number Dallas foreclosures rose 67%, and the eight counties surrounding Dallas saw a new foreclosure for every two hundred and eighty-six ... more...