About a month ago, we discussed the impact of filing for Chapter 7 on your home. There were a couple of tactics you could employ to help improve your situation as a homeowner, and as the calendar flipped to 2012, it looked like homeowners would have even more good news to celebrate. The economy seemed to be recovering.
While there are positives to be taken from recent economic events, there are still many Tennessee residents who struggle with the possibility of foreclosure and potential bankruptcy. In Memphis, Tennessee, 30% of properties were in negative equity and facing possible foreclosure towards the end of 2011. During the same timeframe, the negative equity rate for mortgaged properties across the nation hit a level not seen since 2009, a period considered as the low point of the recession.
“Due to the seasonal declines in home prices and slowing foreclosure pipeline which is depressing home prices, the negative equity share rose in late 2011,” said the chief economist of a company which collected the data. “The high level of negative equity and the inability to pay is the double trigger of default and the reason we have such a significant foreclosure pipeline.”
That last thought is a worrying one for Tennessee residents. The threat of bankruptcy only compounds the issues of foreclosure, and vice versa. Considering the complexity involved in these matters, one way to ensure you get the advice and support you need is by consulting an experienced bankruptcy attorney.
Tennessee isn’t the only state getting hit hard by foreclosure rates. Georgia residents also experienced high negative equity on properties in late 2011, with 33% of their properties considered “underwater.”
Source: Memphis Business Journal, “Foreclosure picture dims in latest mortgage equity data,” Cole Epley, Mar. 1, 2012
