South Jersey Troubles

More trouble hitting South Jersey. Today there is an article in the Bridgeton News about South Jersey mortgage payments that are in trouble. The article focuses on the rising foreclosure rates in Cumberland County and what to do when one is in trouble.

Housing foreclosure rates are rising quickly throughout Cumberland County, with rates in Bridgeton, Millville and Vineland already surpassing the national average, according to representatives at the Tri-County Community Action Agency and Affordable Homes of Millville Ecumenical (AHOME).

... According to Turner, more than 168 Millville homes are currently in pre-foreclosure -- in which the residents have missed at least one payment. Sixty-six have already been taken by banks and 14 have gone up for auction.

In Bridgeton, 114 homes are in pre-foreclosure, with 71 taken by banks and 10 sold in auctions.

And more than 230 homes in Vineland are in pre-foreclosure, with already 84 picked up by banks and 20 sold in auctions.

"We expect these numbers to only increase," added [AHOME Executive Director Donna] Turner.

These south Jersey numbers are alarming. However, in a post earlier this month - several numbers illustrated that the state overall saw a slight decrease in foreclosures for the month of March.

RealtyTrac, one of the largest online providers of foreclosure listings in the country, places the foreclosure rate in Bridgeton at more than one in every 1,200 homes, using United States Census numbers. The national average is about one in every 5,000 homes.

In Millville, between one in 300 to one in 600 homes have fallen to foreclosure. It is the same story in many parts of Vineland, especially center city, its most affected area. East Vineland does slightly better than the rest of the city, roughly mimicking Bridgeton's numbers.

Elsewhere in New Jersey, residents are fairing about the same or worse, with only Middlesex and Hunterdon counties remaining largely untouched by this now national trend, with an average of one in 2,500 homes foreclosed there.

This is hard to understand - but is the author stating that even in the stronger counties of Middlesex and Hunterdon - there are still 2 times the national average given in this article.

These numbers seem to contradict some of the numbers that came out earlier this month. For instance according to data given in the The Record and the USA Today - the national foreclosure rate is 1 in 538, not 1 in 5,000. This would indicate the Bridgeton numbers as much better than the national average - not worse. Millville and Vineland would appear to be a bit worse than the national average, but nothing extremely alarming. While this is not great news, when compared with the Record's stats the Cumberland Country are not as alarming. Now Nevada's foreclosure rate of 1 in 139 is alarming! And anything closes to that would be very alarming.

... "The economy itself is taking a toll -- the loss of a job means less income to support a home. People are realizing its a national problem and are coming in for help."

This is more of the downward spiral. Housing prices falling, less spending, more job losses, and the downward cycle justs picks up speed.

... Turner said there are two main ways AHOME can help, by providing assistance in rearranging home owners' finances and negotiating debt forgiveness and term changes with lenders. The second -- described as a last resort -- includes selling assets and returning the house's title.

For those that can afford their houses - renegotiating is a great strategy. Hopefully learning to live within ones means is also addressed during the counseling strategies. For those that will never be able to afford their property moving is probably the best choice.