Landlords Are Reducing Rents Due to Foreclosure Crisis

ForeclosuresMass President and co-founder, Jeremy Shapiro Last year in El Paso County, located in Connecticut, 3,500 foreclosures were filed, breaking a 19-year-old record. Foreclosures in the county for the first two months of 2008 have exceeded the annual total for several years in the 1990's, putting the county on pace to surpass the 3,000 mark this year. Many are debating whether or not foreclosures are having an effect on the market. Some are saying that lenders who are selling their properties are not effecting the real estate market while others say that lenders are selling properties for well below market price, dragging down the value of homes around them. Nine Ohio mortgage lenders who hold about 55 percent of Ohio's sub-prime home loans agreed to abide by policies designed to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. The agreement calls on lenders to make modifications to existing loan agreements in cases where borrowers are no longer able to make payments. The lenders also agreed make "good faith attempts" to contact defaulting borrowers as soon as possible. Each company came to separate agreements with the state based on its business models and practices. In Barstow, California increased foreclosures and a declining housing market has caused some landlords to reduce their rents and leave some properties vacant. Property owners are seeing less demand, something that many think has to do with more soldiers being deployed and military contractors hiring fewer workers at the local bases. It has been unusually tough to rent three and four bedroom homes. Homes that were renting for $1,400 are now renting for $1,100.

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