With an economy in ruins, how many foreclosures do banks have to deal with nowadays? Enough that the process of dealing with homeowners in default is taking years to complete.
As a result, more and more Americans are learning that if mortgage payments are becoming too much of a burden on the old bank account, a new surefire way to curb the bills is to simply foreclose. The wave of foreclosures has swept so many homeowners into default that banks can’t deal with the droves of customers and the unfortunate filers for foreclosure are finding a positive side to the depressing ordeal.
Homeowners are quickly realizing that the foreclosure processes — in all of its complicated glory made seemingly impossible by red tape and written forms — could take upwards of two years’ time to go through. In the interim, Americans are foregoing mortgage payments and living scot free while they wait for the banks to catch up on their calling it quits.
Now it seems like the best way to buy a home is to buy your time with the banks.
With the average foreclosure taking 631 days to go through, homeowners are learning that they can stay sheltered for upwards of two years even with the banks aware. While waiting for the paperwork to go through, homeowners are learning that banks aren’t apt to approach them for missing payments if the foreclosure process is almost finalized either.
“It is happening and it’s happening more frequently,” Chantay Bridges, a senior real estate specialist with Clear Choice Realty & Associates, tells Business Insider. “They know they have a least a year (for the foreclosure to go through), at minimum, and people are taking advantage of it.”
With the US economy in shambles, living mortgage-free while planning ahead, even if for a few months, is one of the only breaks homeowners can get. In exchange often, the only sacrifice is a few points on a credit score.
