Foreclosure Crisis in South Carolina

People in South Carolina are not receiving many help from the local government in saving their homes falling prey to foreclosures. Statistics show a drastic increase in South Carolina foreclosure homes over a period. The number of foreclosure homes in South Carolina last month was 1063. It means that there was a foreclosure home in 1,859 households in the state, as reported by RealtyTrac whose business is selling data to investors and mortgage lenders. The June default rate in South Carolina was 168 per cent higher than same month last year. One of the highest foreclosure rates in South Carolina is shown by Lexington County with one out of every 468 homeowner facing a default. This is three times the rate when in comparison to June 2007.

Government officers and industry leaders have taken collective decisions to assist the increasing problem of foreclosure homes in South Carolina. A housing relief bill was voted 63-5 by Senate authorizing Federal Housing Authority to insure 300 billion worth of mortgages. The initiative is basically taken to help people save their households from turning into foreclosed homes. Community welfare organizations also play a role in this scheme in which they identify the homeowners who face a danger of foreclosure and then negotiate with the lender to purchase the loan. Some of the amount is written of by the lenders and the homes are being saved from being foreclosed. The homeowners thus become renters in such homes. The rent paid to the community organizations is negligible and is so designed depending on the financial stability of the family.

Head of the South Carolina Apple seed Legal Justice center in Columbia, Sue Berkowitz feels that the increasing problem of Foreclosure homes in South Carolina though not severe, is consistent. Berkowitz and other consumer advocates said that South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster was unable to prosecute the predatory lenders who had been cheating on homeowners. Attorney General’s spokesperson denied this and said that the state law has always protected the people from unfair practices.

There have been several cases of mortgage mal practices contributing to foreclosure homes in South Carolina. Attorney Generals in other states are known to encourage collaborations between lenders, banks and community organizations to assist people save their homes. To prevent this, strict systems needs to be in place in the county.

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