From the Daily News:Hurricane Sandy's helping turn Queens into foreclosure city.
The storm-slapped borough saw foreclosure notices spike to 566 in April - a whopping 1,186% increase compared with last April - as hobbled homeowners could not keep up with their mortgage payments, a new report from RealtyTrac shows.
"Sandy is a huge factor," Christie Peale, executive director of the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, which helps at-risk homeowners, told the Daily News.
"People do not have enough money to rebuild their homes, pay for temporary housing and keep up with their mortgage payments."
Peale said she has been seeing an uptick in preforeclosure notices in Howard Beach, Rosedale and Far Rockaway.
"Hundreds of homes are not saleable," said Emmett Laffey, CEO of real estate brokerage Laffey Fine Homes, which has offices in Queens.
Peale urged homeowners hurt by Sandy to seek out programs that might provide some relief.
"Call 311 to get connected to the Center for New York City Neighborhoods," she said. "We have housing counselors and lawyers who can help."
Other factors are adding to Queens' foreclosure woes. The borough was already the epicenter of the city's foreclosure crisis before Sandy hit.
Queens' courts had experienced an especially big backlog in foreclosures following the robo-signing scandal.
Now, in the wake of the national mortgage settlement that laid down guidelines for the foreclosure process, the wheels are turning again.
Neighborhoods hit hard by foreclosure notices in April included Rosedale, Flushing and St. Albans.
4 comments:
Something that needs to be asked.
Since the city regulates what can be built where and how it gets built, isn't it responsible for the homes being built there?
Seems like the city was happy to get property taxes, permit fees and inspection fees, but wants to skip out on responsibility for approving them.
Yawn. Who cares? Most of those homes should have never been built to begin with.
"Yawn. Who cares? "
It's called accountability. Something that seems to be very much lacking in government at all levels.
Would also call it justice. People paid good money for these homes. And when the city approved the building permits they should take on responsibility. Otherwise, why bother with the entire permit process.
"Otherwise, why bother with the entire permit process."
What asshole "logic". When you smash up your mook-mobile (car) should the State be responsible because they gave you a license?
Those beachfront and inland plots were legally buildable. the City would be sued if it tried to stop people building on them.
It too damn bad.
Maybe Rash Limbaugh is wrong and Global Warming IS real.
Stop whining, pick yourself up by your own bootstraps.......(and other right wing sayings).
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