REFINANCING OF HOMES BRINGS INCREASE IN FORECLOSURES
January 13, 2005
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Refinancing in America skyrocketed 35 percent from 1993 to 2001, but from 2000 to 2003, foreclosures also climbed 45 percent. Many economists suggest that with volatile real estate and money markets, pinning all of your financial future on your house isn’t much different than taking a spin at the local casino.
“There are people in this world who want to take that kind of gamble, but that’s not what most Americans want to do with the place they live,” says Warren.
And the high stakes don’t stop with loans. A recent study by October Research shows 55 percent of appraisers say they’ve felt ‘uncomfortably pressured’ to overstate property values, and 46 percent of those say they were asked to inflate the value by 11 to 30 percent.
