Foreclosure Backlogs Could Hurt Columbia SC Home Buyers

Backlogs in foreclosure processing are causing delays in home-price improvement and could wind up affecting the cost of a mortgage, thereby hurting Columbia SC home buyers wanting to get a mortgage.

As unpleasant as it is for everyone involved, when a borrower can’t — or decides not to — make payments, the more quickly you can move the property back into the inventory and get a new homeowner in it, the better it is for the community.

How the Slow Process Affects Columbia SC Home Buyers

Even if you’re not in foreclosure, if you live where processing times are long, that could eventually end up affecting you when you’re in the market for a new mortgage.

If you’re in a home not making payments for a long time, your taxes, insurance and interest payments may be building up. Suddenly, you owe $100,000 more than you owed in the first place, and you would likely have a hard time becoming current.

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are considering state-to-state pricing on mortgages because of long processing times. In states where there are long turnaround times, Freddie and Fannie would calculate the cost of foreclosing on properties and how long it would take. The costs could be built into the mortgage rate you’d get in those states.

High foreclosure inventory volume also affects home prices. Prices are rising faster in places where the foreclosure process isn’t so delayed.

Nationwide, the average time for homes to spend in the foreclosure process is 382 days. That may not seem so long, but it’s actually an extended stretch compared with the average of 336 days in the third quarter of last year — and only 140 days in the third quarter of 2007.

Columbia SC home buyers need not be discouraged. There are still lenders who are ready to focus on your mortgage application, and prices may never be this low again. Contact us today to schedule a no-obligation consultation on the current real estate market in the Columbia SC area.