Nevada tops preforeclosure list

Heading a ranking of this nature reflects accurately what happened here during the real estate boom days a few years ago. It was then when many homeowners and professional and weekend investors got carried away in the charged atmosphere of ever-rising home prices and failed to hold back in time when the market was about to plunge over the edge. Call it bad timing, poor judgment or greed, it doesn’t matter much which, but it’s still hurting equally bad those who were caught in its ugly repercussions.

On the per capita basis Nevada leads the national preforeclosure list with a rate of 4.05, followed by Florida at 2.86, Arizona at 2.05 and Colorado at 2.04, according to Foreclosures.com. These figures alone don’t tell much, except that who has the most, who is second and so on.

But when the data for Nevada is expanded to include the 30,276 preforeclosure filings through October and that amounts to a 106% hike from last year, now the picture becomes quickly much clearer, and more problematic. The situation has been steadily worsening over the last twelve months is the cold truth.

Clark County, home of Las Vegas, is in second place in per capita preforeclosures among counties nationwide, but curiously its numbers for the last few months are quite fluid. In August there were 3,590 filings, then a nice drop to 2,420 in September and an increase in October to 3,794. The see-saw action could signal that the curve is trying to break the upward movement and perhaps soon start drifting steadily lower.

It’s important to remember that these statistics are for preforeclosures, unlike the standard foreclosure when the bank takes possession of a home. Many homeowners will come up with a remedy to their dire situation before they have to turn in the keys. As urged by the Fed and other Washington agencies, lenders are now more willing than ever to do workouts to help borrowers keep their houses. In areas where prices have remained stable or are rising a refinance is an option. Some will work a second job for a while to bring in extra funds for mortgage payments. There are other creative ways.