One of the most expensive areas to live in the United States is San Diego County. With the nice weather, beachfront property and sunny skies, many people dream of living here while few are ever able to achieve that dream. But for some San Diego County homeowners, that dream is becoming a nightmare.
About 10 percent of San Diego homeowners are using their mortgage money for other necessities, like gas and food. As a result, that 10 percent is at least two months late on their mortgage payments as of this month. But San Diego isn’t the only area hit by delinquent mortgages in California. In fact, the findings in San Diego County simply reflect the mortgage problem throughout the state and the nation as a whole. In the Golden State, about 11 percent of homeowners are currently behind on their mortgage payments. The recent housing bubble drove up prices on homes and there was a huge development boom. All of these factors combined created a problem of thousands of mortgage borrowers unable to pay their monthly payments and many housing developers had to simply stop their projects and walk away.
The numbers are based on a study conducted by TransUnion, a Chicago-based credit company that tracks home foreclosures, mortgage payments and more. The study also found that the average mortgage debt last year was nearly $380,000 in San Diego while the area’s median price for a home was about $325,000. Many San Diego homeowners are “upside down” in their mortgages, meaning that they owe more on their home than what it is worth. As a result, there are about 60,000 homes in danger of being foreclosed upon this year if mortgage payments are not brought up to date.
The Obama administration is working on helping homeowners who find themselves in this type of financial trouble. With the “Make Home Affordable” program, some people are getting the help they need to get out of this mortgage mess. With mortgage rates as low as they are, some homeowners are looking to refinance at the historically low mortgage rates to get their heads above water and get back on track with their payments. Homeowners who are upside down in their mortgages can also take advantage of the Home Affordable Refinance Program, which is specifically designed for people who cannot sell their house for the amount they owe on it.
How is this housing crisis affecting you and your family? Have you had to resort to extreme measures in order to put food on the table and keep up with your mortgage payments? Or are you sacrificing one for the other? If so, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Millions of Americans are finding themselves in the same situation.
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