Homeowners in Berwyn, Illinois, Face Bleak Foreclosure Situation

BERWYN, IL, September 27, 2012 (Press-News.org) As Mary Ellen Podmolik reports for the Chicago Tribune, things aren't looking so hot with the rate of home foreclosure in Illinois. Compared to this time last year, foreclosure-related problems are significantly up - 42 percent up - making August 2012 the first time the state of Illinois has had the worst rate of foreclosures in the nation.

In all, nearly 18,000 Illinois homes were pasted with foreclosure notices in the month of August, with the overwhelming majority of those happening in Chicagoland.

Cook County saw nearly 5,000 homes get headed toward foreclosure as lenders initiated legal proceedings. And more than 4,000 additional Cook County homes were either up for auction or were repossessed.

What to Do If You Are a Berwyn Resident

Berwyn, Illinois, is a diverse, largely middle-class community located close to Chicago. Because the city of Berwyn is located within Cook County (the county where, according to Podmolik's Chicago Tribune report, 91 percent of foreclosure notices were mailed in August), it stands to reason that plenty of those notices went to Berwyn homeowners.

Nicknamed the "city of homes," Berwyn is full of well-built bungalows and Victorians, having gone through a significant construction boom that lasted through the 1940s, as the Chicagoland area expanded. Now many of those who live in these bungalows and Victorians find themselves facing imminent foreclosure proceedings or headed toward foreclosure because they are behind on mortgage payments.

If this describes you, here's what you can do:

- Modify your mortgage. This isn't an option in all cases, but through negotiating with your lender, you can restructure your mortgage loan to make it easier to pay.
- Short sale. You could negotiate to have your lender accept the purchase price of a short sale, calling it "even," so that you are not on the hook for any mortgage deficiency.
- Consider bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is a tool for Berwyn homeowners and consumers to use when mired in debt and facing home foreclosure. Bankruptcy can help stop foreclosure proceedings, eliminate a mortgage deficiency, or even save your home.

Podmolik quotes RealtyTrac's Daren Blomquist: "In judicial states such as Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and New York, [increased foreclosure activity] was a continuation of a trend we've been seeing for several months now."

Let's hope the trend doesn't continue in Illinois.

Source: Illinois posts highest foreclosure rate in U.S. in August

The Berwyn bankruptcy law firm of Ledford and Wu offers affordable and individualized debt relief solutions. Our attorneys have more than 50 years of collective experience in consumer bankruptcy, mortgage solutions and consumer rights law.

Website: http://www.bankruptcyinberwyn.com