More than 1,100 South Shore families have lost their
homes to foreclosure in the past 19 months. Hundreds more are waiting
to see if a $300 billion federal foreclosure bailout bill will save
their homes.
It’s an issue of dollars and cents that will cost taxpayers upward of $300 billion before it’s over.
But
to understand the true cost of nation’s foreclosure crisis, you have to
look into the eyes of a Weymouth mother who talks about the shame of
visiting a food pantry so her family can eat and still meet the monthly
mortgage payment.
You have to watch a 9-year-old Whitman girl try
to comfort her mother, who has tried, but probably failed to save the
family’s home.
And you have to be in the room when a Plymouth
woman gets the phone call that gives her a temporary reprieve only
minutes before foreclosure auctioneers were scheduled to sell her home.
This three-part series looks at the personal toll of the nation’s
foreclosure crisis and tells you how to avoid losing your home.
DAY 1:The Cowing Family nearly loses the home that has been in their family for four centuries, the possibility still looms for this family.
DAY 2:The D'Arigo Family of Whitman is devastated by the potential loss of their home.
DAY 3: The Rexroads of Plymouth cope with living in the shadow of foreclosure.
State leaves homeowners in the dark: Attorney general offers little help with questionable refinance offers
EDITORIAL: The Patriot Ledger's opinion about the foreclosure crisis.
FORECLOSURE HISTORY: Trace the history of the American dream of home ownership and how the mortgage system came to be.
FORECLOSURE FACTS:Find out who is at risk for foreclosure and what all the terms mean.
FORECLOSURE HELP: Get information and tips about how to save your home and view links to organizations that can offer support.
FEDERAL BAILOUT: What the federal foreclosure bailout bill that takes effect Oct. 1 will do
Q AND A: Deirdre Hall, the home ownership coordinator of the nonprofit Quincy Community Action Programs, answers questions about foreclosure.
FORECLOSURE AUCTIONEER: Braintree auctioneer Tom Weitbrecht gets out of the foreclosure business and remembers sad times.