Foreclosures Spiking In South Georgia

June 4th, 2008

Georgia lies to the south east of USA and today foreclosures are spiking at an alarming rate in South Georgia. It is the 9^th largest in the country and one of the fastest growing. Perhaps this fast pace of growth is leading to the rise in foreclosures. Georgia touches Florida in the south and perhaps this is a reason why the foreclosure virus is spreading to South Georgia.

The situation is grim in Dougherty County. Albany is its county city and largest city. There are 31 foreclosure listings in Dougherty that are ready to be auctioned in early June – Tuesday 3rd June 2008. On the first Tuesday each month these auctions take place in the courthouses in South Georgia. The numbers of foreclosures are steadily increasing.

Four of the units to be auctioned belong to the Friendship Baptist Church of Albany. The church is defaulting on a loan exceeding $215,000. Walter Kelly, a bankruptcy attorney said that 31 units in Dougherty alone would be up for auction. Perhaps the numbers are the same in Lee, Terrell and Worth. Previously the average number of foreclosures was four per month. This has now jumped to 30 per month. Kelly apprehends that the situation will get worse before improving. He does not see the weather clearing for another 12 months. It would calculate to 30 properties suffering the anvil of the auctioneer each month for another year.

However attorney Brad Folsom comments that although the numbers are increasing South Georgia is much better than other places. Southwest Georgia has been spared the intense foreclosure houses activity, taking place in Atlanta and other metro areas. He added that with the clients of the bank being in good shape the loans are strong. This is the reason for the relatively better foreclosure position in this part of USA.

Foreclosure increases point to cloudy economic weather and can have a negative impact on entire communities. Many of these are vacant houses that attract crime and disease from overgrown gardens and stagnant pools. With arson on the rise the banks and lenders suffer. It is depressing for society as a whole. As many as 27 USA corporations have registered loan defaults – so far in this year. The credit rating agencies say that 107 more are ready to join in. Defaults in corporations translate into unemployment and that leads to more foreclosure victims unable to keep up with mortgage payments without steady income.