While lots of criticism from some TV commentators has been heaped on lower-income homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure, it’s now the rich who are defaulting more frequently on their mortgage loans.
The New York Times reports today that more than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars are seriously delinquent, according to data compiled for The New York Times by the real estate analytics firm CoreLogic.
In contrast, one in 12 mortgages below the million-dollar mark is delinquent.
The NYT reports that it appears many of the well-to-do are purposely dumping their financially draining properties, including second homes and investment properties, as they would any sour investment.
Low- and moderate-income homeowners have generally resisted foreclosure as long as possible, continuing to struggle to pay high mortgage costs supporting debt that is often far in excess of their current home’s value.
“The rich are different: they are more ruthless,” said Sam Khater, CoreLogic’s senior economist.
This surely doesn’t surprise me for the wealthy has been working the system for many years. In the low-icome housing we have had to suffer the mocking from those that have no earthly idea what it’s like for so many of us that are & live in low-income housing! The wealthy that own and operate these projects surely do think of the effects of the present day economy, they only think about their back pockets but their units/housing are full of low-income due to the economy! The wealthy housing owners have lived above their means with the low-income paying their way for years, maybe now they’re getting a taste of reality!!!!