Stop Bank Foreclosures Tips

Where U.S. Homeowners Are Losing Value Fastest

Homeowners with Citigroup loans in foreclosure-rich Virginia Beach, Va., and Orlando, Fla., are in luck. The mortgage giant announced today that it will impose a moratorium on most foreclosures and modify $20 billion in mortgages to enable homeowners who are not behind on their loans, but in danger of falling behind, to avoid foreclosure.

Those that don’t fall under the plan? They’re in hot water. Well, underwater.

Virginia Beach homeowners who bought homes this year possess a paltry 5.2% of home equity, and 34.5% owe more on their property than it’s worth, according to Zillow.com, a real estate research group. That’s the worst rate in the country. Even in Orlando and Miami, two cities hammered by bad loans and home-equity dips, only 30% and 29% of homeowners are underwater, respectively. It’s a similar story in El Centro, Calif., Bakersfield, Calif., and Cumberland, Md.

What’s certain to follow? Foreclosures.