Foreclosures growing burden on low-income communities

Lisa Hammersly Munn, Binyamin Appelbaum and Ted Mellnik of The Charlotte Observer used county records in a three-part series that looks into the rapidly rising numbers of home foreclosres, and the effects on neighborhoods where failed home loans have concentrated since the advent of easy credit by government and lenders. "Home loan failures have more than quadrupled in Mecklenburg County, NC since 1999. More foreclosures are filed here, per person, than any other county in the state."The neighborhoods are often new subdivisions priced
for first-time buyers. But instead of building wealth through ownership, the
buyers often lost their homes and badly damage their credit. Neighbors who
pay their mortgages on time get hurt, too, because concentrated foreclosures
can depress home values. Also see how this story was investigated.