Cash-Strapped Homeowners Can't Make Payments

ByABC News
December 6, 2006, 12:59 PM

Dec. 7, 2006 — -- In the next 24 hours, Dave Washburn has a decision to make about the dream home he and his wife built on a barrier island off the Florida coast: Deplete his retirement savings by nearly one-third, or face foreclosure.

To come current on his mortgage payments, Washburn will likely cash in about $18,000 from the $60,000 in his 401(k) account and pay a significant penalty for withdrawing that money early.

If he doesn't, the bank that holds the mortgage will start foreclosure proceedings.

It's a difficult decision to stomach.

"It's no easy job to boost yourself out of $18,000 in debt," said Washburn, 49. "But we built the house, and we want to live in it."

The Washburns fell behind on mortgage payments last summer after a series of unforeseen financial problems -- family emergencies that required extra money and the shutdown of the trucking company where Washburn earned $55,000 a year working as a manager.

He went nearly four months without a paycheck before the company went under.

Many cash-strapped American homeowners have had similar problems this year.

Nationwide, delinquent mortgage payments and foreclosures are far above the levels they were at a year ago.

More than 115,000 U.S. properties entered some stage of foreclosure during October, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks real estate foreclosures.

October's numbers represent a 3-percent increase from September and, more significantly, a 42-percent jump from October 2005.

For the year, more than 1 million properties have entered foreclosure, up 27 percent from last year.

Industry experts say ballooning interest rates, often the product of adjustable-rate and subprime mortgages, have left many budgets too tight to make payments.

Subprime mortgages, usually offered to borrowers like Washburn who are considered higher risk, carry much higher rates than traditional mortgages.

Washburn, who also owes about $40,000 in credit card debt, was told that refinancing with a subprime mortgage would push the interest rate to 10.25 percent, up from his current rate of 6.25 percent.

For Washburn, the subprime plan was a nonstarter.

"That would just about double my monthly mortgage payment. I don't have a degree in economics, but I can work a calculator," he said.