City foreclosures nearly double

Southtown:

There was an explosion of failed mortgage loans in moderate-income and middle-class Chicago communities last year, helping drive new foreclosure filings to nearly 20,000, according to a report released Monday by the nonprofit National Training and Information Center.

The report also revealed that 75 percent of the mortgage loans were adjustable-rate mortgages or other high-risk loans.

New foreclosure filings in Chicago numbered 19,943 in 2008 - nearly double the 10,673 reported in 2006 - and 86 percent of the mortgages were made within the past three years.

Chicago reported its highest level of home foreclosures because of "reckless lending and unregulated financial practices," the report says. "The bulk of these loans were loans made to fail, and in 2008 they did."
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The foreclosures have left Chicago communities dotted with boarded-up homes that become havens for illegal activity and drive down property value, hurting other homeowners and making neighborhoods less attractive for investment, community representatives said.

Via CapFax morning shorts!