Group helping homeowners avoid mortgage foreclosure
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August 1, 2007

The promise of a new refrigerator and home ownership with no down payment so charmed Shirley Maxwell of Jackson that she failed to realize her mortgage payment would increase as interest rates rose.
Mississippi ranks first nationally in delinquent mortgages as of March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

ACORN kicked off Tuesday a campaign to curb foreclosures, a problem it blames on the growth in subprime mortgages. Subprime mortgages are intended for people with limited or poor credit histories and carry higher interest rates, which make them more expensive.
Mississippi Banking Commissioner John Allison expects more foreclosures in Mississippi. He speculates foreclosures slowed after Katrina as the result of a proclamation Gov. Haley Barbour signed that provided relief against foreclosure proceedings for anyone in the six-county Gulf Coast region. That proclamation is to expire in October.

Some lenders have tightened criteria for mortgages and it is more of a buyer's market, he said.

Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070801/BIZ/708010356/1005

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