Lenders Look for Alternatives to Repossessing Homes

Lenders Look for Alternatives to Repossessing Homes

The AP (8/10, Veiga) reports, "The number of homes that received an initial notice of default - first step in the foreclosure process - was 6% higher in July than last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac said Thursday. Filings of initial default notices have increased on an annual basis three months in a row." Yet, recently, "banks have been dialing back home repossessions and increasingly letting borrowers sell homes in a short sale." That is because banks are able to recoup more from short sales than from foreclosures.