Merry Christmas... Mr. Grinch!

This marks the 12 month anniversary of Distressed and Taxed.  This blog has had over 12,000 page views this year including some of one of my first posts about Christmas and Freddie Mac, Well, its Christmas time again and the elves at Freddie and Fannie, who can't seem to foreclose that solo cup, have decided not foreclose on your home this Holiday Season.  What must be remembered though, is that just because the house isn't selling in foreclosure, does not mean that mechanical minds of our lending institutions are not working to seize your house.

One of my favorite Christmas movies is How the Grinch Stole Christmas with Jim Carrey.  My wife doesn't like it, but we have decided we don't have like the same things and its okay.  In the show, Grinch burns the Who's Christmas tree and then retires to his home in Mt. Crumpit while the Who's continue to celebrate.  He starts to concoct a devious plan to steal Christmas.  Well, the banks are Grinching away at your home and have started their way back down the mountain.

Though actual foreclosure sales were down in November as compared to last year, the number of filings for nonjudicial foreclosures was 56% over last year in Washington state. See this article in Yahoo!  Considering that last year was a record year for foreclosures and the postings for foreclosures starting in January are up more than half, means that 2012 will be a quite the ride for both the housing market and the homeowner's trapped in their underwater homes.

Unlike the Grinch, I would not expect the many bank institutions to have a change of heart and grow from two sizes too small.  The simple fact is that banks are heartless, anaerobic, constructs which neither feel nor care about your plight.  The only question that can be asked is the questions asked by the shareholders, which is, "did you make me any money today?"  Not foreclosing does not make money.  Grinch!

If you would like to see some heartwarming trends, the Foreclosure Fairness Act and the mediations it is producing are providing some surprising results.  Not as consistent as I would like, but surprising none the less.  So to avoid being grinched by the increased foreclosure activity hit us up at NicFisherLaw.com.