By Brandi Watters
ANDERSON — Marvin Davis misses his lawn.
Davis and his wife often drive by his old home on 55th Street, shaking their heads at the sight of overgrown weeds consuming the place where they raised their children.
Five years ago, Davis lost his home to foreclosure.
Although Davis’ loss preceded the recent wave of foreclosures, he is but one of thousands across the nation who found themselves sinking into debt, missing mortgage payments and ultimately losing their homes.
On Monday, 1,055 Madison County homes were either in foreclosure or pre-foreclosure.
According to Realtytrac, a foreclosure tracking company, there were 4,909 foreclosure filings in Indiana in May. This equates to one foreclosure for every 561 homes.
On July 10, Realtytrac released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report, which indicated that foreclosures last June rose 53 percent from June 2007.
Overall, there were 252,363 active foreclosure filings last month.
“One in every 501 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during this month,” Realtytrac reported.
Predatory lending practices, adjustable rate mortgages and a lagging economic landscape have all been blamed for the increase in foreclosures.
For Davis, it was a combination of bad health and what he calls a “bad company.”
The 64-year-old bought the home nearly two decades ago, when times were good.
He had a job at Delco Remy making $26 an hour. With overtime, Davis said he could bring home up to $80,000 a year, he said.
Everything changed in 1999 when Davis had a heart attack. He retired early one year later.
“My wages were cut in half,” he said, explaining that while his income changed, his home payment did not.
As medical bills accumulated, Davis said he and his family left the house before a foreclosure could be completed.
“I just left. I couldn’t pay for it.”
Davis claimed he could no longer afford the home because General Motors continually cut benefits for employees, increasing the copays on Davis’ medications.
When the money ran out, so did Davis’ willingness to fight for the home. “It’s a damned shame because we liked our home.”
Davis blames the loss of his home on job outsourcing and a greedy corporation.
“I blame corporate greed and the government. Corporate greed is destroying this country.”
Davis blames the government because several property tax hikes led to the doubling and tripling of his tax bill, he said.
He blames General Motors for continually cutting his medical benefits and the amount of his pension checks.
“(GM) forgot about how they got their money. They built this whole country on the automobile industry. I told my wife years ago that once the auto industry failed, this country was in for it.”
Now, Davis and his wife live in a mobile home in Anderson, just blocks from their old house. Davis now relies on his children for financial help.
This, he said, is not a comfortable position for a proud, working father who was once able to provide for his family. “I raised my family. I never got a dime of help from anybody my entire life.”
The latest wave of foreclosures across the nation is not being blamed on corporations or tax bills.
Patty Kuhn, executive officer of the Anderson Madison County Association of Realtors, said bank practices are to blame. “There were many programs out there that allowed people to buy homes with no money with seller assistance and that’s come back to haunt us.”
According to Kuhn, standards for home loan qualification were lowered, allowing people to get their hands on a mortgage with little money or credit history. “They qualified because the requirements were less than they used to be.”
Multiple factors affect foreclosure rates, Kuhn said. “In Elwood, they’ve had tremendous job losses and that always affects foreclosures. Of course, there’s divorces where people can’t afford their homes.”
Kuhn said traditional home-lending methods included practices that ensured a homeowner’s ability to stay afloat in the face of unexpected cost.
Traditionally, homeowners would need to show reserve money, she said, in order to prove that if something happened to affect their income, they could continue making home payments.
“Are there enough reserves if you lose your job and you’re unemployed for six months?” Kuhn asked.
With over 1,000 homes in foreclosure status, Madison County is feeling the strain of the market, but Kuhn said things aren’t as bad as they seem.
“I don’t think Madison County is any worse than any other place in the country.”
Because Indiana did not have a housing bubble to burst, Kuhn said, things should remain stable. “We never had those large swings. We didn’t have a lot of adjusting to do.”
Despite growing fear that the bottom has fallen out on the home banking market, some banks have maintained regular practices. Pat Burch of Star Financial Bank said the bank did not engage in predatory lending practices, and has been able to keep up business as usual. “What you hear a lot is that banks are not doing second mortgages anymore or not doing this or that. Because we didn’t get involved in the risky products, we really are just par for the course. We’re still doing the same thing we did two years ago, five years ago, 10 years ago. Nothing’s really changed for us.”
Kuhn is confident that the market will rebound and said homes are being sold, despite doomsday scenarios in the news. “We’re still selling houses. It’s not like our market is dead, but it’s not like we would like it to be. It is difficult for the Realtors, but it’s cyclical. We go through these every so often, and they do come back around and it will again.”
Years after losing his home to foreclosure, Davis still visits his former lawn. “Every once in a while, we’ll go by and sit in the driveway and look around and talk about things. That’s where we raised our family. We’re sad about it, but when you’re narrowed down to the choice of buying your medication and living longer to watch your children grow up or keeping the house, you don’t have a choice.”
Nationwide foreclosures
1 in every 501 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in June.
Local impact
1 in every 561 Indiana homes were in an active foreclosure in May.
Number of Madison County homes in foreclosure July 18: 1,055
