USA Troops Battling Foreclosures

Posted on June 20, 2008
Filed Under Foreclosure Homes | 1 Comment

Military specialists are saying that reports are coming in of more USA troops having to battle foreclosures. They are struggling to keep the houses that are their homes while crossing swords with the other ‘enemy’. Lt. Col Anne Edgecomb says “the army as a whole has seen an increase in soldiers and families seeking assistance for mortgage foreclosures.” The legal branch offices were trying to advise the soldiers.

The Pentagon as well as the Department of Veterans Affairs are silent about tracking the number of military personnel facing foreclosures. Mortgage delinquency numbers are recorded by USAA, which is a financial company based in San Antonio. The company was reluctant about releasing the numbers of military family involved in this foreclosure drama. 1.2 million borrowers have been drawn into the foreclosure net across the country.

All the nine Veterans Affairs loan centers have reported increase in calls that have now become daily. The calls are from veterans and those on active service. It concerns house related financial problems. Spokesperson Steve Westerfield says that this is according to an informal survey conducted by departmental officials recently.

A non-profit credit-counseling agency, based in Houston, reported that calls from troops related to the foreclosure crisis doubled. Spokesperson Catherine Williams said that during the first quarter of the previous year of 2007 there had been 24 calls per month. But during the first three months of 2008 there had been 48 calls in each month.

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act the troops have only a limited protection from foreclosures. The lenders can go ahead with court proceedings even if the soldier is on the battlefield. This is what is happening as per federal housing statistics.

The legal officers of the army are geared up for an increase in calls related to foreclosures and mortgages this season. It is in summer that generally their assignments are changed and they are shifted from one base to another. Often they have to sell their houses. Renting GI’s could also well be hurt by the ongoing foreclosure crisis.

Sgt. Daniel Escamilla is one of the many army personnel embroiled in this mess. While on this third combat assignment in Iraq in 2007 he had to negotiate with the lender from the battlefield over disputed penalties. His monthly repayment had shot up from $967 to $3,000. Today he has to worry not only about staying alive but whether his family has been thrown out or not.

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