Vol. 32, No. 2, 6. No Place Like Home.

• Author: By Danette R. Baldacci

Wyoming Bar Journal

2009.

Vol. 32, No. 2, 6.

No Place Like Home

Wyoming LawyerIssue: April, 2009No Place Like HomeBy Danette R. Baldacci EDITOR'S NOTE: The information contained in this article was accurate at the time of submission; however, details of the moratoriums and the Making Home Affordable plan are being released almost daily, so this information may have changed prior to the actual publication date.

A logical cause and effect of the recession has been a nationwide situation dubbed as the "foreclosure crisis in America." In 2008, the number of home foreclosures nationwide jumped 81%, which means that 2,330,483 homes were in some stage of foreclosure. Like numerous other national trends, Wyoming was behind the times. In 2008, foreclosures in Wyoming increased 60% from 2007. This places Wyoming 47th in the national foreclosure rankings and puts us in good company with our South Dakota and Montana neighbors at the bottom of the list. The direct relationship between the strong economy in Wyoming and the nominal amount of foreclosures is clear. While unemployment rates remain low and housing prices have experienced only minimal declines, Wyomingites continue to boast foreclosure averages per capita well below the national averages. Expect, however, that foreclosure numbers will increase proportionately with cuts in the energy and construction industries looming on the horizon.

Presently, the majority of foreclosures in Wyoming fall into three categories: those who have hit hard times and can no longer make their payments, those who own multiple homes where the homes are used for profit such as condos or flip homes, and those who have completely over-extended themselves by purchasing a house they could not afford.

The number of mortgagors who experience a life changing event varies little from year to year in a stable economy. The catalyst that makes them unable to pay looks different for each person and may include death, divorce, sickness, unemployment or a variety of other problems. Clearly, if the national unemployment trend reaches Wyoming, foreclosures in this category will increase, as unemployment is the number one cause of foreclosures nationwide. For now, jobs are holding steady, so these types of foreclosures are rising only slightly.

Foreclosures of homes owned by people who have multiple homes or...