The American dream of owning a home has turned into somewhat of a nightmare. Between July and September, foreclosures across the nation were up 71%t compared to the same time last year.
San Diego has not escaped the market trends. Michael Downs lived in a home in Spring Valley before he ran into tough times. He thought he was working out a plan with his lender. But he came home one day to find a note posted on his front door.
"There it was, an eviction notice on the door saying your home had been foreclosed," said Downs.
Downs' story, unfortunately, is a familiar one. Thousands of homes in San Diego county have been foreclosed upon in the past year. So where are they happening the most? Here are the top three areas in the county between January and August, based on figures provided by MDA Data Quick.
Outside of the city of San Diego:
1. Chula Vista (1,765)
2. Escondido (1,386)
Local
3. El Cajon (1,166)
Within the city of San Diego:
1. Nestor (513)
2. Mira Mesa (302)
3. City Heights (284)
Gabe Del Rio is Vice President of Community Housing Works, a non-profit organization, which in April established the Foreclosure Prevention Center. The center provides counseling for homeowners in distress. Del Rio sees a troubling trend when analyzing foreclosure cases in San Diego.
"Lower income or lower income neighborhoods and high minority census tracts were particularly preyed upon by predatory lenders," said Del Rio.
