Washington area hit hard by foreclosures in 2008

When compared with 2006 data, some of the numbers for local jurisdictions are staggering. Manassas reported 37 properties with foreclosure filings in 2006 and 1,424 in 2008 — a spike of nearly 4,000 percent. And though Montgomery County saw 4,651 foreclosure filings last year, a modest number considering its size, the filings spiked more than 3,000 percent from the 141 filings in 2006.

Marcia Griffin, president of Home-Free USA, a Maryland nonprofit that gives real estate advice related to mortgages and foreclosures, said more people from the area are seeking help — though not enough.

“Yes, we have seen an uptick [of people requesting help],” she said. “However, it is not in proportion to where it should be.”

She estimated that about 60 percent of people in default do not contact a lender or nonprofit mortage agency to seek help or advice.

“People are in shock,” she said. “They feel absolutely duped. These homeowners don’t fault the lender — they fault themselves.”

The sheer number of foreclosures in some precincts may be enough to shock residents as well. In Virginia, both Fairfax County and Prince William County saw more than 10,000 properties with foreclosure filings last year. In terms of foreclosure rates by state, Virginia ranked 16th and Maryland 18th, with rates of 1.52 and 1.41, respectively. The District had a foreclosure rate of 1.48.

“It is so debilitating,” Griffin said. “It is so emotionally impactful here. People are saying, ‘How did I get here? How could I have been so stupid?’”

She said federally mandated foreclosure prevention programs don’t help many people, because the credit requirements to participate are too strict. She added she hoped to make people more aware that there are help and counseling options available for free.

“If you can’t pay your mortgage, you don’t have your money saved, how are you going to even use the program?” she said.