More News

Foreclosures declining in Maryland?

… I was taken aback by Tuesday's Baltimore Sun front page headline, "Maryland Sees Drop in Loss of Homes."

The lead paragraph said, "In a sign that Maryland could be making strides toward helping struggling homeowners keep their houses, foreclosures fell almost 16 percent in the three month period that ended in September, compared with the second quarter, according to statistics released yesterday."

Hmmm? What could account for the drop in home foreclosures from 9,453 to 7,974 between this year's second and third quarters? Probably one of the following three things:

One, the recession is ending, the housing crisis is over and people's increased wages are sufficient to cover all those subprime and adjustable rate mortgage payments? Sorry, it's just the opposite. The recession is deepening, unemployment is climbing and consumer confidence is at historic lows.

No, there's not one shred of evidence that Maryland's economy is getting better. In fact, state officials are forecasting "a barrage of new foreclosures" because lenders have filed more than 40,000 notices of intent to foreclose since April. So why were foreclosures down 16 percent between July and September?

Two, maybe the state's new foreclosure relief laws are wildly successful rescuing thousands of homeowners from default? Nope, state officials concede that only a handful of foreclosures have been averted because so many distressed homeowners don't qualify or wait too long. So how come Maryland's national foreclosure ranking improved from 12th highest to 20th in the third quarter?

Three, perhaps the sudden foreclosure drop is because Maryland's new foreclosure law lengthened the time period that lenders must wait before they can foreclose from 15 days to 150 days? That's right, prior to this change it took just two weeks to foreclose, now it takes five months! In other words, Maryland foreclosures haven't dropped, they've been delayed. Thousands of new foreclosures, on hold during the new, expanded waiting period, will be hitting the fan in the coming weeks. So much for the 16 percent drop in foreclosures.

Prince George's County's love/hate complex

… Could someone please explain to me Prince George's County's seemingly contradictory views on transportation connections with Montgomery County?

Prince George's elected officials vehemently oppose the Intercounty Connector, the new superhighway linking Interstate 270 with Interstate 95, for reasons I don't understand. They say it will drain jobs from Prince George's but, as the rush hour patterns clearly indicate, thousands of Prince George's residents now commute to jobs in Montgomery. If the ICC makes their commute less torturous, how does that hurt the county?

Yes, making intercounty travel easier will probably lead to residential growth in Prince George's as workers seek more affordable housing, but is that bad? Or does the county want only commercial growth, not the more costly schools and services associated with residential growth?

OK, instead of being Montgomery's bedroom community, Prince George's wants to build its job base and keep its workers home. Then why are the same Prince George's elected officials so vehemently supportive of the Purple Line, the mass transit link between Bethesda and New Carrollton?

Won't the Purple Line "drain jobs from Prince George's" too? In terms of the county's long-term goals, how is the Purple Line any different from the ICC?

Yet Prince George's officials are growing downright nasty and playing the race card in support of the Purple Line. "… Race and class as represented by the split between the two counties is in play," says former county councilman Peter Shapiro. Katrina Dodro, New Carrolton city councilwoman, adds, "This is just a fight for them to keep people out, like they don't want to bring ‘that element' in. People in Prince George's want access to those jobs."

Now I'm thoroughly confused. When Montgomery residents fight the ICC because it disrupts their neighborhoods and destroys parkland it's OK. But when Montgomery residents fight the Purple Line for the same reasons, they're a bunch of racists?

Likewise how do the ICC and the Purple Line differ when it comes to Prince George's economic and land use policies? If "people in Prince George's want access to those (Montgomery) jobs" via the Purple Line, why isn't it the same via the ICC? I'm sure there's an obvious, easy answer so could someone please explain it to me?

Black flight

… Two weeks ago, during lunch at DC's Anacostia High School, a fight broke out in a second floor hallway. While police intervened, someone set a fire and, as the school's 1,100 students were being evacuated, more fights erupted between rival gangs. Five students were taken to hospitals — three with stab wounds.

This follows a recent stabbing at Ballou High School, assaults on three teachers at Hart Middle School and the arrest of 19 girls after a melee at Dunbar High School.

So don't wonder why the Obamas enrolled their daughters in an expensive, but safe, DC private school.

Blair Lee is CEO of the Lee Development Group in Silver Spring. His e-mail address is blair@leedg.com