By AP
DETROIT –
DETROIT (AP) - Thousands of Michigan residents who owe more on
their mortgages than their homes are worth are walking away from
their homes, and their mortgages.
A report by credit reporting and consulting firm Experian-Oliver
Wyman found that the number of Michigan residents who have engaged
in such strategic defaults more than tripled between 2005 and 2008
- from 5,100 to 17,250.
The Detroit Free Press reports that the trend of homeowners
walking away from their homes and their mortgages is being fueled
by the large number of underwater mortgages - or those where the
bank is owed more than what a sale might net a homeowner.
Michigan ranks fourth in the nation in underwater mortgages,
with 38.5 percent of homeowners - or nearly 533,000 - owing more on
their mortgages than the homes are worth.