This year
You know the old joke: what's the definition of a Republican? Answer: a Democrat who's been mugged.
Well, this year, I think the new definition of a Democrat is a Republican who's lost his/her home. From the NY Times today:
UNTIL now, Manhattan has largely been spared from the foreclosure crisis that has spread across the country, and into the surrounding region and boroughs.
But in recent months, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers and financial counselors have noticed that more apartment owners in Manhattan are missing payments, putting their apartments up for sale to avoid losing them to foreclosure and seeking advice about keeping up with payments.
Court filings show that some of these apartment owners have well-paying jobs as lawyers, professors and bankers. Their Facebook pages feature them at parties with friends, and their LinkedIn bios list prestigious careers and educational credentials. And they live at tony addresses like the Atelier at 635 West 42nd Street, the Ansonia at 2109 Broadway, Worldwide Plaza at 350 West 50th Street and the Philippe Starck building at 15 Broad Street.
The number of Manhattan homeowners whose names have appeared in court filings for missing three or more mortgage payments - the first step in the foreclosure process - rose by 78 percent in July from the corresponding month a year earlier, according to data tracked by the research firm PropertyShark.com. In raw numbers, foreclosure filings jumped to 93 in July 2008 from 52 in July 2007.
These figures do not include co-ops, which make up a majority of the for-sale market in Manhattan. Since co-op owners buy shares of stock and a lease tied to a specific unit in their building and do not hold title to their individual apartments, co-op foreclosures do not go through the same legal process that condominiums or single-family homes follow. Co-op foreclosures do not show up in the public record until the co-op goes to auction.
Jessica Davis, the president of Profiles Publications Inc., which tracks foreclosure filings, has seen a marked increase in Manhattan filings in the last two months - a jump that she saw in Queens and Brooklyn a year ago.
Still, the proportion of Manhattan apartment owners facing foreclosure is very small in relative terms. Only one in 50,000 Manhattan residences typically winds up at a foreclosure auction, according to PropertyShark.com. That compares with one in every 526 homes in Los Angeles or one in every 4,300 homes in Queens.
Well, this year, I think the new definition of a Democrat is a Republican who's lost his/her home. From the NY Times today:
UNTIL now, Manhattan has largely been spared from the foreclosure crisis that has spread across the country, and into the surrounding region and boroughs.
But in recent months, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers and financial counselors have noticed that more apartment owners in Manhattan are missing payments, putting their apartments up for sale to avoid losing them to foreclosure and seeking advice about keeping up with payments.
Court filings show that some of these apartment owners have well-paying jobs as lawyers, professors and bankers. Their Facebook pages feature them at parties with friends, and their LinkedIn bios list prestigious careers and educational credentials. And they live at tony addresses like the Atelier at 635 West 42nd Street, the Ansonia at 2109 Broadway, Worldwide Plaza at 350 West 50th Street and the Philippe Starck building at 15 Broad Street.
The number of Manhattan homeowners whose names have appeared in court filings for missing three or more mortgage payments - the first step in the foreclosure process - rose by 78 percent in July from the corresponding month a year earlier, according to data tracked by the research firm PropertyShark.com. In raw numbers, foreclosure filings jumped to 93 in July 2008 from 52 in July 2007.
These figures do not include co-ops, which make up a majority of the for-sale market in Manhattan. Since co-op owners buy shares of stock and a lease tied to a specific unit in their building and do not hold title to their individual apartments, co-op foreclosures do not go through the same legal process that condominiums or single-family homes follow. Co-op foreclosures do not show up in the public record until the co-op goes to auction.
Jessica Davis, the president of Profiles Publications Inc., which tracks foreclosure filings, has seen a marked increase in Manhattan filings in the last two months - a jump that she saw in Queens and Brooklyn a year ago.
Still, the proportion of Manhattan apartment owners facing foreclosure is very small in relative terms. Only one in 50,000 Manhattan residences typically winds up at a foreclosure auction, according to PropertyShark.com. That compares with one in every 526 homes in Los Angeles or one in every 4,300 homes in Queens.