In December 2008, Lansing resident Tyson Cowles was laid off from General Motors Corp. and has been unemployed ever since.
In an effort to get a job, Cowles returned to school to earn a degree, but with the current economy, he is unable to find a job that pays him well enough to keep up on his mortgage payments.
Cowles said he is keeping up with monthly payments is difficult and said he is in danger of losing his house to foreclosure.
“It’s a domino effect,” Cowles said. “Foreclosure wouldn’t be an issue if I could find a job — not just a job, but a well-paying job,”
Cowles was one of many concerned residents to voice opinions at a homeowners meeting Tuesday night at Hannah Center in East Lansing.
Hosted by Ingham County Register of Deeds Curtis Hertel Jr., the meeting discussed ways homeowners can avoid foreclosure and property fraud.
“The foreclosure crisis is touching all of us,” Hertel Jr. said.
When citizens lose their homes, it affects not only the homeowner but the community as well, he. said.
Less money is being attributed to schools, community programs and police safety because property values are going down, causing taxes to go down as well, he said.
“All of our tax bases are going down so less people are paying less taxes because foreclosures are happening,” he said.
Hertel Jr. discussed the dangerously increasing rate of foreclosures in the East Lansing area, and said the rate has tripled during the last few years.
To fight the increasing number of foreclosures in East Lansing, Hertel Jr. extended an invitation to all citizens to talk to financial advisors for free at his office.
Ingham County provides free financial counselors for homeowners nearing foreclosure. Hertel Jr. suggested residents check up on their deeds at the Register of Deeds’ office every six months.
Michigan’s unstable economy has caused serious problems to the city and community members struggling to make payments, said Carol Koenig, Ingham County Commissioner for District 9.
“I think (the foreclosure crisis) is tragic,” Koenig said. “It’s tragic in so many different ways.”
Although Cowles and many residents are having trouble keeping their homes, they will do whatever they can to stay in the place they live, Cowles said.
“I’ve been in my house for 15 years, and I’m still under water, foreclosure is part of the dominoes,” he said. “I want to keep my home.”
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