Boston: Foreclosures up 35 percent this year, exotic loans seen to blame

So sad - mortgage bankers, realtors and appraisers conspiring (to make their commission) to get sucker homebuyers (who have themselves to blame) to do no-down, no-doc, interest-only, blah blah blah loans to buy that $800,000 condo on their $80,000 income, and then guess what? They can't make the payments and foreclose.

Just the start of this wave I'm sure... Thanks Katy for the article

Home mortgage foreclosure filings are on the rise in gritty cities and leafy suburbs, according to a new report showing a 35 percent increase statewide through October.

Filings in suburban Reading more than tripled and there's been a 113 percent increase in Lawrence compared with the same period last year, according to Land Court filings tracked by Framingham-based ForeclosuresMass.

Adjustable-rate and interest-only loans, which are riskier than traditional fixed-rate loans, are partly to blame. They've become popular because they cost less up front, but they require higher payments typically after a year or two.

"A lot of people don't realize what they're getting themselves into," said Jim Wilde, executive director of the Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership, which administers homebuying classes to residents of Lowell, Lawrence and the surrounding towns.

Interest-only loans, in which homeowners don't pay down the principle right away, are "gimmicks in order to qualify (homebuyers) for the first six months or year," Wilde said. "When the principle payments kick in, they're behind the 8-ball."