Defaulting Epidemic

Now this is a bit unnerving... You can look up current foreclosure procedures (for free) via RealtyTrac. This is intended as a tool for people who make money flipping foreclosed property. There are 818 houses listed as under a Notice of Default in my zip alone. I think that exceeds the annual housing turnover in my village through normal sales! If someone had asked me yesterday, I would have guessed that in most neighborhoods under 1% of property owners were involved in some sort of mortgage debt-related legal proceeding. And I would have been so, so wrong.