The sudden rush of increased household expenses is one of the numerous pains faced by fire victims in Los Angeles County.
Consider a new report showing as many as 3,200 homeowners in fire-ravaged neighborhoods are struggling to make their mortgage payments. Remember, owners of mortgaged homes must make loan payments even if the housing is gone or unlivable.
To track one measure of the financial fallout of January’s firestorm, the ICE mortgage data company compared loan payment histories with maps of the fire-scarred communities. The Palisades and Eaton fires destroyed or damaged 12,000-plus structures.
In the Palisades fire area around Pacific Palisades, ICE found the number of homeowners who made timely mortgage payments plummeted 23.9% from December through February. Timely payments also declined 5.3% in areas near the fire zone.
In the Eaton fire around Altadena, timely mortgage payments fell 16.7% in the same period. Payments from property owners near that fire dropped by 1.5%.
These bill problems are a sharp contrast to a pattern of more borrowers making on-time mortgage payments. Nationwide, the pay-on-time crowd grew by 0.9% between February and December. Statewide, timely payments rose 0.2%.
Yet there is help available for fire victims struggling to keep current with a mortgage.
Home insurance policies typically provide fire victims with cash for living expenses that can be applied to loan payments. Mortgage companies, financial regulators and the state are also providing help for troubled borrowers.
Various mortgage relief efforts for fire victims, including forbearance offers and foreclosure moratoriums, have been announced. For example, the state has pushed forward a $125 million mortgage relief program for natural disaster victims.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com
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