Foreclosures hit a record in 2009. This year could be worse.

Subject: txt mny -
A record 2.8 million US properties were served with foreclosure filings in 2009. This year, it could be even worse as a new wave of homeowners falls into delinquency.

Already, 1 in 45 homes in the US received at least one foreclosure filing last year; in troubled Nevada, it was 1 in 10, according to a report released Thursday by RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosed properties, based in Irvine, Calif.

The numbers "are bad, but in all likelihood they should have been worse," says Rick Sharga, senior vice president with RealtyTrac. "We've seen a lot of artificial slowing of foreclosure proceedings that are intended to help the homeowner. But realistically, such efforts are only putting off, and increasing the total cost of, the inevitable...

So while states, cities, and even banks are slowing the foreclosure process by looking for ways to keep overly indebted homeowners in their homes, the prospects that many will avoid foreclosure are not bright...

[I.e., as stated from the start, government meddling only prolongs true, beneficial market corrections.]

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