My Apprentice member Brandon Wilkins emailed me this

Ga.: Atlanta Sees Quickest Foreclosures

( February 1, 2005) -- Foreclosures in the metro Atlanta area more than doubled between 2000 and 2004, according to an analysis conducted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Georgia has one of the fastest foreclosure processes in the nation, allowing lenders to sell homes in as little as 37 days. Homeowners have little recourse, considering that the process is not monitored by the government or the courts.

Mortgage bankers insist that the process is efficient, holds down interest rates, and enables lenders to continue making high-risk loans. However, critics contend that homeowners could fetch higher prices for their property if an alternative to the monthly foreclosure auctions held in front of the local courthouse were implemented.

"To describe what happens on the courthouse steps as a circus is being polite," says Emory University law professor Frank Alexander.

According to the newspaper analysis, most of the foreclosures occur in predominately African American communities in south DeKalb, Clayton County, and downtown Atlanta. Presently, cash-strapped homeowners must file Chapter 13 bankruptcy in order to keep their homes, but most will be unable to live within the court-ordered budget and lose their homes anyway.

Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution (01/30/05); Teegardin, Carrie; Hardie, Ann;Judd, Alan