Staten Islander’s friend goes, “What do you mean, temporary mortgage,”
Staten Islander goes, “It’s temporary till they foreclose.”
The foreclosure rate on Staten Island—one of every 683 homes, or twice the national average—is the highest in the city. Because of unscrupulous brokers, residents of the boring borough are losing their homes. According to Legal Services of New York, a non-profit helping Staten Islanders fight back, the high foreclosure rate has two causes: the real estate frenzy over the past five years, coupled with the popular ARM mortgage option were the culprits. We have no idea what an ARM mortgage option is, but it sounds dangerous.
Anyway, according to the 2000 census, Staten Island’s population stands at 443,728, the city’s fastest growing borough with an estimated 31,286 moving there between 2000-2005, a period in which 5,869 families wanted to buy homes. In fact, 64% of Staten Island households are homes. The promise of a 1% interest rate enticed even the finickiest buyers to part with their life savings.
-- Feliks Gitsin