Foreclosures take toll

[UpInArms]

http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/business/7211303.htm

Home foreclosures in aviation-dependent Wichita have soared in the past two years as more families struggle to make ends meet in this hard-hit manufacturing community.

On average, 30 to 40 Wichita families each week are losing their homes at sheriff's auctions in the Sedgwick County Courthouse.

Extended unemployment benefits and family savings have run out for thousands of laid-off aircraft workers and others who still are having a hard time finding jobs two years after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks triggered huge layoffs in Wichita's four aircraft manufacturing plants.

The foreclosures come after years of access to easy mortgage money, driven by low interest rates and increased competition. Lenders were compelled to offer low or no down payments, lower income qualifications and second mortgages -- often at more than home value.

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