The fixed periods of thousands of mortgages are about to end, and with
interest rates rising, customers' payments may rise dramatically.

Add in the rising price of gasoline and higher credit-card payments
and homeowners may find themselves in a bind, said Dennis Rosen, a
Tucson lawyer who deals in foreclosures and also holds a mortgage
broker's license.

"They now own a home and something goes wrong (like) their car breaks
down and there isn't five cents left in their budget," Rosen said.

"Most people live paycheck to paycheck, so when the price of their gas
went up, when the price of food goes up, what happens? They don't have
enough money to make all of their monthly payments. People then have
to make choices."


From The Associated Press, 6/5/06:
http://www.kpho.com/Global/story.asp?S=4986534&nav=23Ku

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) --

Experts are linking a cooling housing market and the maturity of
certain financing plans with a rise in foreclosures in Pima County.

Foreclosure proceedings initiated in Pima County by lenders reached
1,199 in the first three months of 2006.

That's a 27 percent increase over the 943 filings in the first quarter
of 2005, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a real estate data company
based in Irvine, Calif.

Statewide, the increase in foreclosure filings was 6 percent.

For the United States, the increase between the same periods was 59
percent.

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Harry