Debt collectors going after people whose homes have been foreclosed

According to financial experts, some debt collectors have continued to go after debtors even after their homes have been foreclosed. In an article for the Detroit News, Brian O'Connor writes that because the value of property has dropped so rapidly in the past few years, many lenders are performing foreclosures in a way that allows them to pursue the balance of an unpaid home loan. "Now that many homes in the region are worth far less than their mortgages, lenders aren't bidding what's owed," O'Connor writes. "They enter bids for the current value of the home or, sometimes, even less. Under state law, the lenders can then pursue the homeowner for the shortfall between what was owed and what the lender got when the home was sold, plus legal fees and interest." According to one recent study by Forbes, Detroit is one of the most "miserable" cities in America. The magazine ranked the Motor City as the 15th most "miserable" city in the country in its top 20 list.