BY MIKE CETERA
Zip code 60505 on Aurora's East Side has landed a spot on a list of the top 500 foreclosure zip codes in the country. Twenty-five Illinois zip codes earned election to the dubious field. The other zip codes near the area to land a spot are 60120 in Elgin and 60586 in Plainfield.
The CNNMoney.com story notes 182 foreclosure filings in 60505 for the three months ending June 15. Among those filings were 13 bank repossessions and 42 auction notices.
Why is this zip code more hard hit than others? Demographic data shows the area is largely Hispanic, and the median home value at $142,964 is about $60,000 below the rest of Kane County.
Are residents here disproportionately targets of high-risk subprime loans that have become a big problem in the mortgage industry?
It could be a case of people being victims of high risk sub prime loans. It could also be people already pressed for money moving into an area that they knew they may or may not be able to afford before moving in. It could be personal problems...a family that could once afford to live there now have credit card debt, medical bill debt, etc. It could be a family looking to re-start home owning in a lower priced area after bad luck with their previous home owning expierence and it turns out they weren't ready to re-start yet. It could be any reason...
When gas prices go up, the cost of just about everything increases. So families have to scrape to buy food as well as pay more for transportation--leaving less money to cover the mortgage.
Is it any wonder that they voted down the referendum in District 131? You can't squeeze blood from a turnip!
If our wages went up at the same rate everything else did we might not have this problem!