Minorities hit hardest by housing crisis (Reuters)
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – In May, Alvin Clavon received a foreclosure notice on the simple, Spanish-style house in South Los Angeles that he shares with his wife and three boys.
Clavon bought the place in 2003 with a fixed-rate loan. They painted the walls, fixed the yard and made friends with the neighbors, who let the Clavon boys pick their basil.
In 2005, he worked with a mortgage broker to refinance his home with another fixed-rate loan. But on the night before signing, the family was offered an interest-only, adjustable-rate mortgage.
Clavon, a 35-year-old executive assistant at a bank, said he felt stuck. The ball was rolling, he trusted his broker and so the next day, he signed the loan.
“Turned out to be the worst thing I could have done,” said Clavon, who like so many others in danger of losing their home to the U.S. housing crisis, is African American.
Minorities hit hardest by housing crisis (Reuters)
