One common reason why Americans are going off the grid is home foreclosure or short sale. Left without a roof over their heads, some choose to spend their last cash on a patch of land and the materials to build a cabin.
But that may change as JP Morgan Chase, described in news reports as one of America’s leading banks says it will freeze foreclosures in 23 States because of dishonest paperwork, a move that Wall Street analysts said will pressure the rest of the industry to follow suit.
JP Morgan is not the biggest bank which has been routinely lying about the paperwork needed to win a court foreclosure order. The problem is that when millions of mortgages were sliced sliced into bonds during the housing bubble, the banks lost track of which company actually owned what mortgage.
JP Morgan Chase’s decision will immediately affect 56,000 households, with more to follow. And hundreds of thousands more will be hoping their own mortgage holder follows their lead and freezes its own repossession program. But the reprieve will only be temporary.
The Sharks will continue to circle. When they have cleaned up their act – they will pounce.