Betty Rosa

By KIMBERLEY HAAS Foreclosure starts are up nationally and some industry leaders say that better financial literacy could help prevent homeowners from becoming distressed. Lenders started the foreclosure process on 22,575 properties last month. That’s up 11% from a year ago, according to the February 2024 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report by ATTOM. There were a total of 32,938 properties with foreclosure filings – default notices, scheduled auctions, or bank repossessions – according to the report, and lenders repossessed 3,397 properties through completed foreclosures last month. Donna Schmidt, managing director and owner of DLS Servicing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said in a recent interview with The Mortgage Note that the people most likely to be foreclosed on this year are people…