Foreclosure filings rose in 81 of 100 N.C. counties in the first half of 2008.

Over 50% of starter homes in Barrington were affected. ‘They've ruined it,' man says.

Mecklenburg County foreclosure activity jumped again last month.

A day after Beazer Homes promised to pay $50 million to victims of its predatory lending practices, analysts say the actual payout might not be as hefty – and that not everyone who deserves money will get it.

Southern Chase was a new kind of subdivision for Beazer, an experiment in selling low-cost homes to low-income families. The strategy was a financial success for Beazer. But the neighborhood fell apart.

Thousands of Americans who have generally kept up with their mortgages are still in danger of losing their homes because they made a fateful trade-off in this shaky economy – they let their homeowner association dues slide.

The number of foreclosures in Mecklenburg County has spiked since 2003. That's due largely to increasing foreclosures in neighborhoods of new starter homes, shown on the map in red.