Serious Overdues Spike in Wake of Katrina

Almost 76,000 homeowners in Louisiana and Mississippi were seriously delinquent on their mortgages at the end of last year, four months after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.The MBA found that at the end of last year, 20.8% of home loans in Louisiana and 16.9% of those in Mississippi were delinquent. Serious delinquencies -- those more than 90 days past due -- have spiked, however, even as delinquencies of 30 days or less have fallen, the MBA said in a preview of its of national mortgage delinquency data, due to be released on March 16.