In this Dec. 13, 2011 file photo, real estate agent Vonne Chowning, right, talks with client Brigido Cabrera at his home in North Las Vegas, Nev., as she handles the short sale of his home. Chowning, 68, along with her husband, Elmer, 70, run a real estate service and had hoped to slow down by now, but the housing crisis put an end to those plans. Faced with an unrelenting tide of foreclosures and bankruptcies, Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. North Las Vegas is among its hardest-hit cities, with the state threatening to take it over every few months. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File)ALEX VEIGA
LOS ANGELES (AP) – More U.S. homes started on the foreclosure path in July, as lenders tackled a backlog of mortgages gone unpaid even as they pulled back on home repossessions.
The number of homes that received an initial notice of default – the first step in the foreclosure process – increased 6 percent in July compared to the same month last year, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday.
Filings of initial default notices have increased on an annual basis for three months in a row.
The trend comes as banks work to make up for time lost last year as the mortgage-lending industry grappled with allegations that it had processed foreclosures without verifying documents.