November 18, 2007 (LPAC)--Tens of thousands of renters in houses whose owners default on their mortgages have been evicted because of foreclosures -- without ever missing a rental payment -- and are scrambling to find a place to live. This "explosion" was triggered by speculators who overleveraged themselves, with the renters as "collateral damage," a lawyer at the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute told the New York Times.

One in eight foreclosures nationwide was for homes non-owner-occupied, according to a survey by the Mortgage Bankers Association, which acknowledges that this figure likely underestimates the problem. Several states with high foreclosure rates have a much greater percentage of defaults for homes not owner-occupied, showing how wild the real estate speculative frenzy was during the past few years.

In Nevada, where the foreclosure rate is one of the highest in the nation, 28% of mortgages in default were for homes not owner-occupied. Arizona and Florida, both near the top in foreclosures, are also well above the national average. In California, 22% of residential properties lost to foreclosure this year were not owner-occupied, according to ForeclosureRadar.com.