Looks like there’s going to be a little more elbow room while applying that SPF 1,000 sunscreen on the beach this year. The foreclosure epidemic that’s been terrorizing the rest of the country has finally spread to the Hamptons. According to the Post, in the first three months of this year, banks launched preliminary foreclosure actions against a record 120 borrowers in East Hampton and Southampton. Twenty percent of those “delinquent borrowers” (which sounds wonderfully gangster, by the way) live in homes that are worth more than $1 million. The group is mostly made up of finance types and lawyers who overextended themselves on second homes and investment properties.
Corcoran broker Susan Breitenbach says she’s been getting calls from Bear Stearns employees desperate to shed their East End homes after the company’s recent collapse. One East End broker said the area was bracing for fallout from impending Wall Street layoffs. “That wave hasn’t even hit yet,” he said. Before you start feeling too bad for the second-home-less, remember that they do have a whole other residence to retreat to where they can hide in shame. In the meantime, we have a spot open on our 40-person Fire Island share, if you’re interested. And if you’re a top. —Noelle Hancock
Life’s A Beach [NYP]
