Archive for the ‘Foreclosed House’ Category

Taking into account the picture in Queens, foreclosure-housing woes seem to be related to greed rather than the race factor. Greed seems to have blinded many and nowhere more intensely than in Queens. This borough of New York has been worst hit by the raging foreclosure crisis.

In August 2008 foreclosures here increased by more than 45% from July 2008. But in Brooklyn, Staten Island and Brooklyn foreclosures went reverse gear and dropped by a generous 29%. Queens seems to be the first in the race to the bottom.

According to the findings of Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project the houses at risk from foreclosures are concentrated in South Jamaica, Woodhaven, Springfield Gardens and Cambria Heights of Queens borough. Parts of Corona are also badly affected. This has led to much talk among the politicians that the minorities have been special targets of the foreclosure crisis.

James Sanders (Democrat) who is a City Councilman commented, “This could be the single greatest loss of black wealth since the Great Depression; the greatest loss of Asian wealth since the Japanese internment.” Last year Rep. Gregory Meeks (Democrat) had spoken in the same tone commenting that many have been misguided and exploited. Thus according to the politicians it seems that those minorities whose incomes were low were hoodwinked into these loans beyond their capabilities. But it is not supported by harsh facts.

The Census Bureau survey reports that Queens had the least number of residents with income below the poverty line. Only Staten Island had a high percentage of low-income families. Then why are there more foreclosures in Queens? Only 15% were below the line and hence the argument about poverty does not stand the test. However, further investigations regarding the race factor should be made. The main aim is to stop the foreclosures from increasing.

While it is true there have been instances of predatory lending but the greed factor cannot be ignored. Everybody could not have been totally naïve and gullible. How can anyone be hoodwinked into buying a house without making a down payment when each strip of chewing gum in Queens as elsewhere has to be paid for? If the Brooklyn Bridge were offered for sale would there be takers? It is doubtful!

Twenty years ago the sub-prime mortgage did not exist. It was not a good idea. Who allowed it to enter the mainstream holds the key to the problem and its solution.

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Stagnant pools in abandoned foreclosed houses are posing problems for authorities in Arizona. The challenge is being met by releasing a particular type of fish known as minnows into the fetid pools to stop the spread of mosquito borne diseases like the dangerous West Nile.
The officials of the Health Department of Maricopa County that is inclusive of Phoenix Valley said that the best way of tackling the problem of foreclosed pools is to breed these mosquito fish that feasts on the larvae multiplying in the foreclosed house pools. The small silvery fish are being offered to the people of this dry desert county. There are thousands of swimming pools in this region that has a record breaking number of foreclosures to its credit.

John Townsend of the Vector Control of Maricopa County commented that when the pools become stagnant they turn into fetid swamps – ideal for breeding mosquitoes. He added, “It is an important public health issue to keep the mosquito population down … and the fish are very effective at that.” The West Nile Virus entered American from Africa during the 1990’s and now it endemic in Maricopa County. In cases of severe attack high fever breaks out accompanied by stupor, rigor and paralysis. It is a fatal disease.
From January to March this year 17,214 foreclosed houses had been put up for sale in Maricopa County. Since 2007 the increase has been three fold according to RealtyStore.com. On top of this many houses (number not known) were just abandoned by owners who wanted to skip debts. They left behind untreated pools to stagnate and rot.
Mosquito-fish breeding has been stepped up on a war footing. For this year the target is to breed 40,000 minnows. Tanks at Phoenix Zoo are being used so as to make the minnows available throughout the country. The minnows are a better alternative to chemicals. Chlorine is ineffective as the sun burns it off within few days. This requires repeat treatments. Daniel Anderson is a city official from Chandler. He set free a shining shoal of fish into a murky swamp that once was a clear pool and felt pleased that “once these fish are in the pool, we are not concerned about mosquitoes until someone either buys the house or the pool dries up.”
The snowballing effect of foreclosures has led bad loans to end up with the breeding of minnows!

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The foreclosure is a judicial process by which the lenders realize unpaid dues by seizing the mortgaged property. This has been going on ever since the history of borrowing and lending began in the history of mankind. But suddenly foreclosures have hit the headlines in America and consequently the rest of the world since the last two years because of an abnormal spurt in the number of foreclosures. The numbers of foreclosures are so great that these houses are not getting sold. Consequently the number of vacant houses is multiplying.

Vacant houses have been causing problems for the municipalities. These attract crime and disease. They also run the risk of fire breaking out. It is not just one or two but hundreds and thousands of vacant foreclosed houses that are causing headaches for the cash strapped municipalities. The local authorities have neither the manpower nor the funds to tackle the growing menace.

However, Hoffman Estates officials say that the village does not have to spend extra large amounts to contain the problem. Across the country municipalities are having to pay more to keep their areas safe and well maintained. Simultaneously the cities as well as the villages are losing on tax revenue when the houses lie vacant but unsold.

Hoffman Estates has been largely spared because the number of foreclosed units is relatively less according to Don Plass who is the director of Code Enforcement of the village. There are 12,000 houses in the village. Of these 30 houses are lying foreclosed and vacant. This number does not include those properties are undergoing the process of foreclosure. Plass said, “We really don’t have very many where we do have problems.”

It is the larger cities like Chicago that are facing urgent problems with ousted foreclosure victims squatting in front of the vacant houses. Hoffman Estate officials claim that crime rates have not increased and the need as yet has not risen to board up foreclosed houses. Recently there was only one incidence of vandalism. One house on Apple Street developed holes in the walls done most probably with a baseball bat. The problem is that of grass growing higher than the stipulated 10”. The banks are usually the owners of the repossessed vacant houses and they are responsible for the maintenance of the units. They can be ticketed for not playing their part. Hoffman village monitors vacant units online for purposes of maintenance.

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Foreclosures are compelling USA to move towards nationalization – a move that smacks of Marxism in a haven of capitalism. Is Marx laughing? More than a century and six decades ago he had said that socialism would take over the controls of even the most fanatically industrialized countries. Perhaps he was not far from the truth if we look at what is going on in the foreclosure-ridden America of today.

It is not well to openly talk about in the streets of Washington and New York because socialism continues to remain a dirty word. Except for few pockets along the east and west coasts, talking along these lines will invite derision and abuse.

But words cannot hide the truth of what is happening. The country is reeling under the foreclosure crisis that has affected not only the humble borrowers but also giant financial bodies. Last Tuesday (16th September) the government of USA in effect nationalized the American International Group (AIG) by purchasing 79% of its stock. A loan of $85 billion was given to AIG. The amount came from the pockets of the taxpayer. The giant government owned insurance body has to repay it in two years. A parallel can be drawn with what Fidel Castro did with private property about fifty years ago in Cuba.

Only a miracle can turn around the properties of AIG within two years to enable it to pay back this jumbo loan. Everybody knows that. The only way out is for AIG to sell its subsidiaries. But what if there are no buyers for it? In all probability there will not be. Then AIG will just become an appendage of the government.

Only a week ago the USA government nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by taking over their stock that was worth conservatively one billion dollars at that point of ‘nationalization’.

One can clearly notice the slow but sure descent into a controlled economy. USA is following the path laid down by the central states of Europe, which had a ‘goulash’ type of socialism in Hungary, Yugoslavia and Poland about ten to twenty years prior to the fall of communism.

Till the other day the leaders of America were shouting from the rooftops about free market for the world at large. Today foreclosure related housing crisis are making them sing another tune as they dribble with the return to the shareholders.

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Foreclosures are ushering in new business enterprises in these troubled times. For certain Michigan companies foreclosures have turned out to be a boon as they get employment to maintain the foreclosed units.

In Warren, Five Brothers Mortgage Co. offers maintenance services and they have seen their business shoot up three times in the last five years. They board windows, trim lawns and undertake repairs. The work can carry on for months and even years.

Joe Bada the proprietor of Five Brothers explains that their job “is protecting the mortgage company’s interest in the properties.” So they clean up the front yard, mow down the grass and ensure that there are no trespassers. Their task is to see that the property remains intact by undertaking minor repairs to prevent the house from becoming derelict.

With its hands full, Bada appointed RJS Property Management on a contract basis to inspect and shore up a foreclosed house in Warren. It is a modest sized ranch with two bedrooms. The house was vacant but unclean with junk dotted all over and cobwebs making patterns on the walls and ceilings. The yard was an overgrown mess. As part of their work they are changing the locks, checking the plumbing system and removing oils etc. After conclusion of the preliminary inspection and minor repairs a report has to be submitted to the banks.

Bada claims that per month they undertake 40,000 inspections of foreclosed houses approximately. His company has started to expand beyond Michigan to states with high foreclosure numbers like California and Nevada. Despite money rolling in from his business, Bada has a word of sympathy for those who had surrendered to foreclosure. He sighs that the times are really bad having affected all – rich and poor. Many are without job and cannot find new ones offering similar terms and conditions. Bada comments that since 1967 he has not seen so many vacant properties in Detroit. It was at that time he had started his business when many residents were leaving for the suburbs.

Today as he and his crew knock from one address to another they find houses in various conditions of disrepair. Some are void but clean. Others are not dirty but choc-a-bloc with personal stuff left behind. It is touching to come upon mementos, toys and family photographs. They also come upon former owners who have become squatters but reluctant to go until thrown out by the banks.

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To keep track of foreclosed houses Temecula has taken the novel step of starting a registry. It wants the lenders to lend a hand for the safety and cleanliness of the city. Councilperson Maryann Edwards admitted that although nothing can be done to put a stopper on foreclosures something could be done to update lists on empty foreclosed houses.

Edward and her team have been working for months to find out ways to address the problem of safety and health of the city arising from the innumerable foreclosed houses. Last week the city council passed an ordinance that aimed to lessen the negative results of the foreclosure crisis. She reiterated that although “no community is immune from economic distress” some cities are more affected than others. Here the role of the community comes into play to lessen the impact.

The ordinance has come in for criticism. It will require of the lenders who own the abandoned foreclosed houses to register these with the city authorities. This will make it easy for them to be contacted if and when maintenance problems arose. The lenders would be penalized if they failed in their responsibilities as owners of the units. Although violation may lead to imposition of penalties the underlying idea of the city fathers is to get cooperation from the lenders. During the foreclosure process the houses must be kept clean and safe. The registration will add teeth to the endeavours of the local authorities to keep the city shipshape. Registration will not entail any expenditure. But if life-threatening situations arise due to abandonment of houses strong legal action will be taken. For example it will be expected that all pools will have safety fences for protection of straying children.

Edwards reiterated that only in cases of extreme emergency would the authorities step in to drain the pool, for instance. There are liability issues at stake. The city does not want to intrude upon property rights. A fine line has to be drawn.

The neighbours of the foreclosed houses should be the first ones to report any out of the ordinary happenings. The next step would be to contact the code enforcement department of the city to check if it has been properly registered with the city authorities. If it has not been done then within 24 hours strong steps will be taken and a search will be made for the rightful owner.

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According to ForeclosureRadar that monitors daily foreclosure activity in California, the lenders repossessed property worth $10.4 billion in foreclosure auctions where the units could not be sold to third parties. But despite this figure there seems to be an increase in investor activities in these auctions.

Foreclosure is a judicial process by which the lender takes the permission of the court to take over the property under mortgage to realize unpaid dues. The first step in the operation is the issuing of a default notice to the borrowers. These default notices decreased by 2.5% in May. In all there were 43,011 new foreclosure postings. The daily average filings jumped by 2.4% however, counting to 2.009 being noted each day.

The Notice of Trustee Sale is served after 3 months from the default notice. By it the date, time and location of the foreclosure auction is set. Trustee sale notices increased by 15.6% in May, counting to 34,564 new ones.

Auction sales increased by 11.8% counting to 25,523 houses. Of these 24,831 did not receive any bid higher than the opening bid and thus became the property of the lender of REO. This new REO lot of properties came to be valued at more than $10 billion – thus creating a record.

Although 97% of the units came back to the lender there was an increase in sales to third parties by 34.6%. This scurry in buyers is viewed as a renewed interest of investors in the discounted properties. Once more the nest builders and investors are getting an opportunity to snap up an affordable deal.
Sean O’Toole the founder of ForeclosureRadar comments that it seems lenders have at last overcome their stubborn and unrealistic attitude about opening auction bids. Finally they seem to have woken up to the immensity of the problem and beginning to offer appropriate discounts. 86% of all the houses going into foreclosure auction were offered discounts amounting to 28% on an average. Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties witnessed the largest discounts in opening bids – about 31% to 37%. Riverside in southern California and San Bernardino saw houses being offered 27.5% and 25% discounts respectively.

There was considerable housing sale activity in Riverside and San Bernardino – witnessing an increase of 22% in May. This was the highest in recent years.

California has been one of the top rankers together with Florida, Arizona and Nevada in the national foreclosure race.

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Foreclosures spare none – not even the brave young, staking their lives for the country abroad. Military and financial aid bodies are commenting that there are an increasing number of troops complaining about their failure to keep pace with mortgages and are facing risk of losing their hearth and homes to foreclosures. US troops are battling the enemy abroad and foreclosures at home.

Citing statistics from legal office, Army spokesperson Lt. Co. Anne Edgecomb commented that it has been noticed in the army that more and more soldiers and their families are seeking assistance for battling foreclosures. It is unfortunate that neither the Pentagon nor the Veteran Affairs department are detailing the number of military families caught in the foreclosure net. USA financial services company based in San Antonio keeps figures of the delinquencies of army families but they refused to release these. A large number of army families are involved in the total of 1.2 million foreclosures that have slapped the entire nation.

Nine of Veteran Affairs regional centres have noted increase in help calls from the veterans as well as from those in active duty. These are the findings of an informal pole. Houston based Money Management International said that the numbers of help calls coming from the troops have doubled. Previously the calls were two dozen per month during the first quarter of 2007 but this has become four dozen this year.

As per the law some amount of protection is given to the troops from foreclosures – Service Members Civil Relief Act. But it is not comprehensive as the lenders, with orders from the court, can foreclosure even if the owner is on the battle field. As the foreclosure problems worsen the legal officers of the army are gearing themselves for a flood of calls this summer. This is the time when the soldiers usually change their work and shift from one base to another. Often they are compelled to sell their houses. The foreclosure tide may affect GIs who live in rented accommodation.

One victim is Staff Sgt. Daniel Escamilla posted in Iraq in 2007. He had to negotiate from the battlefield with the lender regarding questionable penalties for rise in floating interest rates. His monthly payments had swelled from $967 to over $3,000. Escamilla has to worry not only about surviving on the war front but also about the day to day existence of his family back at home.

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