Christine Young based in Henderson is just one among the many boiling in the cauldron. Her property unit consisted of a 2,000 square feet four bed roomed house. About a year ago she had refinanced it under the impression that she was moving into a fixed mortgage scheme. But that was not so in reality. Within a year the ARM shot up beyond her means. It is $700 more with the due date of 1st September looming ahead. Christine squarely puts the blame on predatory lenders. They shrewdly trapped her to sign a mortgage that she had tried desperately to avoid. The smart ways of the mortgage agent made her gullible to his sales talk. At that time she thought him to be a nice honest fellow.

There are thousands of Christines across the length and breadth of the country ready to tell the same tale.
Nevada ranks first in the foreclosure race. The filings have gone up by 93% from what it was the previous year.

Last Friday President Bush detailed steps the federal government would take to help the besieged borrowers. He repeatedly assured that his focus was not to save the lenders and speculators who are also in the red. He emphasized that this operation will give Americans with a good credit past, but cannot bear the burden of recent rises, to refinance into FHA mortgages that are insured.

Pam has yet another story to tell. She had put her house on the market shelves many months previously. She was hoping to sell before the house foreclosed. In this way of direct selling she calculated on cutting down her losses. The initial asking price was $389,000 but now she has climbed down to $299,000. It meant her losing $90,000. Even then she would be lucky to sell it off right now without further loss.

The plans of President Bush will not help the Christines or the Pams because even if sanctioned it will not come fast enough to stop more heads from rolling.

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One of his passengers Neil Carey, kicked off a fund administered by Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center, helped Poku meet his debts, his survival expenses as well as legal costs for fighting the matter out. Poku had been evicted a year ago having failed to legally prove that the original mortgage had been paid off during the refinancing period because of documents and checks had been lost by the jumbo financial body involved in this deal.

Howard County based Congregation Concerned for the Homeless has been operating for the last 17 years. The state on its part has started off the Family Stabilization Program through the county government to help sufferers like Poku. Its scope of activity involves continued support, counseling on budgets,, use of credit, proper parenting and business advice.

The help programmes try to get the business going again. Poku is one of their ideal subjects. Foreclosure had given him a bad name and so it was not easy for him to find a rented home without help. But finally one was found that suited the work compulsions of his wife and himself. The group saw to the waiver of security fees.

Poku insists that the loan had been paid off but the Seattle based mortgage firm denies it. Poku found his house sold off within six weeks of his being issued a notice. As per Maryland law quick foreclosures are the norm and do not require lenders to prove that the borrower had been notified. Many Maryland officials are keen to change the law. Right now these resolutions will not help Poku who had migrated from Ghana and struggled to set up his small business. He had built up his taxi service from scratch after learning everything about repair and maintenance during off work period at night.

Poku’s lawyers failed in May to prove his point in the Court of Special Appeals. Right now two court actions are pending after the matter was again filed. His lawyers are demanding compensation and a share of the proceeds from the sale of the house.

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Five states of California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia bore the brunt of more than half the country’s foreclosure burden. In the middle are squeezed in Missouri (18th) and Kansas (32nd). In Missouri the ratio was 1:1,275 and in Kansas it was 1:2,782.The figures are inclusive of default, sale and bank repossession notices. Because of multiple mortgages some of the property units may have been counted more than once. But the tracking group has listed separately individual properties. During the first six months of the current year 573,397 properties showed foreclosure activity in some form or the other. It amounts to 58% rise from the first half of 2006 and 32% rise from the last six months of that year.

In July Nevada, Georgia and Michigan showed the highest numbers. California, Florida and Ohio were the states with the highest foreclosure numbers.

The sub-prime loans and ARM loans have been battering the mortgage market during the last few months. One by one delinquency is being reported and houses are being foreclosed. Falling real estate prices have added woe to misery with owners not being able to sell off units and pay off dues. Sub-prime loans had been given to those with shaky credit history. It started with interest-only repayments but when the grace period was over the cracks began to appear and widen.

But the story did not end there. From the housing credit category it infected the country’s savings and loans. Never had the situation been so bad in the past 14 years. USA Office of Thrift Supervision is nervous and edgy with $14.2 billion in repossessed assets and loans whose dues are more than 90 days old. In other words property is lying around idle with no cash flow coming in. To avoid further decline it is being advised that properties should be sold off quickly without thinking of profit and loss.

According to reliable sources foreclosures rose by 93% from July last year to July 2007 across USA. It went up by 9% from June. In July last year the number of foreclosures had been 92,845 but this year during the same month the number read 179,599. In June the foreclosure number was 164,644. The figures have been released by one of the oldest reliable online groups, keeping track of this specific situation. The national foreclosure rate is 1:693.
Five states of California, Florida, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia bore the brunt of more than half the country’s foreclosure burden. In the middle are squeezed in Missouri (18th) and Kansas (32nd). In Missouri the ratio was 1:1,275 and in Kansas it was 1:2,782.The figures are inclusive of default, sale and bank repossession notices. Because of multiple mortgages some of the property units may have been counted more than once. But the tracking group has listed separately individual properties. During the first six months of the current year 573,397 properties showed foreclosure activity in some form or the other. It amounts to 58% rise from the first half of 2006 and 32% rise from the last six months of that year.
In July Nevada, Georgia and Michigan showed the highest numbers. California, Florida and Ohio were the states with the highest foreclosure numbers.
The sub-prime loans and ARM loans have been battering the mortgage market during the last few months. One by one delinquency is being reported and houses are being foreclosed. Falling real estate prices have added woe to misery with owners not being able to sell off units and pay off dues. Sub-prime loans had been given to those with shaky credit history. It started with interest-only repayments but when the grace period was over the cracks began to appear and widen.
But the story did not end there. From the housing credit category it infected the country’s savings and loans. Never had the situation been so bad in the past 14 years. USA Office of Thrift Supervision is nervous and edgy with $14.2 billion in repossessed assets and loans whose dues are more than 90 days old. In other words property is lying around idle with no cash flow coming in. To avoid further decline it is being advised that properties should be sold off quickly without thinking of profit and loss.

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The apprehension is that things are going to get worse. 82 of this group of 100 consisting of the prime metro cities in USA are reporting a year-over-year escalation in the number of foreclosures. The numbers are taking everyone by surprise. Things were bad but nobody thought it was that bad. Kern County stood 8th in the first quarter of this year.

According to reliable figures the foreclosure pot continues to boil in California. Stockton, Sacramento and the combined Riverside and San Bernardino region having the dubious distinction of being including among the top 10 rankers. The tracking group makes use of records given out by the counties. The figures are inclusive of default notices, pending lists, sales by trustees and real estate owners. Stockton ranked first. Here one out of every 27 units came under the foreclosure cloud. Among the prime ten defaulters were Las Vegas, Detroit, Denver, Miami, Memphis, Tenn. and Cleveland. The least foreclosure activity was noticeable in Richmond and Va.

The foreclosure fall out is the result of many factors – mismanagement of sub-prime mortgages combined with general economic ill health of the country leading to unemployment. If the reasons are multifarious the results too are many pronged. With too many houses up for sale the real estate prices are plummeting. This is touching those units that are not directly under the foreclosure hammer. The mortgage industry has tightened its belt with the result that there are not enough buyers for houses. The banks are sitting with idle properties and empty coffers. This is sending alarm signals to brokers in Wall Street. The Wall Street sneeze is making international stock markets catch a cold. Closer home vacant houses are happy hunting grounds for vagrants and addicts leading to law and order problems. A new group of advisers have cropped up trying to help foreclosure victims. Politicians take this as an opportune moment to fish in troubled waters and make loud noises about cooling the heat and switching off the oven.

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The company comprises of human beings and not just robotic computers. This is the guiding force motivating the action of the company. May went on to add that his company is mainly concerned with government loans to people who can keep up the mortgage commitment but whose credit ratings may not meet the usual loan standards. Shore Mortgage has always been particular about not entering either the sub-prime or Alt-A loan areas if they are not satisfied with the proof of the income of the lenders. They take into consideration people who can show employment records of about two years and are able to make a down payment of 5% in ready cash. Then they overlook the aspect of the credit history being good or bad. If the clients lack traditional credit cards and previous history of repaying loans Shore takes into account their records relating to payment of bills and rent. That is why till date they have not had any problems about foreclosures.

Shore Mortgage advances about 4,000 loans annually and has been in this business since 1984. However the real estate fiasco has meant a slow down in the business of Shore Mortgage. It has under its umbrella 200 employees in six offices across Michigan. Ohio and Alabama too feature under its zone of operation.

Michigan had the distinction of ranking third in the mortgage delinquency rates, new and old foreclosures during the first quarter of this year according to figures released by Mortgage Bankers Association. The President of Michigan Mortgage Brokers Association Paya Leyrer opines that although sub-prime has been mainly blamed for the foreclosure there are other economic factors like unemployment. In Michigan a good number of people have lost their jobs. A lot of effort is being made to make the borrower aware about what taking a loan involves and how to avoid failure and register success.

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For the eighth time this year their predictions were revised. Each time the rate kept falling down and down. Home sales were to fall by 6.8% to$ 6.06 million in 2007. Since 2002 this was the lowest mark. Sale of new houses comprise of 15% of the real estate market. The prices of these will drop by 19% to $852,000 – this being an all time low dip in a decade.

Economist Lawrence Yun is hopeful however that trouble in the mortgage industry will affect the market only for a short period. But economist Michael Darda is of the view that an air of uncertainty looming large is causing further turbulence. It will take time for the stress and tension to abate.

The blame is being laid at the door of Wall Street firms for tying up mortgages with specific security clauses. This has led to many failing to keep to their commitments in the sub-prime market. The virus has spread from here to borrowers in the traditional loan zone. The flow of money has dried up to such an extent that American Home Mortgage Investment Corporation has had to seek protection from bankruptcy laws during this week.

Real estate agents are optimistic that during the last three months of 2007 the sale of houses will begin to pick up to $6.08 million per year. This will be a rise from the low count of $5.85 million during the third quarter of this year. Most of the forecasts are sunny about the near future with the lowest point being reached during the second quarter.

But expert Robert Shiller from Yale University is not that hopeful saying that realtors are basing their assumptions on conventional calculations. In all probabilities in this specific instance the uncertainties will continue for a much longer period – may be couple of years, leading to general economic regression.

According to figures released by the Mortgage Banker’s Association the applications to buy or re-finance a loan has jumped by 8.1% in a week. This meant a further anticipatory increase in credit and re-financing demand.

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It has a snowballing effect. Other sellers overprice their units and then are unable to dispose of them while some hasty buyers pay more than the current rate. The story does not end there. In an atmosphere of fraud the ordinary man pays more taxes calculated on a false basis.

The problem is so acute that a fraud task force has been formed offering seminars to acquaint all about the happenings. One Miami realtor, Brian Carter, recounts that after verbally agreeing to a price he was later asked to raise it in the MLS allowing the buyer to get back his money. He immediately backed out of the deal. But the offers have come to him again and again.

Another broker, Coldwell Banker of Coral Gables says that half of the realtors present at a meeting admitted that a chunk of the money goes back to the buyer after the so-called sale duping the seller.

In another case Diz, a real estate agent increased the price of a Coral Gables property but later backed out. He never got a commission. The property had been bought a year ago for $850,000 was sold off $1.2 million! Diz retreated after smelling a rat and went by his instincts.

The MLS is private database and used by about 48,000 in southeast Florida. It is difficult to bring it under regulations. But some realtors in South Florida are instructing their representatives sternly to refrain form getting involved in this type of fraud.
Eight month ago, Coldwell Banker had restrained his agents from raising listing prices without the sanction of the manager. In another establishment, Douglas Ellimann, only one person who is an administrator has the right to deal with the listings. If there are changes then a written notice is required from all the parties involved. Even then these are carefully scrutinized.
Judith Corocos, a sales manager is of the opinion that usually honest buyers would not require credits at closing.

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Florida Legislature plans to consider lowering taxes on property in its next session, starting next week. The vultures are afraid that this might put a stop to clinching low cost deals. Who are these vultures? They are individuals as well as giant investor groups prowling around the regions for the right kill.

At the peak of the housing boom stretching from 2001 to 2005 everyone crowded into the real estate jamboree hoping for plump profits. But another class among them waited and watched from the sidelines knowing that the market would not be able to keep its toehold on such lofty peaks. Their plan was to chip in when the fall would start then ride up the hill at the next bend of the curve. The time factor was of most importance to these speculators. Some say that the market has not struck rock bottom as yet.

The coming session of the Legislature is causing hiccups. Some want to strike while the iron is hot while others are confident that the law would not be able to give much relief to the borrowers. If legislation takes place the sick market will be given a dose of medicine. But they do not want that – they want the patient to bleed a little more.

Not all are confident that the medicine will work. Compared to last year, 26,000 more homes have been listed for sale in two counties of Broward and Miami-Dade. Over the next one and a half year new condo units are expected to join the ranks in one county alone. Then there is the underhand game of unsold inventory as some units are put back into the market as resale. Insurance rates however are the same.

The big bully groups of vultures are not worried about the tax matter as by going in for bulk buying they can spread out costs across their many portfolios.

The market is too sick to respond to single dose of tax reduction alone. A big cut in property taxes might kick off a buying spree but effectively the bottom would be a false one. The prediction is that by 2010 the market will be standing up again – hale and hearty.

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But there is an easier way out. Without a license form the Colorado State’s Division of Real Estate one cannot be a recognized prospector. The problem was that the home and hearth fires have to keep steadily burning with or without a regular income. Standards one gets used to can’t be downsized overnight. The self-employed must have a steady stream of business. The target to survive is $50,000 per month. But how? It needs a special type of tolerance and skill to cold call and knock on a stranger. Survival and success depends on SOI or Sphere of Influence. This relates to 100% of self-employed person’s business. The return is more than generous. In fact the coffers overflow. Sometimes there is an odd client or two from the open field but most are known people – those coming under the category of SOI.

Being in the SOI zone means you are out of the number game. No more stifling yawns over endless calls. No more peering through real estate advertisements to track down next target. No more pinching yourself awake to keep your purse ready for both the basic bread and the luxurious spread of cream. One can’t do without either. You don’t need to hitch up a party to rope in 20 more clients – now just 2 or 3 will suffice. The SOI trail is good, loyal and fun business. The success statistics can go up from 50% to 75%. That is really cool.

The best part is that by keeping up the tempo for only a few years by keeping your SOI filled and fat you can glide through with ease the rest of your career in real estate. You don’t have to bother about prospecting. You do not require a market budget. No more will the nights be sleepless as you worry about the tomorrows. Who doesn’t care for such a lifestyle? All!

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