The New York Daily news aired the story on the 26th about Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch became too costly to keep up and after years of legal battles around the allegations of child sexual abuse Michael moved from his beloved ranch and never returned again. The house was to be auctioned in a foreclosure proceeding until on the night before the foreclosure date a company stepped in and bought the ranch for a sum of 23 million dollars by literally buying the loan and taking the estate off his hands and taking the debt off his balance sheet. The story is interesting and at times heart warming and while it has little to do with the foreclosure things today, since he recently passed it seemed like a great leading story for this weeks recap.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition report says that all too often the cat of foreclosure ends up with the family who is foreclosed upon ending up homeless and living on the streets. The estimate is that the figure is somewhere in the neighborhood of forty percent of people that are living homeless are there because of the act of a foreclosure or property repossession. The report went on to say that some of the contributing factors to the foreclosure were health care costs and the lack of legal assistance.

This article quotes RealtyTracs web site as stating that the current statistics on foreclosures show a nationwide increase in foreclosures from 2007 of 81 percent. If you look at the figures against the year 2006 the increase is 225 percent and the numbers for 2009 are even steeper and there appears to be little to no end in sight at this point in time. The bright spot in the article is that it is full of things that you need to know about foreclosure and your legal rights and what things you can do to possibly stay off the proceeding before it actually begins.

The Examiner brings us a rather revealing article on Florida and the fact that it is not ready to be hit with another hurricane. Not that that is something that anyone is ready to do at any time but the vast majority, about 83 percent that were surveyed said that they have not taken steps to make the current home stronger or taken any actions to help to prepare for the hurricane season which officially began on June 1 of this year. On top of that a staggering 66 percent have not even gotten together a basic hurricane survival kit of flashlight and basic needs. The story finds that the economic state of the country is a huge part of the decision to do that because so many people are much more concerned with the pressing bills than they are about the possibility of an obscure hurricane actually hitting the place where they live.

While this one doesn’t actually pertain to personal property that is being foreclosed.  But what it does do is give some insight into things that cause foreclosure and how pressure from the outside can come in to play and cause issues even when there is no internal reason that the property should face foreclosure. More often than not people and businesses have no actual control over the reasons that they are faced into foreclosure and as a result they have little or no way to avoid it.

The most trusted name in news and the go to place for most papers and televisions stations, the Associated Press reports that home prices posted an annual 18.1 percent drop in April. These numbers could be in part due to the fact that foreclosures continue to rise at a steadily increasing rate and the efforts by government and banks to slow that rate are not being done fast enough to have a decent impact in the results. While this is the third month in a row that the drop has not been in the record making numbers territory, it is still sign that enough is not being done fast enough to stop the bleeding that has hit the arterial vein of the housing industry. Loan modifications were up 55 percent and foreclosures were up 22 percent so those number are showing improvement but they need to be larger and faster if there is going to be an effective alt put to this crisis.

The Wall Street Journal reports that a full 25 percent, that is one out of four mortgage foreclosures that are happening are done as a strategic move. In other words the person who is letting the mortgage fall into foreclosure is doing so when they are fully capable and able to make the mortgage payment. A vastly growing percentage of people are being driven by the accrual of negative equity in the home to just let it go and walk away. The common amount seems to be anything over a 10 percent negative equity. It goes on to say how when the stigma around foreclosure lessens and more people start to do it in a neighborhood it can affect all the property values to the point that it makes more sense to follow the trend than it does to hold on to the house as a traditional long term investment.

The Miami Herald brings in the story of how President Obama has expanded the program for people who are considered underwater borrowers. That means that they are helping to refinance homes at lower rates even if they have a place that they owe as much as 25 percent less than what it is actually worth. The new guidelines could help a lot more people than before. The initial terms of the program as rolled out earlier this year allowed people to take advantage id they were five percent or less upside down in the loan. In other words if your home was worth $200,000 you could owe no more than $210,000 and qualify. Under the new terms that same house would be eligible even if you owed as much as $250,000 on it. That should allow people in most states and cities to be able to take advantage unless they are severely under the water level.

This is a helpful little bit about the state of short sales, what they are and what they are not and what they can do for you. It is worth a few moments time to review so that you can come to understand what the short sale affords the average person. There are some bad points and pitfalls that you need to know and beware of before you decide to go after this option to solve your mortgage problems.

None of the remedies are working. Foreclosure crisis continues to be a mess. Both the Bush and Obama governments toed the same line of throwing trillions of dollars to the banks and lenders. The financial tsars were thrilled to pocket $1.2 trillion from the toxic assets that the federal government covered. They pocketed billions more in direct handouts. None of the money is being used to advance loans and bring an end to the credit freeze.
On Tuesday 23rd June, Walls Street Journal noted, “The Mortgage Bankers Association cut its forecast of home-mortgage lending this year by 27% amid deflating hopes for a boom in refinancing.” This very same association had complained about the much hyped Home Affordable Refinance Program that the amount was “very low”.

The housing crisis has many facets. On the one hand the mortgage market is tight with loans not being advanced. This is leading to a dearth of buyers. Secondly people are losing their jobs and this makes it difficult for them to keep up with mortgage payments. The situation is potentially loaded with further foreclosures.

The Obama government is following the same lines of remedial measures as the Bush government and addressing the wrong side of the dilemma. Obama however was prudent to at least kick off a stimulus programme to address the unemployment problem. But the prime focus is on giving support in dollars to the lenders – the group that started this crisis.

The situation is so grim that the state and local governments have been compelled to make heavy budget cuts. Yet the federal government will not come forward with help for them and make up for the deficits. Workers are being fired – yet they were the most dependable when it came to mortgage payments.
California failed to get White House guarantee short-term notes worth $5.5 billion so as to avoid heavy cuts in state and local workforce. By it school teachers and prison guards are going to be severely affected. In glaring contrast Citigroup has been given a staggering $300 billion to guarantee the soured assets. The bank has benefited from the underlying principle that is being followed – these banks are “too big to fail”. Yet it is these banks that have perpetrated this crisis. The principle to be followed should be that they are too big to save.

As per the current findings of the Federal Reserve in seven consecutive quarters the household wealth of Americans has fallen by $14 trillion.

There are innumerable flaws in the foreclosure system as is evident from the fact that in Bridgeport City tax debts amounting to a meagre $51.69 can cause foreclosures to snap up the property. The system of collection of back log taxes seems to have broken down as can be seen in the case of Jean Castro.
Although the judge of a Superior Court permitted the request of the city, he postponed the final action till the last month of this year thus allowing plenty of scope for the matter to be resolved in a more sensible manner.
It poses the question that if the city had been as diligent in chasing jumbo delinquent taxpayers, Bridgeport would have become a different place.

The focus of the issue is on Jean Castro who owns the house on Harral Avenue in Hollow locality of Bridgeport. There is no dispute about the fact that he owed the city over $3,000 in property taxes. When the city officials demanded the dues Castro says that he turned over this request to the mortgage firm.
Bridgeport City assigned the foreclosure case to Lee Samowitz – a private attorney. He has been so far a known figure in the Democratic Party and was a former representative of the state.

Meanwhile Castro paid a good part of the due taxes but a negligible balance kept pending. It was at this point that some safety valve should have taken over action automatically. The attorney contended that since he had already started taking action a considerable sum of money had become due to him as fees together with court charges.

When Bridgeport officials have been asked as to why they never took action against empty foreclosed units that posed a blight to the community, the attorney general’s office had a ready stock reply that the laws prevented walking over into the property of others. There are influential developers who owe hundred times more taxes than Castro. They can postpone foreclosure operations by finding loopholes in the law.

The city contends that if people do not pay taxes others have to step in. In chasing tax money the city has to put into force not only aggression but judgment as well. It is a potent question to ask how much is being paid by the city to external attorneys and whether they are submitting proper bills for chasing these nickel and dime cases.

When Mindy Moore learned that her Edmonds condo was put up for sale, Mindy Moore believed that she avoided foreclosure all together.

Moore put the Edmonds condo on the market for about $30,000, which was less than what Moore owed on the mortgage. Moore made the error of thinking that this “short sale” agreement signed with the bank meant the bank would receive the worst blow from the loss.

Then she learned that her lender, Bank of America, might chase after her because of the difference between what she still owed on the mortgage and the price she put on the Edmonds condo. There is the possibility that Moore may have to let the bank reclaim her property, or she might have to file for bankruptcy due to the fact that she can’t afford to pay up.
Experts disclose that the wording, which was recently annexed to Bank of America’s short-sale agreement, may have serious consequences for a great number of troubled homeowners in Washington and across the nation.

Foreclosures are at an all time high in the US. Along with default notices, bank takeovers were noted on 803,489 homes in the first half of this year. This is a 9 per cent jump from the earlier quarter and a 24 per cent increase from the first half of 2008. This means one in 159 houses has been foreclosed in this quarter.

In March, there were foreclosure filings in 341,180 homes – a 17 per cent jump from the February figure and a 46 per cent from that of March last year. In fact, March saw a record number of foreclosures. Foreclosure filings had become very common in new properties and that means lenders were not making filings in existing ones due to legislative delays. James J. Saccacio, CEO, RealtyTrac, said that bank repossessions have decreased on properties because of a moratorium. However, this freeze will be lifted soon.

There is a brighter side to the picture also. The first time buyers are showing interest in foreclosed homes because their prices have hit the rock bottom now. However, this increased demand for homes will not be enough to offset the rising tide of foreclosures that increase as unemployment peaks.

The highest number of foreclosures was recorded in Nevada, where one in 27 homes has been foreclosed. This is at least five times more than the national average. In this city, 41,296 homes have been foreclosed, registering a jump of 19 per cent from the earlier quarter and a phenomenal jump of 111 per cent from the first half of 2008. Bank repossessions have come down by 3 per cent as compared to the previous half. However, defaults have increased (27 per cent) and so have auctions (35 per cent).

The second highest foreclosure rate was registered in Arizona, where one in 54 homes has been foreclosed. California stood a close third, where one in 58 homes was foreclosed. Florida, Illinois, Idaho, Utah, Michigan, Georgia and Oregon were the other states where foreclosure rates were very high. Illinois registered the fifth position where

38,966 homes have been foreclosed. In fact, 60 per cent of the nation’s foreclosures were in California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada and Illinois. In these states, 479,516 homes were foreclosed. Of the 50 states, the lowest rate of foreclosure filing was noted in Vermont. Here only one in 147,191 homes was foreclosed.

It seems foreclosures have become an important feature in the US housing market.

Natasia DaSilva
Foreclosure Expert

The cause for this issue stems from the fact that the interest rate on the second mortgage rose to a level that the clients could not afford. As Ramirez clients fought to pay their mortgage, which caused them to go into foreclosure in the first place, they became unable to pay their other bills, such as cell phone and credit card bills. The lender would not adjust to the terms of the second mortgage, so the clients were faced with no other choice but to file bankruptcy, which will most definitely affect their credit for the next seven years. “ They have lost their homes and their dire situation will indeed put much stress on their marriages”.

For millions of people across the country, the chance of foreclosure has became a very real possibility, and many right now are living with the effects foreclosure has on their credit record. “Reduced credit scores can result in being refused credit, such as credit cards and car loans, and are facing much greater rates for loans and even other items, such as insurance, that depend on credit scores,” explains Andrew Housser, co-ceo of Bills.com, a free consumer personal finance site.

Waiting to get that new job? Your possible employer perhaps may want to look at your credit score to decide how trustworthy and responsible an employee you will be. Credit card companies may deny your application. When you want to buy another home always keep in mind that it can cost you thousands of more dollars of your credit score.

News radio 106 in Philly fives us the story via the Internet of how the Sheriffs departments there are trying to help during this trying time for homeowners. They have teamed up with Chase bank to help slow the rate of foreclosures and to try and keep people in the homes that they already own and are nearing foreclosure. The deputies deal with the issues that can be caused to a family due to the stress of foreclosure and they are now handing out a brochure with the foreclosure paperwork and it gives them the information needed to help them to sit down and go face to face with the lender to try and iron out a solution to the problem and stay the foreclosure.

The Examiner this week posted an article geared towards helping people understand loan modifications and what they can do for them and how to go about getting one. As I read it the article struck me as a must read. It explains the intricacies of loan modification in plain English and in terms that people can understand. It shows you that there truly are two sides to the story and if you really want a load modification you should know and understand both how you feel and where you are coming from and you should be able to see the bank or lenders side as well. If you can do that it is much more likely that you will be able to come to an agreement that will work for both parties. And if both parties are happy then it will be a smooth and successful modification.

The New Hampshire Sentinel Source has a story that really makes you look at the crisis from another point of view. We all think about how it affects the family that is losing a house, we read how the pets are affected and even how heartless the lenders can be. We see the stories about different agencies coming in and trying to help people stay in their houses and how the homeless shelters are over flowing with people that couldn’t make it. This story hits a new angle. How would you like to be the person on the phone listening to as many as a hundred people a day tell you their story and asking for help? Hearing them cry and knowing that in the end the only thing they can do is move on. The story puts perspective and compassion into a side of the news that is often overlooked and I think needs to be read by everyone.

One of the nations largest paper the Baltimore Sun, ran a story this week that shows how a local real estate agent has changed her focus from trying to educate people on how to go about buying and owning their own home to teaching them the things that they need to know to be able to keep the home. It is basically a nice human-interest story with a little new information that people might not know that is sort of hidden in the text. For example most folks know that it takes a little while to get the lender to actually respond to you about a refinance or a loan modification. This story actually lets you know the amount of time can vary from between 60 and 90 days. That means that if you are even possibly going to default, you have to start the process at least three months before you anticipate the event.

This story from the Grand Rapids Press in Grand Rapids, Michigan is based around how a new program uses federal money to try and spruce up neighborhoods that have been on the high end of the foreclosure numbers. The hope here is that the clean up the neighborhoods by painting the foreclosed homes and mowing lawns may have the effect of driving home prices up enough that it could stimulate sales of the foreclosed properties which would be a winning situation for everyone. The foreclosed numbers would drop and more people would be in the homes and as a result property values should start to rise. The story is something that is worth taking a few moments to go over and if it actually works, might be something to implement elsewhere.

The state of Massachusetts has taken aim at businesses that are claiming to help people save property that have gone into foreclosure. These companies are claiming that they can save distressed properties from falling into the state of foreclosure. It seems that many of these companies are targeting people and are paying on the weakened state of minds of families that have little to no hope left. They ask for fees upfront to which they say they can save the property for the homeowner. The claims are mostly just false promises and the family’s usually only end up losing what little money that they had and the house as well.

This one is particularly unusual. The town of Mesquite is a quaint and rather picturesque city. The problem as pointed out by this article is that one of the first and largest signs that you see when entering the town is one placed by a pair of local realtors advertising the services they offer for specializing in foreclosed real estate and properties. Many people in the town agree that it is not the sign that is objectionable. It is the overall size and location that causes issues. One of the first things you see when arriving in Mesquite when getting off the interstate on exit 120 is a huge sign that tends to show how bad things are there. Not something that instills a lot of confidence in the local economy or job prospects if someone was looking for a place to move.

It brings up a lot of valid things to look at and things to contemplate should you be in the need to rent something or lease a home during this crisis. There are lots of people out there in a bad place and it appears that these desperate times have forced some desperate measures to be used.

This week’s celebrity foreclosure article is on Evander Holyfield’s 54,000 square foot Atlanta mansion with its 109 rooms sitting on 254 acres of land falling into foreclosure for yet a second time in one year. This shows how mismanagement of funds and then the downturn in the market can affect someone that has made over $248 million dollars in his sports career.

Property taxes are being affected by the ongoing foreclosure crisis. Calculating the value of property requires a linear process. The price paid for similar properties in the same area is studied and the value calculated accordingly. Apparently there is not much scope for confusion.

It is supposed to be neither too complicated nor subjective. Thus when the post of appraiser, in Miami-Dade County, changed from being an appointed one to an elected one, apparently there seemed to be nothing to be concerned about. But eyebrows are being raised with Pedro Garcia the elected holder of the post, taking policy decisions. These might substantially affect the taxes levied on property taxes. The issue is about including foreclosures in the appraising system. If it is included then the property taxes would take a nose dive as the value of the units would fall.
The lenders have respossessed thousands of foreclosed units and sold them. But these figures have not been taken into account because they did not happen on the stage of the open market. But today the scene has changed as these units are being openly traded by the agents. If that is so, the policy of keeping out foreclosed house figures while making tax estimates should also stop. In fact the foreclosed properties up for sale are dominating the market.

This has led to confusion that needs clearing. In Monroe County the officials dealing with appraising said that the state law prevents them from including foreclosures in their calculations. But upon enquiry the officials of the Department of Revenue deny this. The foreclosure sales can be included if they comply with certain conditions – the primary one being sale in the free competitive market.

There is absolutely no doubt that this is happening. Realtor David Dabby said, “Essentially foreclosures are the market.” He thinks that by artificially excluding them the value of properties are kept high so that taxes too remain at a high level. He estimated that foreclosed units currently account for half of all the sales being transacted. In places like Homestead the proportion is as high as 80%.

Garcia too has had to agree that a different approach to the problem has to be taken in places like Homestead. His office is thinking about including foreclosure figures while going about the task of appraising. But he is hesitant about applying the same yardstick across the entire county.

There are sure signs that the federal homeowner plan is impacting on the number of foreclosures.

Craig Vale was one of the many who had given up all hope of winning against foreclosure when he heard about the new plan launched this year. It was like manna from heaven for this unemployed borrower. During the first week of June Vale together with his wife Bobbie overcame the first barrier in the loan modification process. They came out successfully in the trial period. Now their interest rate will be reduced and their monthly payment amount brought down. This will give this Orange City couple a fair chance to try to save their house.

Vale said, “My wife lost her job after she became disabled; then I got laid off. We were still scraping by, but the handwriting was on the wall. Then we heard about this program that seemed exactly for people like us who had never been late on their mortgage. And it gave us some hope.”

Many thousands have tapped the possibility of participating in the Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable plan. The measure had debuted in Marc 2009 and targets help to millions who although current on their mortgages are struggling hard to remain so. Those who have become delinquent will also get help from this measure.

Within three months of launching of the programme, over 120,000 borrowers have benefited from loan modification. Some thousands are getting their loans refinanced through this measure according to the Treasury. These early results are in sharp contrast to the failure of Hope for Homeowner’s plan that never took off thanks to red tape and complications about eligibility. The latter plan hardly drew 100 applications across the country for many months.
The new plan – Making Home Affordable, has still many miles to go before it will have a sizeable impact on the foreclosure scene. Nevertheless many experts say that the initial signs give all reason to hope. Rosa Miro of Consumer Credit Counseling in Central Florida said, “There’s no comparison to other programs. I was never able to put even one client in any of those programs. This one at least gives people a real opportunity to recover.”

The programme is distinctive from the previous ones because it has granted serious money in the fray ($75 billion) and offers incentives to all the participating parties. At one stroke this has done away with many previous shortcomings.