Posts Tagged ‘Foreclosure Homes’

The plummeting housing prices and soaring foreclosure create opportunities for first time house owners, according to a reputed auction house in Florida. In the yester years foreclosure properties were shunned as distressed properties that needed total over hauling before it became habitable and that was expensive. In recent times however foreclosure properties in the housing market draw agents and investors who understand foreclosure as good investment opportunities. Intelligent people purchasing a house for the first time dive into the market during such recession periods to retrieve property at bargain prices. The staggering real estate market, flooded with bank-owned foreclosure auctions allow purchasers heavy discounts on these properties, as the lenders, eager to dispose off these mortgages within the shortest period possible become very flexible.
Florida continued to be battered with foreclosure during the second quarter of 2008. RealtyTrac, the nation’s most trusted name in the real estate market and tracking foreclosure records in the nation, reported that Florida ranked as running the country’s fourth highest foreclosure rate during the past three months. One in every 78 households received a foreclosure filing which was twice as much as the nation’s average in foreclosure filings.
Dave Webb, Principal of Hudson and Marshall, the country’s most experienced foreclosure auction firm declared that 700 bank-owned homes in cities throughout Florida were to be auctioned in mid-August. Detailing the programme, Dave said, over 100 houses would be auctioned in Orlando, almost 100 houses in Tampa and more than 200 houses would be auctioned in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area. The sellers paid for the title insurance of all the properties. The foreclosure properties were to be auctioned at ‘as-is-where-is’ basis, Hudson and Marshall confirmed. The buyers were allowed to carry out a thorough inspection of the house they wanted to bid for. After the sale, the successful bidder was required to deposit in cash or certified funds an amount of $2500 for each of the properties he had successfully purchased.
Hudson and Marshall, based in Texas, was America’s premier auction authority with forty years of auction history in the US. Maximizing sales, the company was able to sell 70,000 houses in the past eight years by means of an accelerated sales process, which efficiently sold innumerable properties that minimized expenses and maximized returns to the lenders. Last year, H&M total sales amounted to $1.2 billion and the company’s anticipated sales were stated to auction another 30,000 houses through 2009.

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Foreclosure have lain seize on Orange County, especially where sub-prime lending had concentrated, and was intensifying. During the second quarter of the year, four Santa Anna ZIP Codes were the epicenter of foreclosure in the county. The overall ratio between foreclosure and the total number of condominiums and houses more than doubled over that in the first quarter in some ZIPS, according to DataQuick, which analyses foreclosure trends in the country.
Statistics show that 75% of the people in Santa Ana had borrowed money to buy houses under sub-prime lending in 2005 when the real estate market was booming, and it was they that were the worst hit in the nationwide foreclosure crisis. Santa Ana, with 92701 properties filing a foreclosure was the forerunner and 23 out of every 1000 households received a foreclosure filing during the second quarter compared to 10 out of every 1000 ratio in the first quarter, as projected by DataQuick which detailed foreclosure in each ZIP for the quarter ending June 2008.
The tentacles of foreclosure had spread to the neighbouring county cities, including Anaheim, Orange, Garden Grove and Stanton and even beyond to places that have not been the target of sub-prime lenders. Market watchers stress that people enjoying good credit back-up had ventured to buy houses in areas such as parts of Lake Forest, Ladera Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita and Aliso Viejo, as investments or to live in, in the near future. Unfortunately, these buyers are suffocated under their mortgage loans.
These South county ZIPs rank third for having the maximum concentration of foreclosure among counties. Experts blame foreclosure for pulling down the prices of houses in the country. In Santa Ana’s six ZIP codes the median prices of houses sold dropped 50% compared to a 13% drop in June last year.
US Representative, Loretta Sanchez, covering Santa Ana, Garden Grove, parts of Anaheim and Fullerton, promised that the housing bill passed at the Congress intended to help areas like central Orange County. The housing bill would enable borrowers entrapped in the foreclosure dilemma to interchange the existing loan mortgages for loans at more affordable rates and conditions. The borrowers in default would be backed by refinance mortgages by the Federal Housing Administration to the tune of $3oo billion. Apparently, though the bill looks good, it is obvious that lenders would be unwilling to suffer losses on loans backed by the FHA, snapping out the efficacy of the much-publicized housing bill.

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HANDS was certified by the US government Department of Housing and Urban Development, to handle foreclosures. It will give counsel on mortgage properties just when the problem of foreclosure was sneaking into Warren County.
Mayor Elaine Walker confirmed that seven local banks were working with HANDS, to set up offices throughout the region, in 27 counties, Owensboro and Elizabethtown to help borrowers understand better their mortgage deals. They offered to counsel potential purchasers of houses even at the pre-mortgage stage. The local leaders in their effort to navigate borrowers, struggling under foreclosure or immersed in the midst of bigger problems, had come forward several months ago to counsel them and show them ways and means of wading out of it. The government officials, bankers, Realtors, AARP and Kentucky Housing Corporation had organized a program wherein much of the problems of the borrowers at risk of running into a foreclosure could be bailed out. Their policies were updated regularly.
The foreclosure crisis had touched Warren County but was not as bad as it was in the states of Florida, California or Michigan, nevertheless people were feeling the pinch. The whole year of 2007 saw 230 houses being foreclosed in Warren County but this year in July alone there had been 183 foreclosure filings and 25 more were slated for August, 2008. Deborah Williams, Executive Director of non-profit Housing Assistance and Development Services, anticipated that the total foreclosure figure at the end of the year was quite likely to exceed 300 households.
According to Williams many factors contributed to the present crisis in the housing finance industry. Since the late 1970’s the US had not witnessed a slump of this stature and was caught unawares. Suffering was rampant, people with low income, middle-class families with good incomes were suffocated under pressure of inflation, and higher fuel costs fanned prices so that even people with very good savings account and an organized budget were affected, and topping the problem was the foreclosure and sub-prime lending debacle.
Williams said that some funds had been procured to help out borrowers in several ways. First, it could reach out to areas to spread awareness among borrowers the status of their mortgage loans, counselors could negotiate a lower rate of interest especially if it was through a partner bank, it could offer financial help to borrowers who suddenly is retrenched or suffers a major illness. The borrowers were only to dial HANDS for help free of charge.

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In the housing recession California led the nation since the days of the Great Depression. But with reports now coming in from the real estate market, the state may be first to have reached the foreclosure peak.

In Stockton, one of the worst hit pocket of California, sale of houses are picking up. During the second quarter the sale numbers doubled after prices fell by 37%. Across California the sale figures increased for three running months starting from April. This has come after 30 running months of decline said the California Association of Realtors. Of the sale, 40% came from the foreclosure category.

Mark Zandi of Moody’s Economy commented that California had gone through a traumatic time as regards fall in wealth but this shock is laying the foundations of a recovery. He said, “This signals the beginning of the end.” California lost about $1.3 trillion in house equity since the price of houses reached its pinnacle in December 2005. Today discounts up to 50% are being given and will in all probability continue till 2010. Only a fast pace of sales can clear the glut and bring back stability to the market.

For the 18th running month California led the country in foreclosures. In June seven of its metros were including among the top 10 highest foreclosed metro regions. This pushed down prices and ‘distressed sales’ became the norm. Two thirds of the sale dealt with houses priced below $500,000. It would take 7.7 months to clear the accumulated stock. Previously a year ago it would have been cleared within 10.2 months. The average price fell by 38% last month, dropping to $368,250. Professor Karl Case of Wellesley College, Wellesley, is optimistic that “things are beginning to happen.” He opines that unless the stock piled up is cleared nothing will move.

California led the housing boom when prices doubled during 2000 to 2005. All time low interest rates made this possible. With prices rising, sub-prime mortgages made its debut with its ARM’s. Loans were given to anybody with a pulse without checking on their income and capability. But when the floating interests increased to higher niches the housing boom burst and foreclosures swooped down on the nation. Some loans did not need even down payments. About half of the 25 sub-prime lenders of USA are based in California. All these reasons combined to make California the reigning monarch of foreclosures.

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Portland foreclosure rescue scams are on the rise. Detective Liz Cruthers of Portland Police Bureau introduced fraud specialist Richard Hagar to the participants of a meeting held in East Portland.
In localities as well as across the nation mortgage fraud is making its presence felt, according to Hagar who is a renowned expert in the field. He explained that the crime is not just about individuals and family units but it is affecting the entire local economy. While introducing Hagar, Cruthers said that real estate agents are indulging in fraud and this is in turn is leading to more foreclosures and fueling the meltdown from the sub-prime. Hagar presented in clear terms the nefarious activities related to real estate deals. It included foreclosure rescue scams. Hagar bluntly said “People who run ‘foreclosure rescue’ operations are the lowest of the low.” They offer false help to those in dire straits and then push them overboard.
Hagar went on to explain the procedure. When a borrower falls behind in mortgage payments he is sniffed out by a so-called helpful friend who suddenly arrives on the scene with a basket full of promises to tide over the foreclosure crisis. Understandably the foreclosure victim is in a traumatized state and does not understand the consequences of being persuaded to sign a “Quit Claim Deed.” The sham rescuer then gives the house owner $5,000 and offers to let the victim continue to stay on as a tenant. He says that at a convenient time in the future the house will be sold back to him. In reality if they miss even a single month’s rent they are thrown out. The situation is grim. The scammer has the title deed.
Hagar cited the instance of a local widow who was mourning for her husband when foreclosure threatened her. She had fallen behind in her payments due to the tragedy. One of the vultures smelt the rot and honed in with rotten promises. He offered refinancing but never did it. He offered to sell the house on her behalf but never did it. He said he would himself see to the stopping of the foreclosure process but did not do it. What he did was to buy the house in the court auction for peanuts - $10,000, because of the “kindness of his heart.” His kind heart made him give the widow $5,000 for moving out. It took him only two months to sell the property for $300,000!

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The picture across the country is grim – in June foreclosure numbers were more than double (53%) while the bank repossession numbers tripled from what it was a year before. Bank seizures badly mauled the real estate market eroding the value of all the houses waiting on the shop shelves to be sold. Higher interest rates forced many to succumb to foreclosures.

One in 501 houses in USA calculating to 252,000 houses slipped into the foreclosure net. RealtyTrac notes that bank seizure rose by 171% since this California based company started tracing operations in January 2005. Mark Zandy of Moody’s Economy said that the job market is shrinking and the equity of the properties of house owner’s is dwindling. Lenders are unwilling to talk when the worth of the house falls below the amount of the loan. It is a no go situation for the foreclosure victims.

Since the Depression of the 1930’s foreclosure situation is at its worst commented Rick Sharga of RealtyTrac. In April there was a record fall in the real estate market and this is pushing more people into foreclosures. More foreclosures mean more fall in prices – a vicious cycle. Sharga fears that before the year draws to an end there will more than a million foreclosed houses representing about one fourth or one third of all the houses waiting to be sold in the country. More than half of those with sub-prime loans will have a negative equity on their houses by the end of this year. This will increase to 63% in 2009 said Rod Dubitsky of Credit Suisse.

The foreclosure crisis has made mortgage rules stricter and this is preventing those with floating loans to refinance. Credit Suisse predicts that by the close of 2012, 2.7 million sub-prime mortgage loan holders will be foreclosed upon by the lenders. It is expected to peak by the third quarter of this year – 2008. Since the spring of 2006 equity on houses have been wiped out to the tune of $3.5 trillion.

All combined there is glut in the real estate market of unsold properties. The Congress is trying to insure as much as $300 billion to refinance mortgage and save about 2 million borrowers from foreclosure. But the real long-term way in which the process can be reversed is if the housing market starts to turn around. All other measures will only prolong the inevitable. It is almost sure that house prices will decline by another 5% or 10%.

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Sub-primes are no longer the main reasons for foreclosures. Today the main culprit is the rapid decline in real estate prices.

The foreclosure epidemic of North County is rapidly spreading not because of sub-prime so much as because of many other factors that have led to a fall in the real estate market.

Oceanside and east Escondido were two of the worst affected regions. During the past three months the numbers have gone down. But foreclosures have marched into the adjacent areas of San Marcos and Carlsbad where the numbers are growing. Experts say that today the problem is not so much the risk factor as the decline in property prices that is triggering off foreclosures. It has become a vicious circle – price decline is leading to more foreclosures and more foreclosures are leading to further price decline. Sean O’Toole of ForeclosureRadar that tracks foreclosures commented’ “It’s like a toilet bowl effect.”

According to the findings of a study conducted by the Boston Federal Reserve, house owners who lost over 20% of the value of their houses are 14 times more susceptible to be cursed by foreclosure, than a typical borrower. In sharp contract sub-prime borrowers are six times more likely to succumb to foreclosures than prime borrowers.

According to ForeclosureRadar north Oceanside saw a drop in foreclosures during the last three months, but San Marcos foreclosures increased by 28% during the same three months. The problem is also growing in Vista and Carlsbad affecting the higher priced houses.

Ward Hanigan of Innovest, an investment firm of San Diego opines that this trend will continue till 2010. His company is biding its time for the foreclosure weather to change. The signal will be when banks will be selling properties in a wholesale manner with two or three being sold at one go. As yet that liquidation mind set has not begun, he commented.

New default numbers are declining. The default notice is the first step in the judicial process of foreclosure. In North County foreclosure proceedings have been finalized on 30% of the foreclosed units. Bank owned properties make up above 40% of the foreclosed units. It indicates that sub-prime lenders have been successfully been able to work out many loans satisfactorily without going into foreclosure. Another pointer to the domination of price being the main factor in foreclosures is the negative equity of the properties in question.

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In the Tri-Cities foreclosures are increasing and this is leading to a rise in the activities of rental agents. In 2007 there were 1,098 foreclosure postings in Saginaw marking a jump of 23%. In Bay County there were 403 evictions showing an increase of 9%. In Midland the tally of foreclosures was 207 – 6% more than the 2006.

The Landlord Association of Saginaw has taken note of the pressure on rental units. Butch Burden the president of the association said that this is but natural because “people have to have some place to live.”

The renters are becoming very choosy about the place where they want to stay. Most want to stay in the Midland on the west side of Saginaw and the suburban areas. Mike Haman of Haman Property Management says he has rental units in Saginaw Township, Vassar, Carrollton Township and Thomas Township. He comments that rental market has picked up and in the forthcoming years it will become more intense. Things are picking up but it will be about a year before the effects can be really gauged.

RealtyTrac reported that in Michigan there was an increase of foreclosures by 25% in comparison to May. This has made Michigan rank fifth in the national foreclosure race. In May it had ranked 9th. In Michigan the May foreclosure rate was 1:353.

RealtyTrac shows that across the country there were 261,255 foreclosure postings during May marking a 7% rise from April and a huge jump of 48% from May of the previous year. The national foreclosure rate is 1:483 in May – the highest monthly noting since RealtyTrac started collecting data from 2005. May was the third consecutive month that saw a month-by-month increase according to James Saccacio CEO of RealtyTrac. In May default notices increased by 1% and the auction sales were down by 3%. But during this month bank takeover of properties surged ahead marking double digit increases. It is more than double the numbers of May 2007. This calculated to a total number of 700,000 properties owned by the banks.

It also shows the number of families thrown out of their houses by foreclosures. They are rushing to seek rented accommodation. Many investors are finding it profitable to buy discount houses and convert it into rented units. But with so many houses crowding into the real estate market prices are tumbling. This is leading to apprehensions that prices might further fall.

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