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Foreclosures Show no Signs of Respite

Julie Parker — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 09:00:43 +0000

Photo by RambergMediaImages

Foreclosures show no signs of respite. This year, the numbers of foreclosures has decreased slightly. However, economists can foresee only gloom for the housing market. They do not really have any hope for economic recovery.

Brown County is no exception to this. Around 528 foreclosures have been reported in September alone. Last year, the number of foreclosures in September was 649. Foreclosures have been going up steadily in Brown County since 2006. In that year, there were only 346 foreclosures during September.

Economists are of the opinion that the lull has been created partly by the moratorium on foreclosures. It may be pointed out here that towards the end of last year, banks were embroiled in a major controversy. They were accused of indulging in a practice known as “robo-signing.” Robo-signing is when someone signs foreclosure documents without verifying the documents. Henceforth, the attorneys of states protested against this and banks were compelled to put a stop to foreclosures.

The owner of Dallaire Realty, Greg Dallaire, said, “Even if they stall (a foreclosure) for a time period or put more time on it for a little while, eventually it’s probably going to hit the point where it has to go through the whole process. We’ve got an insane amount of actual foreclosure properties coming down the pipeline.” He also observed that there has been an upswing in the amount of foreclosure activity.

Craig Haskin, an executive vice-president of the Knight Barry Title Group, said that the office lobbies used to bustle with people. There used to be sellers and buyers waiting to buy the prized possession. However, this was before 2008. Things really started to change in this country after that year.

The real estate industry came crashing soon after. Craig reminisced, “I used to walk into the office and there’d be people sitting in our lobby waiting to use our conference room to buy a house. We don’t have too much of that anymore. I don’t think people have used some of our lobbies for a while now.” Knight Barry, which is one of the largest agencies in Wisconsin, was founded in 1854.

As the selling and buying of properties fizzled out, foreclosures began to increase in number. Over the past few years, foreclosures have actually ballooned. That happened only after news of banks resorting to unfair practices came to light.

Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Ally Financial were asked to put a stop to foreclosures. Haskins said that the foreclosures are putting a lot of pressure on the market.

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Connecticut Foreclosures

Kevin Simpson — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 12:34:56 +0000

Connecticut’s economical status is currently experiencing a minor rise in the unemployment rate, with the past few months displaying rising figures. The month of May indicated a rate of 9.1 percent, an increase in 0.1 percent in comparison to the start of the year.

Coinciding with these statistics is the decline in employment across several industries. The employment rate in the professional and business service is down by over 1.5 percent in comparison to April, while trade, transportation and utility sectors are down by just below two percent.

Despite this, other sectors including the IT and construction field are experiencing rises in employment rates, proving to be a prospective market for potential owners of Connecticut foreclosures.

Across the state, several major cities are experiencing declines in property values, resulting in cheap and affordable housing for potential buyers. Bridgeport foreclosures are currently dropping at a modest rate of approximately 0.20 percent, while Waterbury is displaying an impressive figure of 10.62 percent. Other notable cities include Bethlehem, which currently sits at a value decline of 4.10 percent, and Hartford dropping at approximately 14.42 percent.

Several other major cities are reporting decreases in property values, with Norwich experiencing a value decline by approximately 12.60 percent. East Granby is currently displaying one of the more significant declines in property values, with current figures sitting at 12.60 percent.

Easy Granby is also experiencing a slight decline in the number of properties sold over the past year, with a percentile drop of just over eight percent. Despite this, however, current trends are pointing towards an optimistic outlook on the housing market, with a plethora of available foreclosure properties.

Along with the current housing market and associated Connecticut foreclosures, June/July has provided several major news events during this period. In Hartford, several unions are instigating discussions with Gov. Dannel Malloy regarding the budget. They hope to reach a mutual decision that will benefit the community of Hartford, therefore saving thousands of jobs in the process.

Local workers and employers are bracing themselves for imminent layoffs, with an estimated 6,000 jobs to be lost over the next year. Rumors of negotiations between union representatives and Malloy have begun to emerge over the past few weeks.

The recent $1.6 billion concession deal has proved little to sway the tide of uncertainty among the state budget, although the combining unions are optimistic an agreement can be made, progressing towards a more manageable future for local workers.

Arizona Foreclosure Recaps

Kevin Simpson — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 12:03:41 +0000

Arizona’s current economic status indicates positive news for the state, which is good news for the Arizona foreclosures market. The agriculture sectors export industry is currently in the progress of establishing Free Trade Agreements between Korea, Columbia, and Panama.

The resulting decision would increase profits in the industry, with an estimated figure of $24.7 million and the potential addition of 220 new jobs. During April of 2011, the rate of local employment rose by 0.4 percent in the state, resulting in 11,000 new jobs spread over various economic sectors. Arizona’s unemployment rate has dropped in the previous month also, with the percentile rate currently sitting at, as of April, around 9.3 percent overall.

The sale of foreclosures has risen in several major cities throughout May. Phoenix foreclosures are currently experiencing a percentile rate of 54.2% in foreclosure sales, which has increased by 0.9% in the past month.

Other major cities that have followed a similar trend include Desert View, which has experienced a percentile rise by 5.9%, North Gateway at a figure of 8.6%, Paradise Valley at approximately 4.1% and North Mountain, experiencing a modest increase in sales by around 1%.

Across the region, numerous major cities are reporting decreases in the sale of foreclosures. Buckeye is reporting a minor percentile drop in sales, with a figure of 2.5% overall. Peoria is also currently experiencing a drop by 4.8%, while Avondale foreclosure sales are down by 2.5%.

More severe declines in foreclosure properties being sold are evident in cities such as Chandler, which are down by 13.3%. Tempe foreclosures indicate a sharp fall in sales, with a drop of around 16.5%, while Surprise is currently experiencing the most notable decline, with a severe rate drop of about 17.5%.

One of Arizona’s top stories this month is the execution of convicted murderer Donald Beaty. Beaty was convicted of murder in 1984 for the death of 13-year-old girl Christy Ann Fornoff. The execution was preceded with much controversy in regards to the chemical used for the lethal injection, which underwent a last minute change from the use of pentobarbital to sodium thiopental in the formula; resulting in a delay of Beaty’s initially planned execution.

While in Phoenix, a suspect in the January shootings, which left six people dead and wounded U.S Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, has been deemed mentally unfit for trial following an outburst during court. The rise in Arizona foreclosures has also garnered attention, with trends permeating across the state.

Idaho Real Estate Foreclosures

Kevin Simpson — Thu, 12 May 2011 11:55:51 +0000

Idaho’s economy showed signs of stabilization in the first part of 2011, after losing a significant number of jobs to the recession between 2009 and 2010. According to the United States Bureau of Statistics, the amount of workers affected in Idaho during this period of time is approximately 8.7 percent, with job loss being most significant in 2009.

At the same time, the total value of goods and services in the state of Idaho went down by 3 percent in 2009, which is statistically the first decrease in Idaho’s total economic output in around 60 years.

In comparison, the number of Idaho foreclosures decreased in 2011, with 158 foreclosure filings during the month of April, down about 33 percent from the number of foreclosures in Idaho during the month of March. The number of foreclosures in Idaho is also expected to increase significantly during the months ahead in 2011, as the recent halt to some foreclosures in Idaho begins to slow.

The rate and price of foreclosures in the beautiful state of Idaho increased in some cities in the period from March to April. In Saint Maries, Idaho investors paid as much as 1.03 percent more in general to purchase Saint Maries foreclosures from March to April, which represents a small increase as compared to some cities in Idaho.

At the same time in Boise, Idaho, people purchasing Boise foreclosures paid around 4.03 percent more to move into their dream home. Therefore, investors buying foreclosure properties in these Idaho cities paid a slightly higher price to purchase the property they wanted.

The rate and price of foreclosures in Idaho also decreased in some cities in the state of Idaho from March to April. The biggest decrease in the rate of foreclosures occurred in Payette, Idaho, with the rate of Payette foreclosures going down by 7 percent during the period of time in question. Investors purchasing foreclosure property in Idaho Falls, Idaho paid 1.38 percent less, when purchasing Idaho Falls foreclosures between March and April, a small but significant decrease.

Over in Twin Falls, Idaho, investors paid 5.61 percent less to take possession of Twin Falls foreclosures, while the price of investing in Jerome foreclosures decreased by 0.69 percent between March and April. Investors purchasing foreclosure properties in these Idaho cities therefore paid significantly less for their Idaho dream home.

In the latest news concerning Idaho foreclosures, Idaho lawmakers and the Idaho Bankers Association recently decided to support an Idaho bill scheduled to become law in September 2011. Bill 331 is designed to address specific complaints by consumers in Idaho of problems they have with loan servicer, the way foreclosures have been handled during the past, and the way they are presently being handle.

Sources indicate that around 300 consumers in Idaho have made a complaint concerning the way foreclosures have been handled. Bill 331 is expected to help people in Idaho dealing with a foreclosure understand their rights and obligations better and the options available to help them stay in possession of their home. The new bill will require trustees pursuing foreclosures in Idaho to mail a written notice of rescheduled foreclosures to the homeowner.

It will also require lenders to provide a new written notice for foreclosures on a homeowner’s primary residence, detailing the homeowner’s obligations and the results if the homeowner fails to take care of the problem. In addition, the new law will allow homeowners to request a loan modification, which the lender will have to respond to within 45 days of the request. Lenders will also need to file an affidavit with the county office where the residence being foreclosed on is located.

How to Buy a Foreclosure Property from Bank of America

Kevin Simpson — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:51:20 +0000

When looking to buy a property, it is often of great financial advantage to purchase a foreclosure property from a bank or other lending company. Properties of this name, also known as REO or real estate owned properties are exactly that, owned by the agent or bank. The process of foreclosure is normally after the buyer has failed to keep up with their mortgage payments. The properties are then bought by the real estate agent, money lender or bank such as Bank of America, purely for profit on resale. The money made on the resale is kept by the bank or money lender.

So what is the process of buying Bank of America foreclosures? First, it must be stated that due to the “robo” signing case, any foreclosed property should be studied carefully. It is advisable to take advice from a lawyer to determine if the property has existing liens or unpaid work for which the new owner would become responsible for.

In the fall of 2010, Bank of America along with other money lending organizations in America, have been charged with “robo” signing of documents in foreclosure properties. This allowed them to avoid a court hearing for the foreclosure. A direct result of this has been a pledge from Bank of America to ban “robo” signing in all 50 states as well as a shortage of foreclosure properties on the market. In turn, some perspective buyers are being wary about purchasing this type of property.

To begin the process of purchasing such a property from Bank of America, registration can be made and listings of these properties are available on their website. Also, sections of the site will guide you through the entire process of purchasing a property of this kind. The potential is there to find a buyer’s dream home at a much reduced price.

A consultation with a branch of Bank of America can also clarify the proceedings for this type of sale, as well as online tools such as mortgage calculators being available. The World Wide Web is full of listings of foreclosure properties that may not be found in a real estate agent’s listing.

The most important aspect of buying a foreclosure property from Bank of America, or any other institution or money lender is to carry out a title search to avoid the possibility of liens, unpaid work, “robo” signing or other elicit activities.

The Scandal Surrounding Bank of America and the “Robo” Signing Case

Kevin Simpson — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:49:42 +0000

Bank of America, although proudly being the largest financial institution in the United States and serving clientele from over 150 countries, came into the news yet again. Along with other money lending institutions in the United States, it was for what has commonly become known as the “robo” signing case.

Bank of America had already attracted itself enough negative publicity with the Meryl Lynch incident and the multi fraud accusations made against the institution by public services such as hospitals and schools in 2010. Now it has found itself in the top headlines again in the fall of 2010 for the “robo” signing case.

“Robo” signing has been used by many financial institutions besides Bank of America, such as JP Morgan Chase and Allied Financial. All of these companies being involved with the recent scandal.

“Robo” signing has taken place in hundreds of thousands of foreclosure property deals, where the bank, instead of in some cases going to court to legally acquire the foreclosed or REO property, have “robo” signed numerous documents. Hence stands the question of who do some of these properties from Bank of America foreclosures actually belong to and where do potential buyers stand who already made a deposit or down payment on a property before the scandal unfolded. The answer is that there is now a great shortage of foreclosure properties for sale. Also, there are hundreds of thousands of people who may potentially lose their homes because it was not the legal property of the bank or lending organization to sell.

The complications become endless, and the “robo” signing case has left a huge dent in the real estate market of the United States as well as a lot of uncertain property owners. Although Bank of America made a pledge to stop “robo” signing in all 50 states, it would physically be impossible to re-read and re-sign all of the already “robo” signed documentation for so many foreclosure properties. For the re-signing and re- reading of all the documents to take place, Bank of America would actually have to employ a great deal of personnel on a temporary basis just to complete this task. So although a pledge to stop “robo” signing has been given by Bank of America, it still does not help the unfortunate individuals who have unknowingly been caught up with this scandal while innocently trying to purchase their dream property. Quite a bit must still be done to resolve this issue of immense proportions. This all has caused more bad publicity for Bank of America that they don’t need.

Foreclosure Homes from Bank of America – The Statistics

Kevin Simpson — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:58:47 +0000

When looking to purchase a property, be it a first time buy, an upgrade on an existing property, a resale or a brand new property, a large number of clients look to Bank of America. Being the largest bank or money lending institution in all of the United States, Bank of America foreclosures can be an attraction to the client.

When buying a foreclosure home from Bank of America, or from a real estate agent, a bargain can often be found. The other common term in usage being REO or real estate owned properties. Homes that are foreclosure homes are often for sale at reduced rates. The owner, being the bank or another lending organization, will take all of the profit from the profit margin. This allows them to sell these properties at reduced prices.

Bank of America foreclosures are often the result of the buyer not being able to meet the required mortgage payments. Perhaps this is due to loss of employment or another financial crisis. The statistics on Bank of America foreclosures are available by visiting any branch of Bank of America or logging onto their website. Listings of foreclosure properties are available on the website. Often, foreclosure properties will not be listed in a real estate agent’s listings or other normal listings.

Once a foreclosure home has been made as a choice by a prospective buyer, whether it is a Bank of America foreclosure or another’s, it is of the most importance to take a property survey to make sure it is free of liens and debts for work done. The foreclosed home had been bought by the bank or money lender because of financial problems in the first place. It is important to research the property carefully and make sure it is not one of the victims of the “robo” signing scandal. The “robo” signing scandal in the fall of 2010 meant that the number of foreclosure properties available in the listings and statistics had severely diminished. There were so many properties available that brought with them the question of who is the rightful owner. This had become a problem so great that people were facing losing properties that were not rightfully their own.

Statistics on foreclosure properties show that they are a sharp investment, although one that in recent times, comes with added risks. A Bank of America foreclosure property could be someone’s dream home and then quickly to turn into a nightmare.

Foreclosure Recap – Week #20

Kevin Simpson — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:57:06 +0000

According to the Monitor Bank Rates Website, when home sales were increasing by double digits and practically anyone could get a mortgage without trouble. There was literally a shortage of foreclosure properties from which to choose. Today that is no longer the case, especially in California, Florida and Texas where there is a large amount of property to choose from. There are many properties out there at bargain prices if you know where to look and what to look for. There are many different ways from which to get property and this article will show some ways and the shortfalls and strengths of each.

In the Columbus Dispatch we found a story about how a county there helped 78 homeowners avoid foreclosure and stay in the homes that they owned. The homeowners and the bankers came together face to face to work out deals to stem the foreclosures and make it possible for the families to remain in their homes. Interest rates have been cut for these people and the terms or length of the loans have been stretched out in many cases to make the payments lower so that they can be made more easily and this seems to have made a large impact on theses people.

The New York Times brings us the story of a Connecticut family that fell behind on their mortgage without even knowing it. This happened because the amount of the mortgage, $2,500 per month, was automatically adjusted from their credit union. But when the rate of the mortgage got re-adjusted from 8.3 percent to 12.5 percent, they were not aware of the increase of $1,000 more per month. The automatic withdrawal payments from the credit union did not increase so each month they fell $1,000 farther in arrears on the mortgage to the point that they were almost not able to stay out of foreclosure. These people, like many others have stated that if they didn’t have children, they would most likely just walk away from the loan.

In Ann Arbor, Michigan homeowners are struggling with upside down, or underwater mortgages. This means that they owe much more on the house they are buying than it is worth and as a result they are in a severe negative equity situation. What makes this so bad is that even if these people are able to make the current mortgage payments, they can’t refinance at lower rates because the house will not appraise with enough equity to allow a lender to give them a new mortgage. So even though they are doing everything right, they are getting the bad end of the deal because most places available now are for people that are unable to make the mortgage payments and those that are keeping up are getting, in a way, chastised for it.

Here is another touching story from the Columbus Dispatch this week. Folks that own mobile homes are feeling the pinch of the mortgage foreclosure crunch in an unusual way. Even if they own the mobile home outright and are keeping up the lot payments, if the mobile home park has problems and goes into foreclosure, the people that live there have to find a new place to move the mobile homes to. This can be a considerable expense that is not their doing. The Ohio legislature has passed a bill telling the people that own the land that they need to notify the tenants within 60 days and then the mobile home owner has an additional 30 days to vacate. Considering that most of these people are on substandard incomes and the cost of moving, it is going to be a hardship that few can sustain.

While this is not directly foreclosure related it is worthy of including here. Since the government has been unable to stop the job loss and the foreclosure numbers, they are giving some hope and reason for optimism to the voting public by banning arbitrary rate hikes and the excessive fees being charged by credit card companies. This may help to stem the fear that these already cash-strapped families are suffering from and allow them more breathing room in the budget thereby making it easier to handle the mortgage. One of the key parts is that a customer would have to be over 60 days behind in the payment to be able to get a rate increase.

This story is one of someone buying properties, which she was going to use as retirement income. She turned three of them into section 8 housing, which the government subsidies. The problem is that under the law when someone in one of these low rent properties complains and an inspection is made, the landlord has to fix the problem. This more often than not cost here money every month instead of making her income. It got so bad that she finally decide to let the three properties go into foreclosure. This meant that she was free of the burden but it also meant that three families were put out and had to find another place to live.

When considering a repayment plan or a mortgage modification plan. Which is the best option for a homeowner in mortgage distress? This question is addressed in detail in this article. The repayment plan almost is never the best option because in addition the regular mortgage, the already troubled homeowner has to pay an additional sum to cover back payments. The modification plan however is just as the name says; it modifies the existing terms to something both parties can benefit from.

From NBC local affiliate News 2 In North Carolina we get the story of an FTC website that is there to help homeowners sift through the many scams that have come into existence since the mortgage crunch. These scams are set up to help trick an already desperate homeowner out of money. The federal government has started to address the issues and this website that they set up helps to address these concerns and give people information that might help keep them from becoming a victim.

The Huntington News story tells that quotes Jay Rockefeller in saying that “I applaud President Obama for signing both the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act into law.” The article states that he feels that there are many issues that have to be addressed from credit card companies to mortgage companies and that this will go a long way towards putting the and that this is a great start put people first and to helping the American people come to terms with this crisis.

Ohio Places Moratorium on Pending Foreclosures

Julie Parker — Tue, 19 May 2009 14:24:28 +0000

Ohio is fed up with continued pace of foreclosures – a House panel has placed a six month moratorium on foreclosures. To deter the process the bill has also increased the fees for filing. The ultimate target is to see that the lenders and borrowers amicably work out the problem.

The residents of Ohio will get a six month respite from foreclosures but the provision that would have allowed the judges to alter terms of the mortgage was cancelled. But supporters of the bill are happy that at least something has been won – it being better than nothing. The House Bill 3 will impose a new fee of $750 for filing foreclosures. The money would go towards funding counseling for foreclosure prevention.

Bill Faith of Coalition on Homelessness and Housing of Ohio pointed out that according to the bill, new licensing and regulations have been introduced for those who service home mortgages and collect payments as representatives of the banks and other types of investors who are holding the mortgages. Loan modification standards would be worked out by the Ohio Department of Commerce stating guidelines for loan modifications. Faith added, “Now, servicers are incentivized to foreclose if a person stops paying. There is no incentive to work it out.”

Ohio ranked 11th in the number of foreclosure notices posted during the first quarter of 2009. In the state there were 31,595 foreclosure listings – 1.1% higher than during the same period of 2008 as per the findings of RealtyTrac. The foreclosures peaked in Ohio during October 2007.

In Franklin County the foreclosure numbers spiked to 9,300 in 2008 from 6,000 in 2004. Ed Leonard supported the bill and said it “will give lenders time and greater incentive to work out new payment terms with homeowners.”

This bill has been dubbed “the strongest, most progressive foreclosure prevention bill in the United Sates” by Rep. Mike Foley (Democrat).

Faith however feels that the clauses of the bill would make it limited in its effectiveness. Only those borrowers would benefit who could spare at least half the current mortgage amount. Also some credit unions and community banks whose assets are below $2.5 billion are exempted from the moratorium as well as the enhanced filing fee. Foley explained, “These guys are bending over backward to work with borrowers. Unlike the big guys, who could care less.”

Foley wanted judges to be empowered to alter mortgage terms when the loan had gone underwater but in the face of opposition from powerful interested parties he had to go reverse gear.

Banks in Shelby County Facing Lawsuits for Foreclosure Activities

Julie Parker — Mon, 18 May 2009 18:50:23 +0000

Shelby County is poised to file lawsuits against banks for their dubious foreclosure activities. At stake will be millions of dollars. It is an effort on the part of the administration to plug the flood of foreclosures.

The County Commission voted unanimously (8/0) during the second week of May 2009 to authorize the county to go ahead with legal procedures. Memphis City might not participate. In December 2008 the measure had been passed by preliminary votes. Again it was repeated this month.

In December the city authorities of Memphis had given support saying that it would add $125,000 to the legal fees over and above that being paid for the county. The total amount of $250,000 would be a down payment for the jumbo sized legal expenses. The government nurses the hope that the rest of the money would come from a law firm located outside the state who would be allowed to take a percentage of a whopping settlement – if and when that came about.

The officials from the city and the county said that the banks had mainly focused on neighbourhoods occupied by the Blacks for their predatory lending.

Many in the county complain that Memphis has been dragging its fee after the resolution passed in December. But Myron Lowery, the chairperson of the City Council said that as far he was concerned the game was on. Elbert Jefferson the attorney of the city was not available for comment.

The resolution passed by the county said that if Memphis city did not act by 10th June, the county would go ahead on its own with the assistance of outside legal help. Brian Kuhn the attorney for the county said that in all probability they would be working with Beasley Allen a law firm based in Montgomery. They would also be assisted by Webb Brewer, of Memphis Area Legal Services – a non-profit legal body committed to helping the needy. Brewer explained that in this case he would be acting in a separate position from that he held in the non-profit body.

The finances of the county had suffered because of foreclosures leading to a fall in tax collections.

No approximate estimate could be guessed of the dollars that could be won. Kuhn said, “There’s a big figure out there somewhere. It could be in the millions of dollars in terms of the loss of the tax rate.” He added however that maybe nothing would be won!