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.

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The programme came into effect in March 2009 and it is included in the plans of Obama government to put aright the tottering economy by stabilizing the real estate market. The measure has two sides – modification of loans and refinancing of loans.

In loan modification the lender alters the terms of the current loan mainly by reducing interest rate and or increasing the time period of the loan. The target is to bring about a balance between the income of the borrower and the expenditure on housing loan.

Refinancing involves the clearing of a loan and getting another. Refinancing generally improves the terms of the loan with lower interest rates.

The borrowers are advised by experts and advocates that those who get an approval for loan modification should closely scrutinize the terms of the mortgage to see that this will actually be beneficial and affordable to and for them. Prior to the government programme many have managed to get modification that have turned out to be detrimental. This has led them to default again. The mortgage payments have often increased rather than decreased.

Andrew Loubert of NeighborWorks America said, “Over the last six months, there have been failed modifications where the lender will create a modification that’s convenient to the lender, but makes no sense for the homeowner.” He explains that when the borrower is say lagging behind four months in payment the lender wants cash to flow again. So he agrees to modification but tags on the due amount to the fag end of the loan. This causes the principal and thereby the interest to increase without helping the borrower at all. The so-called modification was just a white wash!

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Foreclosures today are opening up many opportunities for investors and others in Katy. About a year previously nearly three fourths of the houses sitting on the shop shelves waiting to be sold in Bear Creek Meadow sub-division of Katy belonged to the foreclosure category. Many stood vacant, deserted and eerie. Many of those who did not have plans of moving away from the cursed locality were apprehensive that things were going from bad to worse.

Recently the picture has changed although the vacant houses and ‘for sale’ continue to dot the landscape. Something else has been taking place. There are strong rumours that the foreclosed houses are being purchased by investors who are planning to lease them out. Some of the potential buyers are retirees and new nest builders.

Luis Murica is one of those interested. He has come from New Jersey to Texas and has paid cash to buy a foreclosed house in Bear Creek. The units that previously had a price tag of $150,000 are today being sold for around $100,000. Realtor Veronica Mullenix said that the houses are as good as new – having hardly been occupied. Some are virgin new.

Although the days of easy financing are over there are other advantages today. Prices have never before been so low enabling those with middle income to qualify as buyers. It is a great opportunity for those buying a house for the first time. There are certain pre-conditions that have to be met – a job, down payment etc. Mullenix explains that this was the way it used to be when the previous generation used to shop for homes.

In Bear Creek the sale of houses has slowly but surely started to pick up. A sure sign of it is that the prices have started to inch upwards. Mullenix said, “Well, now we’re seeing this upswing. It’s not huge, but we’re seeing a little tick upward.”

The new sub-divisions in Katy have been badly hit by the foreclosure crisis but there are certain plus points that will assist this area to recover. New retailers are showing interest. Some are planning to build hospitals. This means new workers and employees will be moving in. All will be requiring a roof above their heads close to their places of work. There are plans to set up a new school also. The biggest bonus is the new and better Katy Freeway. All these factors will have a positive impact on the home sale numbers.

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One of the critics is Jenny Eaton of north Fort Worth. She tried to put in her objections regarding property tax but because of personal health problems could not pursue the matter. Many foreclosed houses in this area have been sold for prices much below the market rate and this has made her challenge the rate of house tax that is being charged.

Eaton is not alone in her line of thinking and approach. But Jeff Law the executive director of Tarrant Appraisal said that the value of both commercial and residential properties would not see major decreases till 2009; rather they will increase. He added, “We’re always preparing for protests each and every year, whether or not we’re going to see an increase in filings this year we don’t know.”

Law comments that value of property in Tarrant County has remained strong in comparison to other parts of the country. He added, “The appraisal district does not forecast the future; we report and follow value trends from the prior year. If the next year, sales and economic data show a slowing or decrease in values, those will be reflected.”

Data findings by First American CoreLogic show that the prices in the Fort Worth region have gone up by 1% during the past twelve months. It is below the state’s median increase of 2.7% but much above the national fall of 10.4%. Sam Khater, the senior economist of the firm said, “In January 2008, Fort Worth prices were up 3.3% year over year, but by June, price appreciation decelerated to 2.8% and further slowed to 1% as of October.”

Research economist Jim Gaines said that foreclosures are like wild beasts that “could throw a wrench into everything.” He explained that some pockets are more affected by foreclosures than others. It is doubtful if the appraisers will be taking this into consideration in their calculations without the prodding of the taxpayers. Commenting on this Law said that the foreclosures might not be at all taken into consideration while making the appraisals. He said, “Generally, a foreclosure is not an arm’s length transaction – in other words, it was not sold under a normal market transaction. However if there are a large number of foreclosure sale in an area, we recognize that that could have an impact on other arms’ length transactions and we’ll try to acknowledge that.”

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In Bell County the foreclosure postings have increased by 32% from December 2008 and also from January 2008. In Williamson the figures are worse with a 50% hike. In McLennan the spike is by 68% during the same period of comparison. Across the country foreclosures have increased by 28% in comparison to November 2008.

Fannie Mae said in a press release that it is expediting plans to get foreclosure victims to enter into a new arrangement by which monthly payments will be more affordable. The interest rate will either be reduced or the loan term extended. Payments may also be deferred. The plan is targeting those borrowers who have defaulted for three or more months.

The president of FSLI, George Roddy sr., expressed surprise that foreclosures continued to jump despite all these measures. He said, “January’s posting activity remained extremely high compared to this time last year. For the January foreclosure auctions, there has been no substantial easing in the filing of foreclosure notices.” Roddy however added that in the Bell County the foreclosure numbers under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had dropped slightly. But it was not up to the expected levels and a far cry from what is required to stem the tide of raging foreclosures. The postings initiated by Fannie and Freddie in Bell County account for 23% of the total number of foreclosures. He bemoaned, “For the most part, there was not a significant change in the share of postings filed regarding Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac loans.”

In Bell County the foreclosure postings for January 2009 have gone up by 64% in comparison to January 2007 and a staggering 77% in comparison to January 2006. Most of these are because of the swing in fortune of soldiers of Fort Hood facing multiple overseas deployments. Analyst Bonnie Brown of FSLI points out, “46% of the residential postings filed for the upcoming January foreclosure auction in Bell County were on delinquent VA loans.”

To contain foreclosure rescue fraudulent practices the Attorney General of Texas Greg Abbott and Senator Craig Estes (Republican) are taken legal initiatives to hone down and penalize the offenders. The law being drafted stipulates that those who promise prevention of foreclosure must do so in writing that must be plain and understandable.

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Residential Strategies is a firm that keeps track of the housing market According to its experts fewer than 0.1% of house owners in Central Texas who had bought houses during the years stretching from 2005 to 2007, are foreclosing because of sub-prime mortgages The reason, opines the experts, is that the capital of Texas, Austin, is still one of the most affordable places to reside in. Here house prices did not spike during the beginning of the zoom years like they did in other states like Florida and California. This region has seen less than 1% difference in the cost of purchasing a house.

Nevertheless the foreclosure numbers have affected the construction industry in Central Texas. Seventeen thousand houses had been built in 2006. But so far in 2008 fewer than 10,000 units have started to be built. Builders now do not have any incentive to continue. The fact is that 35% to 60% of those who qualified to avail of a mortgage about two years ago cannot be considered as eligible nowadays.

The reason for this is not only the foreclosure related crisis. The seller-assisted arrangement of finance was done away with. In that method the builders or the sellers could purchase down a rate of interest. But that option is no longer there. This was the opinion of Mark Sprague of Residential Strategies. The result has been a sharp fall in the number of those who could qualify to buy a property.

According to predictions of experts, the second half of 2009 will see a spurt of residential building activity. Over and above this there will be a rise in condo sales in the downtown markets – the latter not having slowed down. It is a sure indication that the economy of Austin is still strong and continues to thrive. Texas has always has a record of bouncing back because of its own resilience.

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When Fear is stalking each home all that the nation gets is a minute of empty promises and assurances. There is no doubt that the American economy is in shambles – no matter what the pundits say. Foreclosures are having the last laugh dominating and haunting the scene.

What can Tom and Mary down the street do? If they are looking for jobs then the shoes had better be tough because the queue is going to be hopelessly long. Others in the family facing inevitable foreclosure should hunt around for a mobile van to move into. There is a good demand for these in the market. The cautious who gets taken in by all the talk going around about foreclosure solutions might hunt out a counselor and waste some precious time.

Uncle Sam is ready with a helping hand to investment big bodies in Wall Street that have been ruined by their own greed and criminal irresponsible behaviour. For the ordinary Tom and Mary it is a one-minute breezy froth from a government that ignores the hard workingman and woman in the streets. The old are looking feeblyat a bleak future when time is no longer their ally.

This foreclosure crisis is the direct consequence of the laissez-faire policy of the Republicans. Millions of families are drowning. Numbers cannot gauge their pain. The GOP antenna is not even trying to pick up their potent messages.

The passing of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act was a modest step in the right direction in July, by the Congress. It encourages lenders to come forward of their own accord to refinance troubled mortgages with the participation of FHA. But critics are loud about how much it will really help because the issue is pivotal on the voluntary participation of the lenders. Lenders may or may not negotiate. As such it stands to reason that they will deal with only those houses that have some equity left over.

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Foreclosed pets have become a term in foreclosure language to refer to pets that have been abandoned by their foreclosed owners. The guns are being focused on them at a time when these hapless creatures need help most.

The Sportmen’s Alliance of USA has announced that the community should not participate in any programme aimed that helping hundreds and thousands of pets suffering from the foreclosure crisis. It is not just an empty threat. They drive home their message in no uncertain way.

The Humane Society of USA after noting the rising demand of animal shelter and volunteers because of the problems arising from the foreclosure crisis, launched an Emergency Fund to help the quadrupeds. The unfortunate dogs and cats understand little about investments bubbles and bursting. The fund will be utilized for setting up animal shelters and organizing rescue groups right across the country. In sympathy with the specific nature of the tragedy many humane humans in business or otherwise have loosened their purse strings to help. The HSUS is operating as the Clearing House for these funds rolling in.

The Meijer chain of stores in the Midwest decided to come forward with $5,000 for the foreclosed pets. The money was collected in a unique way by taking $1 per customer who enrolled for the shop’s Pet Photo contest flashed on its website.

At this juncture this group that claims to represent the hunters entered the scene. It has a grudge against HSUS for the restrictions placed on it for targeting guns at captive hand-fed creatures fenced in enclosures. The hunters were actually after guaranteed trophies and as such anything the HSUS or HSLF did, came up against their ire. They have gone to the insane point of sentencing doomed foreclosed dogs and cats to horrendous death. The Meijer was threatened to such an extent that it has withdrawn from the good work it was doing for the foreclosed victims.

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There is an art to buying Texas foreclosures for sale, before the Auction actually happens. The auction of the property is the very last step that takes place before the mortgage on the property is foreclosed upon. Individual investors are the only ones who can actually measure the risk, but it is noteworthy that reward follows risk. Some investors believe that there is not enough reward in this form of investment, perhaps purely because it does take some hard work and research. Some investors also see this as a moral issue. Are they taking advantage of a homeowner in less than prefect circumstances, or are they helping him out? It is inevitable that both the lender and the homeowner lose out in Texas foreclosures for sale. Neither party wants this to happen, but it is going to nevertheless.

Finding a homeowner and lender who are motivated to resolve the foreclosure process is key to the investor winning in a pre-foreclosure purchase. The window of opportunity for the investor opens up when the Lis Pendens is issued. This is a notice that informs everyone legal action is pending against the homeowner. The window closed on the day that the property is sold. The duration of time between these events is when the investor has to try to create a workout strategy with the homeowner in order to purchase his property before the date of the auction. The amount of time that this window of opportunity remains open varies immensely.

It is important for the investor to bear in mind that he is actually helping the homeowner out. There is a pending foreclosure on the property and this will mean fairly irreparable damage to the homeowners credit rating. In a pre-foreclosure sale the investor will rescue the loan and thereby maintain the value of the property. It could also mean a very good profit for the investor. He purchases the equity in the property by working out a strategy with the homeowner and the lender, then sells the property for a profit.

As previously stated, there is a great deal that needs to be done before any pre-foreclosure sale can take place. The investor has a whole list of items that need to be taken care of prior to being able to effect this purchase method. The basic guidelines include:

* Locating potential loans in default

* Narrowing down of the selection of properties

* Contacting the homeowner (this is probably the most difficult task)

* Inspection of the property (this can only be done by contacting the owner and receiving good co-operation)

* Determine what it I is that the homeowner requires

* Calculation of profits, what you will purchase the property for and then on-sell it for.

* Negotiations with the homeowner, the lender and in many instances lien holders.

* Close the property sale, repair it and resell as quickly as possible.

Foreclosures in Texas Top Counties

• Harris County
• Dallas County
• Tarrant County
• Bexar County
• Denton County
• Fort Bend County
• Collin County
• Montgomery County
• Travis County
• Hidalgo County

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It is apprehended by experts that in the forthcoming years about 300 banks will fail. It is an eerie reminder of the picture in Texas during the eighties when a real estate crisis busted hundreds of banks – long time thought to be the pillars of economy. However many analysts are hopeful that this time it will not get that bad because Texas is not the epicenter of the foreclosure crisis currently raging.

From 1980 to 1994 over 1,600 banks failed in USA dragging down assets worth $2 billion according to figures of Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Even larger than this was the savings and loan debacle during the same time that gobbled up 1,000 institutions having assets over $500 billion. The cleaning up of the savings and loan mess required $150 billion. All came out of the pockets of the taxpayers. Dick Evans of Cullen/Frost Bankers Inc. recalls that his bank was one of the top ten that survived. But it was tough going.

Today the investment experts say that despite the ongoing foreclosure crisis the banks are relatively in a better position than during the eighties. The economy in Texas is out performing that of the country as a whole. Twenty years ago a foreclosure tide swept away jobs and houses in thousands right through the state.

Gerard Cassidy was young and gullible during the eighties and believed everything that the banks said. At that time he was with an insurance company. His work led him to deal with many banks in Texas. He saw for himself how everything and everyone went down with the ship. Today he is a bank analyst and a much wiser man as he surveys the ongoing foreclosure crisis with experienced eyes. He can measure ahead the symptoms of bank failure. He calls this the Texas-Ratio. His calculations led him to predict the oncoming failure of IndyMac and it turned out to be true. It busted this month as one of the largest bank collapses in the history of the country.

Mr. Cassidy predicts more worries ahead but nevertheless this foreclosure crisis is not quite so bad as the early nineties.

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