Foreclosure Recap – Week #52
And you thought your bank was giving you grief. The First Of America Bank in the state of Nevada is seeking control of a very popular and prominent shopping center in Las Vegas claiming that the people in charge there have not turned over the rent monies that they had collected in a timely manner and caused hardship for the investors. It is for a nearly $58 million dollar loan that the bank has outstanding for the property. At the time the loan was given in 2007 the shopping mall was at nearly 95 percent lease. Today that number has fallen to between 51 and 63 percent and the actual value of the property is currently listed at $38.5 million, nearly $20 million less than what is owed in the loan.
The folks in Atlanta seem to think that the housing market is on the way to a recovery. At least they say it is going to be a slow climb but 2010 looks like the year to them. The article shows that the area is now selling homes in the in town area at a fairly good clip and gives some optimistic views and over all outlook. The recovery, as they state, is going to be slow and a gradual climb but all the things in the Atlanta Georgia area are pointing upwards. A good deal of the increase is from the stimulus package and the tax breaks, which carry over into April of this year.
As you are reviewing the real estate news and if you’d like to have a little insight into the real estate market in the state of Florida. The New York Times gives us this article telling a very depressing and sad tale about the real estate market there. One example that they listed was a home that is in Cape Coral Florida on an outlet that empties directly into the Gulf of Mexico. A well maintained home that was sold in the year 2005 for the price of $850,000 and is listed on the market today for a mere $273,000 and is still not selling. In fact these homes have even found their way into the tourist attractions in the area because it is just plain hard to believe that something this spectacular is listed this cheaply and it is still not selling. You can review the entire article from the New York Times here:
In the state of Connecticut a family has fallen prey to the foreclosure issues facing the nation today. Their story is a little different and quite heartbreaking to read. The house has been in the family for 105 years and through a series of issues that was capped off by what appears to be nothing more than miscommunication between the lender, HSBC and the owners. They are being forced out of a home that has risen generations of member’s of this family. The owners tried working with the lender who continually assured them that they were working on it and would work it out with them and then in mid-December they got the foreclosure notice from the lender. It makes you stop and wonder how many of us could actually end up in a similar situation and quite literally through no fault of our own. They appear to have done everything right and yet have ended up on the wrong side of the statistics.
Our next article comes to us courtesy of the USA Today paper and is centered in the biggest city in the south, Atlanta. One of the newest and most posh places to stay in the city, the Mansion on Peachtree is in danger of being a victim of foreclosure in the current crisis. There are 42 stories and 127 rooms that go for as low as $269 per night. While to some of us that might seem a bit on the high side it was not over the top a few years ago. But since companies and many people as well have cut back on travel. The downturn is being felt in a big way as people cut corners and head to less expensive places to sleep.
In a rather amusing anecdote to the current foreclosure, unemployment and bankruptcy issues facing the country today we bring you thins story of the parent company of Foreclosure.com who has just filed for federal bankruptcy protection. We won’t waste a lot of time on this one. Some of you will find it worth the time to read and others won’t. Personally, I think it is worth a few moments to review.
This story is one that most homeowners today can relate to. It is about underwater mortgages and the options that you might have for refinancing your underwater real estate. The article contains some useful information and links to other areas that expound on things that are mentioned within the context of the article. While there is very limited new information available her and most of it has to do with governments “Making Homes Affordable” program. Having all of the information in one place can certainly make things easier if you are interested in checking out the options.
It’s that time of the year, when people look back at what promises were made by the folks in Washington and get ready to look at the elections due to happen. Time to look over what actually happened that was good and what was bad and to try and sort out who should be elected to help stem the tide of the bad things. This article from the Washington Independent attempts to answer the questions of who screwed up on what promises and who stands where on what in terms of how to best effect the changes that need to happen. Certainly not an earth shattering article bit one worth a few moments time to review, no doubt.
Finally this week from the New York Times we have a story about walking away from your mortgage. For the first time in history people are choosing to forego the American dream and let houses go and simply walk away. In prior years families would do whatever they need to do to be able to hold on the family homestead. Unfortunately is has become more of a moral issue where people weigh how other people will feel about the decision. No one actually cares when a financial institution makes the decision to walk away from a bad investment and let it go into foreclosure and yet if a family does it there is a social stigmatism involved. The article gives you a good meaty story to read and give you some interesting food for thought. You can find the entire story located here:
