foreclosures: Could eminent domain stop the foreclosure flood?
- 07/18/12 06:08 AM
It's no secret that many cities across the country have been absolutely devastated by foreclosures. In order to keep more homeowners from losing their houses, three local governments in California are considering using their power of eminent domain to help underwater homeowners restructure their loans.
Under the plan, participating municipalities would condemn homes where homeowners were able to make their payments but still underwater. The government would pay fair market value to the owner, then facilitate a refinance through Mortgage Resolution Partners, which would receive a $4,500 flat fee for each loan.
Opponents of the plan raise some key issues, including:
… (2 comments)
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foreclosures: A New Wave of Foreclosures Hitting the North
- 06/21/12 02:59 AM
In a tumultuous real estate market, foreclosures are spreading from the healing South to the worsening North. No longer are the four sand states-Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada- affected most. Now, the North is getting hit by increases in foreclosures and reduced home values.
If your clientele lives in the Midwest and Northeast and are interested in buying property, keep in mind these regions, including large metropolitan areas, are being targeted by increased foreclosures.
Here are some foreclosure facts from RealtyTrac's April report:
1. Kansas City had the largest foreclosure discount
2. Chicago had the largest stock of bank-owned foreclosures … (0 comments)
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foreclosures: How to Avoid Home Foreclosure Scams
- 05/04/12 04:14 AM
You may be noticing a lot of foreclosures in your area, maybe some by former clients. Many of them are looking for ways out, but there are some red flags they should be aware of. According to the Home Preservation Foundation, foreclosure avoidance scams are up 60 percent this year compared to last.
Not enough homeowners are aware of government programs that were created to help them through the foreclosure process. We’ve compiled a list for reliable foreclosure resources.
1. The Home Affordable Refinance Program
2. The Home Affordable Modification Program
3. The Home Affordable Unemployment Program
4. The Home Affordable … (0 comments)
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foreclosures: Spring Real Estate Market Predictions
- 04/27/12 02:38 AM
The real estate market outlook this spring continues to look difficult for home sellers as prices in most markets are lower than they were a year ago at this time. A recent survey of realtors done by Coldwell Banker showed that 51 percent of agents reported that sellers were willing to change their prices to be “more competitive” this spring versus last.
For buyers, all-time low interest rates and affordable prices are a positive. However, this spring home inventory is low, meaning a smaller selection. In particular, this smaller selection of homes is of “fair value” or non-foreclosed homes. Listings nationally … (0 comments)
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foreclosures: States and Lenders Near $25B Settlement
- 01/24/12 03:49 AM
Government officials announced Monday that the nation's five biggest mortgage lenders have agreed to overhaul the industry, after robo-signing and deceptive foreclosure practices caused many consumers to lose their homes. The proposed settlement could reach $25 billion.
Even so, those who lost their homes to foreclosure are unlikely to get them back. Only about half the households who might be eligible for assistance will likely receive checks, and those checks will only be $1,800 each. That's a good amount of money, but nowhere near the cost of a home.
It's unlikely a settlement will be reached this week, according to a … (0 comments)
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foreclosures: The Real Numbers Behind the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index
- 06/28/11 08:47 AM
It seems like a positive sign – for the first time in eight months, home prices rose in 13 of the 20 cities covered by the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index. However, a closer look reveals that these findings are not what they seem.
Home prices barely budged from their all-time lows. Prices in the 20-city index rose a mere 0.7 percent. In some cities home prices fell to their lowest points in history, including places like Chicago and Las Vegas. Prices in Phoenix and Atlanta are close to where they were in 2000. Minneapolis’ average home prices are 11.1 percent … (2 comments)
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foreclosures: The New Rules of Real Estate
- 06/09/11 11:02 AM
While current market conditions most certainly present challenges to potential home buyers, I still believe there has never been a better time to buy a home. This week on CBS MoneyWatch I blogged about the 5 New Rules of Real Estate. Understanding these changes in the real estate market is essential to successfully navigating the changing real estate world.
Some of the biggest changes include:
No more big housing price jumps. If you want to buy a house, you have to have enough income to support the mortgage. Lenders will not approve you without a really good credit score. They only … (3 comments)
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foreclosures: Buying an REO or Foreclosure? Read This First.
- 06/06/11 05:50 AM
These days, many homebuyers are turning to foreclosures and taking advantage of the drop in home prices. A foreclosure—or a “real estate owned” (REO) property—is a property that is now owned by a bank.
But be careful, a foreclosure is not always an REO. Property enters into foreclosure when the owner can’t pay the mortgage. The foreclosure becomes an REO (bank-owned property) when the bank or lender repossesses the property.
Confused yet? There are a lot of pros and cons to buying a foreclosure or REO, so it's important to understand the process of buying these homes before you begin. Otherwise, … (0 comments)
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foreclosures: 3 Steps To Taking Control Of Your Credit Report
- 04/11/11 04:54 AM
More people than ever are seeking credit counseling, according to Mechel Glass, director of education for CredAbility. These people also tend to have better credit scores than just a few years ago. In 2009, the average homeowner seeking foreclosure prevention counseling had an average score of 565, but the number rose to 572 last year.
According to Glass, homeowners seeking to avoid foreclosure have an average income over $50,000. This reflects who credit counselors are seeing more and more frequently: people with greater incomes and assets. While no one can magically bump up your credit score, you can take control of your credit … (4 comments)
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foreclosures: The Home-Selling Nightmare Never Ends For Some Homeowners
- 01/28/11 01:54 AM
It’s a home-selling nightmare: Your home has been on the market for months, or even years, without so much as a nibble.Nearly every Sunday on my WSB radio show, I hear from home sellers who are stuck in this kind of never-ending home-selling nightmare. They can’t sell because one, two, or more homes in the area were sold as foreclosures for pennies on the dollar or are listed for a fraction of the “value” of the neighborhood.Here’s what I’ve been telling sellers: If you want to know how easy or difficult it will be to sell your home, step outside your … (2 comments)
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foreclosures: How To Avoid Foreclosure After One Missed Mortgage Payment
- 01/24/11 07:28 AM
The number of emails I’ve received from homeowners in distress has increased in the last few weeks. It’s almost as though the Christmas foreclosure freeze has thawed, and lenders are trying to fight through the backload of homeowners who aren’t paying their mortgages.
Maybe this is what’s happening. I don’t know.I do know that lenders are on the lookout for borrowers who miss their first payment. It’s well-known in the lending industry that the vast majority of homeowners who miss a single payment, and are late just by 30 days, will figure out a way to catch up on their payments.
… (2 comments)
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foreclosures: Underwater With Your Mortgage? You're Not Alone
- 01/21/11 02:05 AM
Are you underwater with your mortgage? You’re not alone.According to the latest figures from CoreLogic, 10.8 million, or 22.5 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages were in negative equity at the end of the third quarter of 2010, down from 11 million and 23 percent in the second quarter.Unfortunately, the decrease in the number of homeowners who are underwater with their loans was due primarily to foreclosures of severely negative-equity properties rather than an increase in home values.Besides indicating that the decline in home values is far from over, the latest numbers show some interesting patterns. For example, negative equity … (2 comments)
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foreclosures: U.S. Home Foreclosures: The Numbers By Total U.S. Homeowners
- 11/08/10 05:27 AM
U.S. Home Foreclosures: The Numbers By Total U.S. Homeowners Here are some numbers to help you put things into perspective:
There are about 110 million households (give or take a few million). About 65 percent of American households own their own home, according to the Census bureau. So, we're talking about roughly 65 million to 70 million homeowners.
Of those, we've had 4 to 5 million foreclosures and economists from the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders estimate that we’ll have another 4 to 12 million additional foreclosures before we get the U.S. housing market … (3 comments)
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foreclosures: 4 Tips for Buying a HUD Home
- 10/29/10 05:43 AM
A HUD home is nothing more than a house that was purchased with an FHA loan that has since fallen into foreclosure.
(I’m not sure why these homes aren’t called “FHA foreclosures,” which would be more intuitive for home buyers and investors, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] is the federal office that takes ultimate responsibility for FHA and its home loans gone wrong.)
Buying a HUD home is different from buying another type of foreclosed property. For starters, HUD homes are sold exclusively online in an auction process known as an “offer period.”
There used to be a … (4 comments)
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foreclosures: 3 Banks Participate in Foreclosure Freeze
- 10/04/10 04:28 AM
Three major U.S. banks have suspend foreclosures in 23 states to "amend" filed paperwork.
Ally bank, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase have halted foreclosure proceedings after admitting that there have been some processing problems. Among the problems is the use of “robo-signatures”--employees whose only task is to sign foreclosure documents without reviewing the paperwork. Real estate expert Ilyce Glink was interviewed on Good Morning America to discuss whether or not the foreclosure freeze will help homeowners. Watch the full story from GMA below, look for Ilyce around the 1:15 mark.
Ilyce is also updating her CBS Moneywatch blog … (5 comments)
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foreclosures: How to Profit from Foreclosure in 2010
- 09/08/10 05:24 AM
My latest event is fast approaching. If you're in Atlanta or can get to Atlanta and are interested in investing in foreclosures this event will NOT disappoint.
Real World Seminars is a series of events designed to educate and inform buyers and sellers about the real estate process. You will learn tips to succeed, analyze case studies on how to do things properly, and be warned of the pitfalls to avoid when buying or selling real estate, all from successful professionals in the field.
Produced by Think Glink in an effort to give real advice about real estate to the real … (2 comments)
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foreclosures: Remember when the housing market used to be about location?
- 07/29/10 05:37 AM
I was on FOX Chicago this morning talking about the real estate market. We covered short sales, foreclosure, tips for buyers, tips for sellers and more.
I even made a prediction for when people should expect a turnaround in the market.
What do you see happening in your neighborhood? When do you think the turnaround is coming?
Let me know what you're thinking Rainers!
… (1 comments)
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foreclosures: Former Homeowner Shares How Foreclosure Ruined His Life
- 03/17/10 04:42 AM
Q: I am a victim of foreclosure this year, having lost my townhouse in October of last year. I am a professional, middle-class 36 year old and was the sole owner of my home.
When I was laid off from my job as a marketing director, I simply couldn't keep current on my mortgage payments. I worked with my lender as long as I could, went through a modification, but without full-time employment, there was nothing left I could do except bid my home farewell. It was the most heartbreaking experience.
Now that my credit is ruined and I have … (3 comments)
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foreclosures: Foreclosure Coming? How About Bulldozing Your House
- 02/23/10 09:02 AM
Terry Hoskins had been in a multi-year struggle with his bank. He wasn’t paying his mortgage - or any of his other debts. Finally, the bank began foreclosure proceedings over his $350,000 Clermont County, Ohio home.
Terry’s complaint is that he owed $160,000 on a $350,000 house, but the bank still wanted to foreclose. After dragging this out for 10 years, the bank decided enough was enough. Terry decided that if he couldn’t get the bank to agree on a solution other than foreclosure, he might as well bulldoze the house.
So what will the bank do now? The bank will … (3 comments)
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foreclosures: Buy, Close, Move In!
- 02/14/10 09:21 AM
This is my latest book, available beginning April, 2010. The book looks at the way real estate used to be, and how the credit crisis, housing crisis and pervasive mortgage fraud have created a brave new world of real estate.
If you are buying a home to live in or if you are buying investment real estate, this book walks you through what you need to know now in order to safely and profitably navigate the new world of real estate.
The book is available for purchase from all major bookstores and book websites including Amazon.com. Here's a little taste … (3 comments)
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It's no secret that many cities across the country have been absolutely devastated by foreclosures. In order to keep more homeowners from losing their houses, three local governments in California are considering using their power of eminent domain to help underwater homeowners restructure their loans.
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