DATE: 03/15/2010                                                  For more information, please contact: Troy Fowler (305) 754-2888

                                                                                        troy@Auction-Generation.com

TROY FOWLER EARNS PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE

Troy Fowler of Auction Generation  has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by "distressed" homes in the foreclosure process.

 Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

 In the Miami area, many thousands of  homes are in danger of foreclosing and new cases are being filed daily.. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune.

 "This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales," said Troy Fowler. "In my opinion, it is the most the most effective method to avoid a complicated foreclosure that can have much more serious consequences."

 Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as Troy Fowler with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

Approximately half of South Florida homes that sold in December did so at a loss for the seller.  Statewide, close to half of all homes also sold at a loss in December.

 It is becoming much more evident just how much home values have fallen in South Florida since the peak of the market.  With more than 500,000 Florida homes receiving some form of foreclosure notice last year, it should come as no surprise that prices are continuing to tilt downward.

 To put these numbers in perspective, nationally 28% of homes sold at a loss in the month of December.  Florida's rate was nearly double that figure.  It is a tough time for sellers that need to sell. 

 There are mixed views as to whether we have bottomed out or if more declines will be seen in the months ahead.

 As a seller, you may qualify to sell your property as a short sale.  It is not for everyone, but if you are in financial difficulty and your expenses exceed your income, a short sale may be an excellent alternative to walking away from your property and letting it foreclose.  Short sales can be tedious, but they are becoming easier to work through. 

 It may very well be well worth the time and effort now to look  at the short sale option while you have time to sell than wait until the lender is in the midst of foreclosing.  Even if you are in the foreclosure proceed, many lenders will hold off on a foreclosure if they know you are actively working to  short sale your property.

 As a Short Sale Specialist who is CDPE certified (less than 25000 realtors nationwide) to handle short sales, we can assist you in all aspects of the sale of your home(at no cost to you) as a short sale allowing you to eliminate many of the negative consequences of a foreclosure. 

  As foreclosures begin to rise in the luxury home market, an increasing percentage of these properties are being sold at auction.  

 In 2009, close to 19000 homes with values exceeding $ 1 million were in some stage of foreclosure.  This represents a 160% increase from 2008.  

At the same time, prices of homes in the luxury market on average have decreased  approximately 25%.  Values of luxury properties have taken even larger hits in specific areas of the country such as California, Florida, Nevada, Arizona and Michigan.  

Many homeowners who are not candidates for short sales and want to avoid foreclosure are turning to qualified auction companies to assist in obtaining the highest value quickly as opposed to waiting months or years to sell through the traditional listing method.  

Most homeowners who are on the market in this economy  because they need to sell.  If you are attempting to sell your property, regardless of value and are not a short sale candidate, you may want to consider the auction method. 

  Seeking options for dealing with the nations increasing foreclosures, industry executives are looking at alternatives that before would have never been considered.

 Citigroup, for example, is now allowing delinquent borrowers who do not qualify or refuse for existing programs to remain in their homes for up to 6 months without demanding payments, before returning the keys, if they maintain the property and leave the premises in good condition.

 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have developed programs allowing former homeowners to become renters after a foreclosure.

 The Treasury Department has also jumped in offering lenders $1000.00 in exchange for allowing borrowers to sell their homes in a short sale.

 Of course, all of these actions are not purely offered as a means to help the otherwise ailing homeowner. 

These institutions and agencies fully understand the drastic implications if all of theses homes were to flood the market in a short period of time and the consequences it could have on the health of our economy.  That being said, thankfully measures are being taken to slow the bleeding of a sick real estate economy and help it to begin the process of returning to a more balanced and viable industry for homeowners and investors alike.

  It was just reported that the number of homes in the US now facing foreclosure jumped 15% in one year and that another wave of debt ridden homeowners could be adding to those numbers in the months ahead.

  In 2009, approximately 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure.  This year that number is already expected to rise up to 3.5 million according to RealtyTrac, a leading real estate services firm.   Slowing the foreclosure rate is a key step in the recovery of the real estate market.

 Many foreclosures can be avoided if homeowners take proactive steps to work with qualified Short Sale Specialists.  As a Certified Distress Property Expert (CDPE), we work with homeowners who are facing serious challenges in maintaining payments and staying in there homes. 

To learn more about Short Sales and how you may qualify to sell your home using the Short Sale method, please call me @ 305-754-2888.

Thank you!

Financial institutions are  saddled with a potential  loss of over $300 billion or more in commercial loans that will be coming due over the next several years. These enormous losses could actually cause banks to fail and create enormous challenges for cities that will be left with abandoned buildings and empty storefronts. 

Smaller banks are actually much more vulnerable than  large Wall Street firms since smaller banks make up a large percentage of commercial lenders and lack the loan loss reserves to meet such a challenging downturn in the commercial markets

 Commercial values have fallen as much as 40% over the past 3 years.   This will create dire consequences for the smaller community banks as the owners of these properties stop paying mortgages, loan defaults increase and these properties fall into disrepair.

 In my opinion, lenders and community banks that are holding a significant portion of commercial loans need to take proactive measures now, as values will continue to fall or remain flat and borrowers will begin defaulting more and more.

 Short Sale Auctions can offer both the owner and the lender an opportunity to partner together and work with an experienced auctioneer to create an effective sales strategy that will create interest and bids on an otherwise troubled property. 

This option can allow  both the lender and the seller to liquidate the property and hopefully minimize losses in a market with many troubles yet to come.

   In a further sign of home market value declines and defaults,  US prime jumbo mortgage defaults reached 9.6% up from 9.2% in December of 2009.

This represents the 32nd straight increase for delinquencies in jumbo mortgages. 

   Jumbo loans currently range from $417,00.00 to $729,750.00 in high cost areas.  The reasons behind this increase in defaults can be attributed to the same reasons for defaults in virtually all housing segments which include:

• Decline in values 
• Oversupply 
• Lack of qualified buyers and demand
• High unemployment
• Strategic defaults or simply put, homeowners who just decide to stop paying.

  In my opinion, the housing crisis will continue to be the overarching dilemma that will have to be dealt with effectively, before our economy will return to any sustainable rebound.

 Having gone before the Miami-Dade County  property tax appeals panel to dispute property taxes, I understand how challenging it can be to get your property taxes lowered.

  It all but seems that those who raised  our taxes during the boom are having a much harder time lowering these assessments  now that have prices have fallen!!!  Not only do they make it very challenging to prepare for a meeting with the panel who determines your fate, but the decreases that I have seen and heard about are still well below the ratio of current market values.

  Property owners are getting fed up with paying county fees that are exorbitant compared to the lower values of their properties.  It is just one more nail in the coffin that may be a deciding factor as to whether or not an owner will  keep a property or let it go!  

 In this tough market (especially Florida), where unemployment is high, wages are lower(one of the most impoverished counties in the country) and real estate prices were speculated to those values of New York or Paris, isn't it time to drop the assessments and live in the present with the rest of us?

  Why don't these counties commissioners  give up some of those perks and pensions and adjust their belts as we have all had to do, or we all may just may find a real estate market with owners refusing to pay these outrageous fees and a land full of renters. 

 Since the beginning of 2007, commercial real estate values in many parts of the country have declined anywhere from 30% to 50 %. While this has caused financial pain and loss for many. It is widely believed that once we reach an equilibrium, a pent up demand for commercial properties will return. But for now most of that capital remains on the sidelines.

  The quicker we get there, the better off we will all be.  Rents and values will once again be much more aligned.  Vacancy rates will drop and businesses can again increase bottom line profits after fixed expenses such as rents are stabilized.

  One of the primary reasons the recovery is being held up are the banks that do not want to write down the value of these assets.  In general, they are choosing to look the other way and in many cases extend existing loans that are coming due rather than confront a new lowered value.

  Until the valuation and financing issues are more completely addressed by financial institutions, we will continue to see a stagnant commercial market in many parts of the country and purchases will remain on hold.  

 Commercial short sales are now being considered (much like those utilized in the residential markets) to purchase commercial properties at current market values.  Short sale auctions are also being discussed as a method to maximize sales value through the auction bidding process.

  For more information on commercial valuation, short sales and auctions, please contact Troy Fowler at 305-754-2888 or visit www.Auction-Generation.com

 Florida and California cities accounted for 17 of the top 20 cities with housing facing foreclosures in the US.  Unemployment is now creeping up as a primary reason that these numbers are increasing and the forecloses have now shifted away from speculators who are turning over properties to banks to primary homeowners who can no longer keep up with monthly housing costs.

It is now widely believed that we are entering a new wave of foreclosures that will be driven by pure economic hardships and unemployment than what initiated it,  otherwise known as  subprime loans that started the downfall in 2007. 

Las Vegas remains at the top where 12% of households have received a notice of default, auction or repossession in 2009, more than 5 times the national average.  Cape Coral-Ft Myers had the second highest rate of foreclosure filings. 

 Other Florida cities with very high filing ratios included Orlando, Port St Lucie, and Miami- Ft Lauderdale and Pompano Beach, all at the top end of filings.

These statistics definitely reinforce the need for a much more proactive approach to sell property including short sales, auctions and banks taking a more aggressive approach to getting bad loans off the books by selling REO inventory.

To learn more about non traditional sales methods that can make a difference in selling your property, Pease visit www.Auction-Generation.com 

Troy Fowler Lic. Real Estate Broker & Lic. Real Estate Auctioneer #AU3595