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Foreclosures - Where have all the people gone?

By Dee Dee Hanson

Real Estate Agent with Dorothy Hanson, Broker

December 19, 2007 03:54 AM

Could you let me know where your clients and neighbors who have been foreclosed upon gone to? We have quite a few foreclosures here in Michigan. The only person I have known who was foreclosed on moved to Phoenix for another job. NPR recently reported the numbers of homeless have increased and now include more families than ever. I would appreciate some responses to this for an unofficial poll.

The only three options that I can think of for these people would be:

move to another state or elsewhere for a job,
move in with relatives,
or homelessness.

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Frank Rubi

Frank Rubi Real Estate, LLC - Metairie, LA

FrankRubiRealEstate.com

Dee, you ask a good question. I frankly, do not know. I have only one foreclosure that I know of. He situation is directly related to hurricane Katrina and Insurance companies that will not pay properly.

Dec 19, 2007 03:57 AM

Dee Dee Hanson

Dorothy Hanson, Broker - Saugatuck, MI

If you love Saugatuck. . service is what I do

Frank, where did your client go? Did he have a job?

Dec 19, 2007 04:06 AM

Chad Baird

Re/Max Spirit - Dayton, OH

I like to think that they found a rental to move into, especially when it is obvious that they had kids. When I started with REO's I would ask the questions, and the stories are disturbing.

I met a family a little over a year ago. Nice people, nice family, decent house. I talked to them about listing it, gave them the numbers, they were disappointed. I was pretty honest with them about the pricing, and refused to list at 25K above market. I encouraged them to call other agents, there original agent, or stay with my plan. I really do not need an unsalable listing. I let them to make there decision. It turned out that during our conversation, we knew mutual people, and they asked to be put on my mailing list either way. They liked the recipie cards and what not that I was sending out. I added them, never got a call back from them to list.

A few months ago, their mailing started getting returned me. Postcards are funny so I sent them one the next month, it was returned. I called them at home, phone disconnected. I emailed him at home and the office, they both bounced back to me. So I removed them from my mailing list. A potential client flew the coup.

This past Friday I was showing REO properties to a client. I knew the street and location. When I pulled it to the house, It hit me, It was the person the family I had met with. I hated showing the house, I hated writing the contract to purchase the house. I hope that they are doing OK though.

Dec 19, 2007 04:16 AM

Dee Dee Hanson

Dorothy Hanson, Broker - Saugatuck, MI

If you love Saugatuck. . service is what I do

Chad, thanks very much for taking the time to read my post on foreclosures and respond. I have been doing some evaluations for mortgage companies to determine a value to list their foreclosures.

Every time I go into a home I wonder about the people who have left and where they have gone. Some of the owners were obviously angry and left after destroying major portions of the home. Others loved the home and left it in the best possible condition they could.

I just wonder where all the people have gone.

Dec 20, 2007 02:40 AM

Anonymous

Linda G

I stumbled across this blog of yours when I typed into Google "Where have the foreclosed people gone?" (without the quotation marks).

I live in the Metro Atlanta area, where foreclosures are rampant and rising. My husband was laid off from an architecture job in January, and still hasn't found another job - not for lack of trying! I babysit part-time. Due to health problems, and no health insurance, I can't work full-time.

Foreclosure seems a real threat to us. We've only been able to keep up payments so far with help from my mother, who can not afford to keep paying our mortgage.

Before we - my husband, our two teenaged kids, and I, find ourselves living under a bridge, out of our small car, I was hoping to figure out a way of organizing some of the hundreds of thousands of displaced families in the Atlanta area into some kind of cohesive group for advocacy, networking, emotional support, etc. As individuals, we're invisible to the rest of the population. As a group, we might be able to do something helpful.

If you come up with any ideas about how to find out where the foreclosed people have gone, please let me know. But PLEASE don't put me on your real estate business mailing list! I'm NOT in your area, and NOT looking to buy a house!

Linda

Apr 12, 2008 11:05 PM

Anonymous

Dee Dee Hanson response to Linda G

Linda, I might have a partial answer for you.

Keep talking to you lender. Ask them if they are willing to accept a "short sale" on your property.

Start calling all the real estate agents you can locate and interview them asking them if they have ever done any short sales and how many.

If your bank will accept a short sale which means that they will take less than is owed and excuse you from the remainder of the debt, then your credit will be bruised but not ruined. It is better for your and it is better for the bank. They don't have to go through the expense of the foreclosure and wait for almost a year for any money. They are going to get the same price for the home whether it is sold as foreclosure or in a short sale. If you are a hardship case - having no assets - and submit a hardship letter and a financial statement, they should be willing to do a short sale unless they are completely nuts which a couple of the lenders are. Call me at 616-836-8535 if you need more information.

Talk to a good real estate attorney. If you can't do a short sale, you might be able to do a "deed in lieu of foreclosure" which is also less painful than a foreclosure.

Dee Dee Hanson, Associate Broker, CB Woodland Schmidt, Saugatuck

Apr 13, 2008 12:55 AM

Dee Dee Hanson

Dorothy Hanson, Broker - Saugatuck, MI

If you love Saugatuck. . service is what I do

Linda, I reread you e-mail and I left out the most important first step. CALL YOUR LENDER AND SEE IF HE WILL RESTRUCTURE YOUR LOAN. In the case of a hardship, most lenders will do that. Can you make the payments if there is a restucture? Don't agree to a restructure that you can't do. That only postpones the inevitable.

It is a great idea to form a group or coalition but that won't help your right now. It is kind of like organizing a group aboard the Titanic to petition for more life boats in the future or signing a petition in the plague ward to demand a vaccine for the plague.

Right now you are on the Titanic and you have to take care of yourself. Once you are safe on shore, then you can form a group. If you start to fall behind on your mortgage payments and head into foreclosure, the govenment may not be moving fast enough to help you. Lots of people have already lost their homes.

This is a democracy and it moves slowly. Passing a law for more life boats won't help the people in trouble now. We each are in a different position to help in this crisis. I help clients one at a time if they call me in time.

I am kind of like the nurse in the plague ward. I help as many as I can. I am not a scientist who can develop a cure for the plague. That is someone else's job.

Some real estate agents won't work with people losing their homes. It is a very painful job but just like in the plague ward, I help whomever I can help. I can't save everyone but everyone I save might not have been saved without my help. Just because I can't help everyone doesn't mean that I won't try to help when I can.

If people contact me or a real estate agent with short sale experience in their area soon enough and you haven't yet fallen behind so you are soon enough, either a restructure of the loan, a short sale or a deed in lieu may be possible.

I took a class from a short sale expert and can give you his name. He teaches all over the country and may know someone in your area who can help you. E-mail me at deehans@ameritech.net or call me at 616-836-8535 and I will try to send you in the right direction. I did not get your e-mail when you sent the comment to my blog so I hope you get this.

Call your lender. Work with him. Get a good real estate attorney - not just any attorney but a real estate attorney, get an experienced short sale realtor, find out the foreclosure laws for your state, get a plan B. If you have to leave your home, where can you go. Check out rentals. Keep your head out of the sand! This won't go away unless you work at it. Good Luck!

Apr 13, 2008 01:40 AM