foreclosure: Those Who Have Chosen to Walk Away from Home Mortgages - 09/25/09 02:27 AM
 
A new study looks are those who have chosen to walk away from home mortgages, and it has a few surprises.
For example: Who is more likely to walk away from a house and a mortgage -- a person with super-prime credit scores or someone with lower scores?Research reported in the LA Times, drawn from 24 million individual credit files, has found that homeowners with high scores when they apply for a loan are 50% more likely to "strategically default" -- abruptly and intentionally pull the plug and abandon the mortgage -- compared with lower-scoring borrowers.National credit bureau Experian teamed … (4 comments)

foreclosure: Do You Know Anyone Who is "Talkin' Walkin'"? - 01/12/09 12:29 PM
Aaron Auxier wrote a thought provoking post today entitled:  "The FICO Forgivess Act of 2012.  Principle reduction Bailouts for Homeowners. Someone better start paying attention".
Aaron's post discussed the "Talkin' Walkin'" going on in Las Vegas.  Homeowners who can afford their mortgage payments, but are choosing to walk away from their homes because of the significant drop in value.
I myself have heard of couples transferring debt and assets in order to prepare to "walk-away".
Never did I think I could understand the reasoning behind this...but I do.
A home is a financial investment.  What do you do if you open … (14 comments)

foreclosure: Hampton Roads - NOT Your National Average - 11/19/08 11:11 PM
Virginia Beach and the Hampton Roads area is still faring better than the national average when it comes to real estate values and properties in forecloasure.
According to our REIN-MLS statistics, of the 14,153 residential homes currently on the market in Hampton Roads, 620 (or 4.38%) are foreclosures.If you single out Virginia Beach, you will find of the 4277 residential active properties, 155 (or 3.62%) are foreclosures.As far as values go, here are the REIN figures for the 2nd and 3rd quarters of this year:All of Hampton Roads2nd Quarter:  4820 sales, avg. sales price $275,220, avg. time on market 76 days.3rd … (1 comments)

foreclosure: "I Want to Do a Short Sale" Says the Seller - 10/05/08 05:12 AM
 
Wendy Rulnick makes some great points in this post.  The drawbacks vs. benefits should be explored and analyzed fully before making a decision to pursue a short sale.  I would also add:  what is the average market time in your area?  If it is greater than 90 days and the seller is behind on payments, an inquiry needs to be made to see if the bank will postpone foreclosure proceedings with adequate documentation.  I would also recommend giving the buyer a document explaining the short sale process and ask them to sign it.  Unfortunately, their agent may not give them … (6 comments)

foreclosure: Short Sales - the Bank's Perspective - 09/25/08 03:32 AM
I've been reading some seemingly misinformed comments regarding short sales lately and thought I would share some insight.  By no means do I consider myself to be an expert on short sales; nor do I have any desire to be.  That being said, I reside in the same household with a person who is employed by one of the largest banks in the world and happens to work in this department.  Please do not ask me which bank nor what their position is as I do not want to put their job in any type of jeopardy.  There.  My disclaimer is … (76 comments)

foreclosure: The Bank Doesn't ALWAYS Decide to Foreclose! - 04/24/08 08:19 AM
I had a very interesting conversation yesterday with a bank manager at a very large bank.  When our conversation turned to foreclosures, it was really interesting to hear the "bank perspective" on the current situation.
He told me that some states have a foreclosure "recission" period where the bank can decide they don't want the house.  Also, in some cases, the bank upfront decides they do not want to foreclose.  Apparently, this is becoming more and more common especially in markets where there are a large number of foreclosures.
SO, WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE BANK DECIDES NOT TO FORECLOSE?????
Well, you know that HUGE stack … (2 comments)