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FORECLOSURE HALT-- NOT GEORGIA! WHY ?

By
Real Estate Agent with Renaissance Realty Group of Keller Williams Atlanta Partners

FORECLOSURE HALT-- NOT GEORGIA! Georgia is a non-judicial foreclosure state and is not affected by the moratorium on foreclosures. Borrowers give up their rights to due process in court when they borrow; they specifically give a Power of Attoney to lender to do one thing: sale their home if they get past due!

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If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling a home have them give me a call .. we will get it done ...right 

Eric Reid 

Associate Broker

Keller Williams Atlatna Partners
Team Leader 
Renaissance Realty Group

Comments (35)

John Mulkey
TheHousingGuru.com - Waleska, GA
Housing Guru

Eric - While your post addresses the differences between judicial and non-judicial foreclosure, the effects of foreclosures will reverberate throughout the economy for years unless a workable solution is achieved.  As Michael pointed out, modifying loans and, in some cases, principal reduction is the only long-term solution.  And while the solution would be complex and somewhat unfair, it's the only one that would bring stabilization to the market.

Oct 05, 2010 05:44 AM
Pat & Wayne Harriman
Harriman Real Estate, LLC (203) 672-4499 - Wallingford, CT
Broker/Owners, Wallingford CT Real Estate

Interesting that there are more title theory states than lien theory (31 -21), and they're largely west of the Mississippi. Wonder why?---Wayne

Oct 05, 2010 05:48 AM
Eric Reid
Renaissance Realty Group of Keller Williams Atlanta Partners - Lawrenceville, GA

John Mulkey - you hit it on the head "he solution would be complex and somewhat unfair" we have become a nation of FAIR ness freaks - lets go back to equitable. Fairness starts from a "me first" position equitable is about dealing fairly and equally with all concerned that includes the defaulted homeowner, the lender and the guy next door to the foreclose. What if you had a borrow that took say 50K out in equity to host the wedding of the year now 2 -3 years later he cant shall because he is 50K upside down, should he get a principal reduction?, should he be approved for a short sale?, should I lose 20-30K in equity value because his home now goes into foreclosure?. I think the mistake made at the start was trying to be fair

Oct 05, 2010 06:00 AM
matt mason
www.ScvRealtyTeam.com - Santa Clarita, CA

Nice post (www.ScvRealtyTeam.com) You're Scv Agent

Oct 05, 2010 06:38 AM
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

I too, have come all the way around to principal reduction and keep existing homeowners in their property.

Oct 05, 2010 07:01 AM
Janine Bell
Stage It Atlanta - Atlanta, GA
Home Stager - Atlanta Georgia Home Stager

Georgia has been hit hard by the housing crisis.  With all the fraud in the foreclosure process, I am finding it hard to believe that GA was not involved in any dishonesty. 

Oct 05, 2010 07:14 AM
Angelina Clarke
Builder Services Realty, LLC - Tampa Palms, FL

Judical state or non-judicial state...the fact remains...IF YOU DID NOT PAY YOUR MORTGAGE!  YES, the home should be foreclosed upon. 

Oct 05, 2010 07:21 AM
Carla Muss-Jacobs, RETIRED
RETIRED / State License is Inactive - Portland, OR

Barrow/Barrows? 

"In all this craziness people seem to have over looked on fact -- THE LAW -- the barrow signed an agreement  to pay knowing that if he/she stopped paying the lender could take action - in Georgia that is Foreclosure without judicial action.

We have got to get back to the basic idea that the law is the law a contract is a contract and get away from the emotions if we want the housing market to recover. Barrows are choosing not to pay, yes their are barrows hit by the current economy but which came 1st the barrows that stoped paying and took money out of the lending system of a bad economy that made it difficult for barrows to find work and pay bills. 

Banks need money to lend to business so business can go a hire people so people can earn an income so they can pay back debt to Banks so Banks can turn around and lend money.... hmm if barrows stop paying what happens ?? "

Hey Eric, If you want to present an intelligent argument, you might want to use the correct word.  Barrows?!?  Just sayin'

And in the paperwork that the borrowers signed, did they KNOW they were signing OFF on their due process?  Was that disclosed?!?  Were they advised??

Oct 05, 2010 07:26 AM
Jimmy Gilley
Gold Star Realty - Niles, MI
(269) 362-4841 - Search Niles MI Home For Sale

This moratorium is going to really hurt...  Wonder if we are all prepared for another bump in the road to recovery.  

Oct 05, 2010 08:19 AM
Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP
DFW FINE PROPERTIES - Flower Mound, TX
Selling Homes Changing Lives

Here in TX, at the end of most of my closings (regardless of Title Company), the Escrow Officer usually always ends with the same line: "If you don't pay, you don't stay."

Oct 05, 2010 08:24 AM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal

Carla,   they go over the foreclosure process pretty clearly at each closing. Sometimes they get really technical and explain it in complex terms such as "No pay, no stay".   And then you sign about three or four documents saying that they told you and then again  saying that they told you that they told you and then they make you say "no pay, no stay" three times really fast.  We are a simple people down here.

Oct 05, 2010 08:47 AM
Peggy Noel
RE/MAX Commonwealth - Chesterfield, VA
Bouchard, ABR, CDPE, SFR

Eric - I understand the need for responsibility on the part of the borrower. That goes without saying.  The converse is also true - lenders made loans without any documentation knowing they would not service them nor would they be on the hook should the borrwer not be able to make payments - so shame on everybody - there's plenty to go around.  Somehow when a lender says you qualify for $X you tend to believe them.  I have an Iraqui vet at the farm next door to mine who got a $400,000 loan from a reputable bank without any documentation - turns out neither he not his wife had any income, nor did they have any assets - just a dream.  They're holding on and both have found work - but an escalation in the mortgage could put them on the street.  They believed the banker - were they rocket sscientists - clearly not.  Were they greedy investors - clearly not.

Oct 05, 2010 08:49 AM
Larry Gatti
The Gatti Group at Keller Williams Realty - Louisville, KY

I agree and I think we have to change something, but you are definitely right in that being fair to everyone is extremely difficult, and probably impossible.  Eric, in your example that the homeowner pays for a wedding with an equity line and then cannot sell his home because he owes more than it is worth, the owner should have to bring the additional money to the table or just not sell.  The same holds true for someone who bought a car or other large purchase with an equity line.  They are basically prematurely selling a little bit of their home each time they do this and the banks should not be foregiving of that.

If the owner has truly fallen on hard times with a job loss or illness, etc., I am all for trying to help them out, but in a way that does not hurt everyone else.  What we really have to be careful of is if it continues to become socially acceptable for people to just walk away from your mortgage.  This type of selfish thinking and social acceptance could collapse everything.

We need to work out a way that is beneficial for all parties, so the questions that come to mind are:

How do we do this equitably so the folks that are not in trouble dont feel like they are gettin the short end of the stick for not falling behind?

Are loan modifications the only way to keep neighborhood values up amid rampant delinquency and foreclosure?

Are loan modifications the only way to give banks the ability to distinguish between a negligent spending situation versus a true, down on your luck, situation?

And should these situations be treated differently?  How and Why?

Larry Gatti

Oct 05, 2010 09:21 AM
Charlie Ragonesi
AllMountainRealty.com - Big Canoe, GA
Homes - Big Canoe, Jasper, North Georgia Pros

We work thru these things here in the Mountains. Tim I could not agree less with your comment about banks being parasites . The very fact that you dance around , saying that the system could collapse if banks collapse shows that they have a real role to play

Oct 05, 2010 09:40 AM
Eric Reid
Renaissance Realty Group of Keller Williams Atlanta Partners - Lawrenceville, GA

This argument reminds me of Christmas - everyone wants to sit at the grown up table and get fat and happy - some get a larger home than they really can afford, some sell a few more homes then projected, some close a few questionable loans but everyone is feeling Fat Happy and Proud they got theirs and then comes then clean up.. seems no one wants to take accountability, everyone feels its the other guys job and suddenly it's someone elese fault for cooking so much food. 

 

 

Oct 05, 2010 11:13 AM
Tim Maitski
Atlanta Communities Real Estate Brokerage - Atlanta, GA
Truth, Excellence and a Good Deal

All Mountain Realty #32.  Banks do have a role to play.  It's very important.  But it's best when they do it while taking the least out of the system.  The more they suck out, the less there is to be used for the production or creation of real wealth.  It kind of like stock brokers.  It's good to have them but if they churn your account you end up with nothing and the stock broker loses his host which is the source of his livelyhood.

Just think about who is dependent on whom.   If there were no bankers, people would still produce stuff and trade with each other.  Bankers just make trade easier but they aren't necessary for people to do procuctive things.  But if everyone was a banker and there were no producers, what would the bankers do?  So I stand by my analogy that bankers are necessary parasites and it's best to keep them under control so that they don't get too big and kill the host.

Oct 05, 2010 03:11 PM
Michael Setunsky
Woodbridge, VA
Your Commercial Real Estate Link to Northern VA

Eric, whether a state is a Lien Theory or Title Theory state can make a big difference in the foreclosure process. Thanks.

Oct 06, 2010 02:18 AM
Pam Simpson
Bob Leigh & Assoc., LLC - Senatobia, MS
GRI, Broker-Assoc.

Glad this was featured.  Mississippi is also a non-judicial foreclosure state.  Our "mortgages" are actually Deeds of Trust (even though everyone refers to them as mortgages).  The document gives the Trustee the power of sale without judicial proceedings - just public notices.

Oct 06, 2010 04:49 AM
Dave Halpern
Dave Halpern Real Estate Agent, Inc., Louisville, KY (502) 664-7827 - Louisville, KY
Louisville Short Sale Expert

Banks should expedite short sales so they can avoid the foreclosure mess.

Oct 07, 2010 04:07 AM
Tony and Suzanne Marriott, Associate Brokers
Serving the Greater Phoenix and Scottsdale Metropolitan Area - Scottsdale, AZ
Haven Express @ Keller Williams Arizona Realty

The one two punch of the moratorium on Trustee Sales (no new inventory) coupled with the freeze on closing REO transactions that were already in contract with a Buyer (no closing, no revenue) can't make for a pretty picture for large REO teams with a large fixed overhead - and who knows when things will start moving again?

Oct 23, 2010 01:56 AM