All posts in Foreclosure

How To Buy A Foreclosure

by Justin Miller on May 4, 2010 in Foreclosure, Mortgage Education 101 with No comments

The article below talks about pre-foreclosures, sheriff sales, repossessions, bidding frenzies, underestimating repair costs, and not having your financing in place.  They are all important to be educated on and I am not an expert by any means on any of them other than the financing.  Always make sure to talk to an expert real estate agent, inspector, real estate attorney, and mortgage professional.

I think the article could have done a better job of how they listed the above mentioned items because the very first thing you should be doing is getting your financing in place.  I have been preaching about this for awhile now so I won’t get into it again but please understand how important this part of it is. 

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/04/real_estate/how_to_buy_a_foreclosure/index.htm?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Right To Rent Bill

by Justin Miller on April 30, 2010 in Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Short Sales with No comments

This is just a proposal but it’s a bill filed in the US House of Representatives would allow mortgage borrowers to remain in their homes, as renters, for up to five years after receiving a foreclosure notice.

I guess it’s not a bad idea if the borrower who is not making their mortgage payments decides to make their rent payments.   It would create cash flow for the bank and allow home values to regain some value assuming that the market does stabilize. 

There are stipulations in order to qualify for this.  Yep, always a catch and you always need to read the fine print.  The right to rent program would be limited to homes purchased at or below the median price for its metropolitan statistical area, and must have been the borrower’s principal residence for no less than 2 years. Only mortgages originated before July 1, 2007 will be eligible.

http://www.housingwire.com/2010/04/29/house-democrats-introduce-right-to-rent-bill-for-borrowers-facing-foreclosure/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=house-democrats-introduce-right-to-rent-bill-for-borrowers-facing-foreclosure 

Proposed Plan For Distressed Borrowers In Florida

by Justin Miller on April 27, 2010 in Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Short Sales with No comments

I’m not going to hold my breath but here is what they are saying on Florida. 

Florida, which would receive $418 million, proposed using the majority of its allocation toward making mortgage payments for up to nine months for up to 12,000 unemployed borrowers. It also would commit $40 million toward providing up to $15,000 in down payments for 4,000 prospective home buyers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704464704575208390699479772.html?mod=djemITP_h

Foreclosures Are “Pigs With Lipstick”

by Justin Miller on April 21, 2010 in Foreclosure with No comments

This is a very interesting post about the shadow inventory that is out there, meaning the foreclosures that have yet to have been foreclosed upon and listed on the market. 

Ivy Zelman, a Credit Suisse Analyst, who apparently called the housing crisis before the boom peaked notes “The average number of days from when a borrower stops paying on his/her mortgage to when the bank sends out the first foreclosure notice is 417 and the final foreclosure can take up to a year more.”

I knew the time period was long but didn’t know the average was 417 days.  Think about it, that’s the average meaning there are some much longer and I am sure that is a trend that may continue which would increase the average number of days. 

http://www.cnbc.com//id/36667656 

Short Sale Reform – Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternative Plan

by Justin Miller on April 7, 2010 in Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Short Sales with No comments

I don’t recall reading this last week but I am sure it will make some very irate.  ” I find it interesting that before the plan even went into effect today, the Administration upped the incentives a week ago, doubling the amount of cash to $3000 offered as borrower “relocation expenses” and juicing the payoffs to the others as well. Of course they want to push short sales because of course they know that their modification program isn’t working as planned.”

The reason the program will struggle and probably be as helpful as the other programs is because the banks need to “weigh what’s going to save them the most money and cause them the least bleeding on their books.”  It’s all about their balance sheet and since the mark-to-market accounting rules were changed to let banks keep loans on their books as “performing” even if the values of the underlying properties have fallen below the loan amount.  I guess time will tell.

http://www.cnbc.com//id/36179757 

Short Sale Over Foreclosure

by Justin Miller on March 29, 2010 in Foreclosure, Short Sales with No comments

Here is another article on doing short sales over foreclosures and how it could get easier starting April 5th “Under the new Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program, borrowers will earn a $3,000 “relocation incentive” and servicers will get $1,500 for handling a short sale.”

I am not sure how I feel about a $3,000 relocation incentive but I guess if it keeps people from destroying their homes and stealing the appliances it’s not a bad idea.  Remember the banks don’t have to participate in this. 

I have heard good things about the new software Bank of America and some others are using called Equator where documents are uploaded into this system so the banks don’t keep losing your documents.  Here’s a question, with all of the rules banks have to follow when it comes to protecting a borrowers identity stating that you have lost a package you would think is a class action lawsuit waiting to happen since their personal information is all over this documentation.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/29/real_estate/short_sale_explosion/index.htm?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29&utm_content=Google+Reader 

Cash For Keys

by Justin Miller on March 13, 2010 in Foreclosure, Short Sales with No comments

I have never heard of this so I don’t have a lot I can contribute but I guess it is becoming very common. 

“Owners of bad loans are increasingly making deals with borrowers to avoid a foreclosure, which tends to reduce returns for investors and place a black mark on the homeowner’s credit. Lawmakers and regulators are becoming more accepting of these solutions even though they mean the borrower loses the home.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35839839/ns/business-real_estate/ 

Walking Away Isn’t That Easy

by Justin Miller on March 13, 2010 in Foreclosure, Loan Modification, Short Sales with No comments

The article makes a great point that I wasn’t aware of with people in California being able to walk away so easy which is frustrating to this individual who wrote in because so many made a fortune in CA during the boom. 

“California is one of 11 states where lenders are prohibited by law from filing deficiency judgments against borrowers to collect the difference between what was owed and what was collected when the asset was sold. The others are: Alaska, Arizona, Iowa, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington and Wisconsin. But your worries may be unfounded. And besides, you may be able to work out a deal in which the lender agrees not to come after you.”

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/walking-away-from-property-isnt-always-so-easy-2010-03-12?siteid=rss&rss=1 

PA Knows How To Help Unemployed Homeowners

by Justin Miller on March 8, 2010 in Foreclosure, Loan Modification with No comments

I wrote about this before but below is another article on it.  As I have said time and time again the people who deserve help are those who lost their jobs and this program does just that.  The success rate of 80% says it all to me.  Towards the end of the article it explains how the program works.

“The Smiths are among the 3,250 homeowners that the housing agency’s mortgage assistance program saved from foreclosure last year. Created in 1983, the initiative provides loans of up to $60,000 for as long as 36 months to Pennsylvania residents suffering financial hardship, such as job loss, divorce or medical problems.

The program, which has distributed $450 million on behalf of 43,000 homeowners since its inception, has an 80% success rate in helping borrowers avoid foreclosure. And the recent housing crisis has prompted thousands to seek assistance. A record 14,000 homeowners applied for help in 2009, up from 10,000 in most years.”

http://money.cnn.com/2010/03/08/news/economy/mortgage_help_for_unemployed/index.htm?section=money_realestate&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fmoney_realestate+%28Real+Estate%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Buying Foreclosed Homes Online

by Justin Miller on March 3, 2010 in Foreclosure with No comments

Hopefully you caught my post on the foreclosure auctions online in South Florida but if not be sure to check it out under the category of “Foreclosures.” 

Well, here are more ways to buy foreclosed homes online.  “For daring investors who are itching to get in on the foreclosure action, a Web site due to be launched this week offers what it says is an easy way to buy homes from banks–with the click of a mouse.  Rebuildus.com , operated by RebuildUS LLC of Woodland Hills, Calif., is designed to sell some of the low-end homes bought in bulk from banks by a legendary foreclosure investor, James Odell Barnes of Leesville, S.C.”

There are fees associated with doing this and the minimum purchase is 5 homes. The homes are bought “as is.” 

http://blogs.wsj.com/developments/2010/03/02/buying-foreclosed-homes-with-a-mouse-click/ 

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