Congress in a cynical mood was askance about the steps Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve being taken to contain the foreclosure crisis. But Bernanke parried the criticism regarding expansion of the duties of the Federal Reserve to regulate the jumbo financial firms. The Congress contention was that the central bank had not as yet caught up with problems related to the financial mayhem.

The House Financial Services Committee also grilled Bernanke about the bailout money taken from the taxpayer’s kitty being distributed to the financial giants and the slow efforts to stop continued foreclosure proceedings. Concerns were also raised about the past track record of the Feds in giving protection to the consumers from the questionable practices of lenders, the credit card firms and dubitable activities of service providers.

Spencer Bachu of Alabama, the topmost Republican in the panel bemoaned, “The Fed has made some big mistakes.”  He said that by allowing the Feds to act as financial super cops would be akin to “inviting a false sense of security” at the expense of the taxpayer. In little or no time the myth would be shattered.

Bernanke protested that the proposal of the Obama government tantamounted to a “modest re-orientation” of the powers of the Feds and not any significant increase. He also attempted to push back another proposal by the government that would set up a new regulator for the protection of consumers. These duties would be taken away from the Federal Reserve.
The Feds have come under criticism from consumer advocates and legislators for not taking earlier action regarding these fraudulent mortgage activities that fueled the housing boom and led to the collapse of the economy.

Another proposal coming through from the Feds will encourage mortgage disclosures and home equity lines of credit. Also will be included new rules for the governing of the compensation given to originators of mortgages.

Bernanke stressed the importance of separating auditing of the Fed from duties relating to monetary policy. He warned, “A perceived loss of monetary policy independence could raise fears about future inflation.”

Bernanke’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve will expire early in 2010. President Obama will then take the decision about whether to reappoint him or not. The innovate measures taken by the Feds is credited with helping to prevent the economy being pushed over the edge in 2008.

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• There is a Huge Shortage of Lawyers Trained in Foreclosure Complexities
• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

In Chattanooga the task force is being challenged by record breaking number of increased foreclosures. Property experts are apprehensive that with moratoriums having been closed and unemployment increasing there will be a fresh flood of foreclosures, before it starts to improve.

Nickie Schwartzkopf of Remax Properties and head of the Chattanooga Association of Realtors said, “Unfortunately, I think we’re going to see even more foreclosures. There are still a lot of mortgages whose interest rates are going to be reset in the next couple of years at higher rates and, with unemployment still very high, there could be a lot of people who won’t be able to make their payments.”

Mayor Ron Littlefield said, “We definitely have to have more counseling services available and more trained people in order to help those being affected by this growing problem.”

In Hamilton County foreclosures of residential houses have doubled over the last ten years. In the first six months of this year there were 669 foreclosures calculating to a record according to Hamilton County Register of Deeds. In comparison to the previous year in this year there has been a spike of 3.2% - the highest so far noted. But the rate of spiking is decreasing. The foreclosure rate in Chattanooga is much below those in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Nevada as per the findings of RealtyTrac.

In Hamilton County the foreclosure rate in May was 1:800. In the nation during the same month the rate was 1:398. But in Ooltewah is the worst hit pocket in Hamilton County. Here the foreclosure rate was a good niche above the national mark calculating to 1:228.

Cindy Walker of Real Estate Owned branch of Crye-Leike Realtors said that this month there has been more foreclosures. She remarked, “Chattanooga has never been as bad as most markets, but we seem to be getting a lot more than a year ago right now. Our economy has held up better than most markets, but it is a large problem and, for anyone facing foreclosure, it’s a major tragedy.”

A task force has been set up by the Littlefield and the Mayor of Hamilton County Claude Ramsey comprising of the agencies in the locality to draw up new action plans to help those facing foreclosure. HUD has come forward to help those agencies who would reschedule bad mortgages for the troubled homeowners. Unfortunately many of the victims do not seek help until it is too late.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

There are more and more instances of code violations in O’Fallon as foreclosures spike. The officials are struggling to enforce rules and adjust to new situation. They have given a new look to some of the old tools while conducting operations to handle the overwhelming number of code violations thanks to the deluge of foreclosures and the depressed number of housing sales.

O’Fallon’s Director of Building Safety, Nathan Lacey, informed the City Council last June that he had revamped the city’s approach to the code enforcement violations because of the staggering increase in number of empty foreclosed homes – both houses and plots in the residential sector of development. Speaking to Mayor Bill Hennessy he said, “At any given time we have up to 150 properties on the foreclosure list.”

Tom Drabelle, spokesperson of the City commented that similar to other cities and towns in the County, O’Fallon has been experiencing an abnormal increase in foreclosure numbers. This has led to the stalling of housing projects. Consequently the city has been burdened with violations of code – one being the problem of long grass.

The situation is grim with new constructions having slowed down on one side and code violations having increased on the other. Drabelle elaborated that the city officials have had to make adjustments to their duty schedules to manage the upward curve of code violations. For instance the building inspectors have less work load as hardly any new building are coming up. They have diverted their activities to join forces with code enforcement officials. Similarly the employees of Park Development are devoting more of their working hours to trimming the grass of vacant neglected properties.

The net result has been that the city has risen to the challenge of the times by expanding and diversifying its activities. The administrative departments have become more interactive in their operations. The city staff has access to intranet code enforcement map to locate the erring properties with code transgressions and to find out their level of violation. Drabelle said, “We’re calling on people within city staff to assist in areas where they haven’t been asked to assist before.”

The city administration is hopeful that the violations in houses that are still occupied will be addressed with the utilization of community block development grant of $270,000. Homeowners will now be able to make improvements to their homes with this money.  The city is also offering to its residents $1,200 as grants from Project Home Golf Tournament – an annual event organized for this purpose.

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• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

The American economy is in a shambles. With companies cutting down on travel related perks, hotels are losing out on business. So much so that hotel foreclosures have become common. Take for instance, the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. It defaulted on a loan of $90 million.

Then there is the renowned Stanford Court Hotel which went into receivership. It owed $89 million. The new proprietor bought the hotel for $93 million. Also $32 million was spent in renovation. Experts say that more hotels will be foreclosed. The Foreclosures in California, too, here’s a deluge of defaulting hotels. Foreclosures, too, have become very common. At present, 32 hotels have been foreclosed and 174 are in default, according to a report published by the Atlas Hospitality Group.

Alan Reay, the group’s founder, says that there’s a bright side of the picture as well. This is the best time to buy property, says Reay. There has never been one since the days of the Great Depression.

Hong Kong’s Keck Seng Investments wanted to purchase San Francisco W at a price of $90 million. This is a 50 per cent plunge from what it was two years back. Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the seller of the property says that it has done so to bring down its debt levels. Starwood Hotels had once owned numerous properties but now the company has fallen on hard times.

The hotel sale is no doubt a welcome change but it does not in any way change the business scenario. The vacancy rate in hotels is 80 per cent. Tourists can also avail of a few good hotel room deals during this recessionary phase. Going easy on prices unfortunately has pushed down revenues by as much as 35 per cent. This is the main reason behind the financial trouble of the industry.

Hotel room rates are not expected to change in the next few years. Boutique hotels are now available at a much lower price of $150 a day. The time-share concept is also catching on in the US. Canterbury Hotel and the adjacent Whitehall Inn were reincarnated by a time-share developer, Wyndham Worldwide. After the renovation 70 jobs have been created. The resort is more or less sold out. Wyndham has not been able to escape from the clutches of the recession despite having 800,000 time-share residents. The situation may not be so bright for hotel owners but they are still hopeful.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

Foreclosure losses of many are turning into gains for some auctioneers. The auctioneer and his team is busy aggressively persuading people not to let the chance go of snapping up bargain deals to turn houses into homes. The auctioneer group is on one side with his gavel and gestures and the bidders on the other in various moods of hope or despair, clutching paper and scribbling notes. The auctioneer cries down the list giving out details of bedrooms and bathrooms as he goes down the lines.

California based REDC or Real Estate Disposition Corporation is in the thick of work. The group like travelling circuses, plough through the country staging auctions on behalf of the banks.

In 2007 May the firm organized over 400 auctions dealing with over 50,000 houses and condos – all tainted by foreclosure. Unknown to the bidders each unit has a minimum sale price. If that point is not reached then the auction is rejected. The auctioneer begins with an altruistic note that all this brouhaha is “part of the solution to the current economic and foreclosure crisis.”

A modest condo priced at $215,000 in Heber City is up for bidding and goes for $110,000. It once belonged to an electrician who was a loving father. He succumbed to lung cancer and foreclosure. Another $139,100 condo in Orem has a tale of violence to tell. The owner brutally attacked a woman one night and this led to his losing his government job and consequently his home. It came to be sold for $95,000. A ‘preservative maniac’ atop his mansion on a hill made the creepy place with caverns look neat and habitable was overvalued at $3 million. It was bid and sold for $605,000.

Item 1104 is in South Jordan having eight bedrooms. The bidding jumps from $250,000 to touch $270,000. The auctioneer dramatizes the moment as he shouts, “I’m at 270! Don’ lose it! Don’t lose it!” Many years ago a developer purchased an old ranch that kept sheep and broke it up into plots. In 2002 Paul Furse bought one such lot of three acres for $68,000. With the help of his wife and four children (the eldest being 15 at that time) Furse began to build the house brick by brick by hand. Furse was not by profession a house builder but he just got this bee in his bonnet. The entire sage was even filmed. Nobody knows when exactly the house became a home. But everyone knows when it became a house again when several business ventures floundered and foreclosure snapped it up.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

The recession and the foreclosure crisis in USA remain intertwined as two big questions arise. Has the crisis reached the middle zone and about to enter the end period? Secondly – are foreclosures driving recession or is it just one of many causes?

Hope is being generated with some figures coming in during the last couple of months. If these are true and the situation holds then property value will begin to rise and stabilize. This will give a boost to the economy.
But other pundits think that the bottom that has been glimpsed is a false one – it is just a platform for a deeper fall. Lenders will now go all out to clear their books of all the toxic loans. If that happens then another cycle of foreclosures will kick off vitiating the already torrid mood of the economy.

Only time will prove the veracity of these opposing theories. In the middle of June a report by Patchwork Nation showed that foreclosures had dropped in different types of communities during March to May this year – there were the conservative Evangelical Epicenters, agricultural Tractor County communities, collegiate Campus and Careers counties and Industrial Metropolis sits as well as Military Bastions situated near armed force bases. The signs all give rise to hope. In the moneyed areas foreclosures increased by 43% from March to May but the rate was better than 69% during the period stretching from February to April. But it cannot be denied that 43% is a big jump by itself especially when tagged on to the jumps of the previous months.

The stark numbers are also not hopeful. From January to May there has been an increase. In January nearly 63,794 houses were in some state of foreclosure but by May that number had swollen to 79,429.

Dark clouds are gathering in the horizon according to RealtyTrac. According to them the blackest month was April with over 340,000 units being in foreclosure across the country. Most of the coming foreclosures will be from the prime mortgages and not from sub-prime ones. So far these mortgages had been thought of to be safe. The default and delinquent numbers are also spiking rapidly. More foreclosures seem to be just down the corner. The biggest fear is what another dip in the real estate market will do the overall economy. The common theory is that it is the housing trouble that triggered off recession and it is this housing sector that can help the country get out of it.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

Generally on Friday afternoons, regulators of banks come out with statements of the latest number of bank failures. So far 52 banks have downed shutters and the speed is expected to gear up. Behind the actions has been at work a toxic cocktail of risky funding methods and grant of loans to business enterprises that turned sour.

The majority of the banks that collapsed till now this year were given the death blow the huge number of loans that had been give to residential and commercial developers of real estate. The latter were in their turn battered by the sagging economy.

The instance of Silver State Bank of Nevada can be cited as an example. It failed in September 2008 when two thirds of its loans were given to the construction group. There were other banks that could not survive the lash of the economic gloom. Colorado dairy producers failed to honour their loan commitments when milk prices suddenly fell nose down. This told on the sick lender New Frontier. In April the regulators shut down Greeley bank of Colorado.

The commercial real estate and small business enterprises are far from happy – they are struggling to keep afloat. This has led many experts to opine that the lenders servicing them will be especially hard hit in the forthcoming months.

Karen Dorway head of the research sector (bank rating) of Bauer Financial said, “We are seeing more stress on the commercial real estate side than at the end of last year.”

It is not merely predatory or wrongly timed loan advances that have ruined banks till now. They funding methods were risky causing banks to be badly mauled. It was their practice of using ‘hot money’ known as brokered deposits that ruined them. The sources of these funds were other entities looking around to park their dollars in the expectancy of above normal hot returns.

Banks like them because these lead to easy quick growth as they can in their turn grant more loans. But reliance on hot money is laced with risks. It is costly and volatile as the brokers keep shifting their dollars from one bank to another, hunting for the highest returns for their customers.

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• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
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In Hosmer Street one fourth of the houses were abandoned. Some are piled with sticks and branches. In another abandoned house stealthy footsteps could be heard. The vagrants however do not carry guns. They are wary of the fact that this could lead to a more serious prison term. There are rules even for OVV’s!

Finding piles of timber is serious matter as it leads to outbreaks of fire. So far in one ward there had been 60 fires in a year. The squatters either light it to keep themselves warm or many kids playing pranks. The city officials want desperately that these houses should just disappear. Many feel that the houses should be razed to the ground. These are either too old or inhabitable. There is hardly any resale value of these units. It is calculated one million Repo houses are dotting the country. Each house stands derelict for about eight months at the least. The time period of languish is slowly growing. One service company offered to give for free some foreclosed houses but the city wanted demolition charges. The deal never came through.

In last summer $3.9 billion had been apportioned by the Congress as emergency funds for the cities to enable them to acquire and refurbish foreclosed units. More money is also flowing in under new stimulus package. The venture has been named Neighborhood Stabilization Program. But Cleveland and few other cities had to argue convincingly to prove to Congress that in their cities stabilization meant pulling down the units and not repairing them. Recently Cleveland has taken the decision to use $25.5 million that has been allotted to demolish 1,700 houses. This clearing up will allow for giving the city a new image.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons

Foreclosure of residential houses has gone up by 51% in Pima County with one out of five homeowners holding sub-prime mortgages facing grave risk. For buyers it is good news that the real estate market is cool as banks are offering huge discounts. But for homeowners it is sad tale of woes.

In the first three months of this year there have been 1,427 foreclosure postings marking 51% from 2005 during the same quarter according to the findings of RealtyTrac. The worst victims are those who took sub-prime mortgages. The latter carrying high interest rates were made available to those with low credit counts.

A non-profit national organization, The Center for Responsible Lending is agitating against predatory practices of lenders. It apprehends that over one out of five borrowers who contracted sub-prime mortgages during 2005 and 2006 are at grave risk of losing their houses.

As per the findings of Tucson Citizen, foreclosures are concentrated in the poor localities of the metro region – generally those near highway intersections.

Among the 420 metro regions of USA, Tucson has been ranked 19th by the center. Phoenix, Prescott. Yuma and Flagstaff ranked 26th, 51st, 250th and 368th respectively. Six years previously the foreclosure rate in sub-prime mortgages was less than one out of every ten houses.

The increase in foreclosures n Tucson is less than Maricopa County and Pinal County as per the findings of RealtyTrac. In Maricopa and Pinal counties it jumped by 108% and 233% respectively.

Moody’s Economy apprehends that Tucson will experience the 7th biggest decrease in house prices. It will drop by 13.4% from its highest point during the first three months of 2006. Moody explained that the sharp fall is because of a rush of houses in the market that are both overvalued and unaffordable in the regional market. The drop in house prices show that many of the homeowners could have avoided foreclosure by either refinancing or selling previously when the going was good. But now they do not have any equity on their houses as prices begin to tumble.

What is happening in Tucson mimes the national scene. a report compiled by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee – Sheltering Neighborhoods from the Sub-prime Foreclosure Storm, reads, “Over the past several months, it has become increasingly clear that irresponsible sub-prime lending practices have (been) contributing to a wave of foreclosures that are hitting homeowners and rattling the housing markets.”

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Eddy Curry has truckloads of worry and foreclosures have added to his woes. His foreclosed home in Chicago has been foreclosed upon – the latest indication of financial trouble for this centre player of Knicks. According to court papers Curry is defaulting by $217,502 on a loan of $3.7 million. The Chicago Sun-Times was the first to break the news that the foreclosure suit has been filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

According to the report, Curry contracted a 30 year mortgage. The initial monthly payment amounted to $28,675 when he bought the house in the suburbs of Burr Ridge in 2006 July. Calculating on that figure it seems Curry is lagging behind seven months on his mortgage payments. Kelly Saindon, the lawyer of Curry declined to make any comments.

Two years previously Curry’s family were traumatized by an armed robber targeting his house. Since then his days have been going from bad to worse. 2008 has seen him dealing with legal problems, personal woes and set backs in his professional life. The mother of his 3 year old son, his former girl friend, was murdered in January 2008 in Chicago. Two weeks previous to that his ex-driver accused Curry of sexual harassment in a bitter lawsuit that painted the player as a bully and fanatic. Only last month the suit was dismissed and the matter has been sent for arbitration.

On the field, in the training camp Curry was not in form. His knee began to give trouble and he was able to play three games only. Presently Curry is engaged with a trainer of Detroit trying to shed weight and regain the athletic form that had made him legendary – the fourth overall choice in the draft of 2001.

Curry is now 26. He has 2 years to complete his contract of $21.8 million that he had inked with Knicks in 2005. But his career has already reached the crossroads and there are grave doubts about his future in New York. The Knicks are not averse to trading him as they trim the payroll so as to follow quite a few star free agents in the next year.

Since 2005 Curry has earned nearly $34 million. But he has always struggled to timely pay his ills. A minimum of five times he has been sued for failing to pay since the last year and a half. However most of the cases were resolved.

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• The Foreclosure Crisis Means a Bonanza for Some Enterprising Entrepreneurs
• The Restoration of the Jacksonville is Aided by the Prices of the Foreclosure Listings
• Foreclosure Climate has Caused Sharp Rise in Homeless Persons