Search Foreclosures Listings | Register

205,813 New Listings - Last update: November, 21 2009 9:06 AM EST

Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

 Page 5 of 40  « First  ... « 3  4  5  6  7 » ...  Last » 

Foreclosures Continue Wiping out Glimmers of Hope

Posted on July 6th, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

realestateLately there have been glimmers of hope but continuing foreclosures are wiping out all hope. In south California sale of foreclosed houses have picked up, according to the statistics presented by MDA DataQuick. The median prices of houses across the state have also gone up. The median sale price is calculated to be the point at which half the houses are sold for more and half the houses sold for less.

But clouds of a second foreclosure wave of equal if not greater intensity are gathering in the horizon. It will cause prices to further tumble in the badly hit regions. Jack Kyser is an economist. He said, “They are going to keep coming. You still have a lot of distressed situations out there.” A huge number of mortgages delinquent for over 90 days are piling up. Coupling with us looms the menace of unemployment and the end of moratoriums on foreclosures imposed by the state.

Since 2007 there have been 365,000 foreclosures. There is limit to what the state and federal remedial measures can do. Moratoriums can only postpone the matter but not root out the ailment. By keeping at bay the entry of potential foreclosures into the market artificially keeps up the prices. But ultimately the dam will break causing worse damage. There are so many borrowers who have gone underwater that foreclosures are bound to rush in with intense ferocity in the very near future. The halting of foreclosures by the state will not put a stop to thousands that will ultimately happen. These will continue inevitably and further pull down the real estate market.

In Los Angeles County the prices of real estate have gone down by 30% from the previous year. The prices went up for March to April and then again from April to May. But in other places (San Bernardino/Riverside) the trend was downwards from March to April. It went up however from April to May. The market fluctuations indicates that the bottom has not been reached as yet, commented Kyser. Many however are hopeful that the rise in sales, however slow, indicates good tidings for the future.

Alexis McGee of Foreclosures.com said, “We are definitely stabilizing. Inventory is staying low and prices are staying flat. Higher end homes are selling too.” The wooing of buyers with tax breaks and other incentives seem to be working with increasing property value. The signs of availability of affordable houses are all there to see. She said that banks are preventing the market to be flooded with foreclosed houses but holding back many.

Progress Noted in New Foreclosure Prevention Plans

Posted on July 2nd, 2009 in Foreclosure | 1 Comment »

taxes02-07

Finally progress has been noted in the new foreclosure prevention plans. HUD officials noted that lenders had extended loan modification offers to 40,000 borrowers who had been battling high mortgage instalments till the second week of June 2009. It is three times the number of average mortgage settlements that servicers had hitherto tackled.

Shawn Donovan the head of HUD said, “Foreclosures were becoming a self-reinforcing problem for the housing market. Already we are seeing signs that the housing market is better off than when President Obama took office.” He was speaking at a conference organized by National Association of Real Estate.

The financial crisis has been beset by many problems but of all these, the toughest to tackle has been the issue of increasing number of foreclosures that defied all palliative measures. The Hope for Homeowners plan that had been launched with great hype by the Bush administration failed to take off. Only 51 borrowers could change to cheaper costing loans. Another scheme Hope Now Alliance that had leaned heavily on the voluntary efforts of the lenders could reach out to 4 million householders. But it has been calculated that less than a quarter of these finally did get affordable loans. The irony was that many of these borrowers saw their monthly payments increase after negotiation! The lenders shrewdly tagged on unpaid dues to the principal amount instead of forgiving it.

In March 2009 the Obama government set off the programme known as Making Home Affordable. This plan had a totally different approach with incentives being offered to the lenders, servicers as well as the borrowers to modify or refinance the loans. The carrots offered depended on the success of their endeavours. The longer a borrower remained current in payments the servicer would get more. The government also promised $10 billion to compensate for the losses that banks as well as the investors suffered because of these workouts.

Initially the plan was a slow starter and it seemed that its fate would be no different from that of the others. But during the past couple of weeks the efforts of the Obama government seems to drawing to it more lenders who are willing to come to new terms.

Critics however say that considering the enormity of the problem the plan does not even scratch the surface. Much more is required. Right now there are 40,000 modifications each week. Even if this pace is maintained the plan will reach only 2 million in 2010. But the country is plagued with 6 million foreclosure victims

Foreclosure Numbers Win as Lenders Fail to Workout Loans

Posted on July 1st, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

obama

Foreclosure numbers continue to dominate and win as lenders fail to workout loans amicably. The Obama team introduced a $75 billion plan to bring down the number of foreclosures but progress has been hampered by backlogs and delays in response from lenders. The borrowers are complaining about phone calls being unanswered and wrong details being given by the lenders. Others say that for unknown reasons the lenders are not giving help.

When the plan was envisaged in March 2009 it was hoped that 4 million would benefit from it with the banks modifying the loans and bringing down the monthly payments. Since the plan took off there have come in 190,000 offers for modifications of mortgages according to the Treasury. But during that same period the lenders have initiated foreclosure proceedings against over 1 million defaulters as per the findings of RealtyTrac. 20% of these have either been foreclosed upon or repossessed.

Economist Joel Naroff said, “Some lenders may not be turning (homeowners) down right away because it might be politically easier to push them off and delay. No one will admit they’re doing this.”

In June Senator Jack Reed (Democrat) together with 14 other colleagues sent a note to HUD secretary, Shaun Donovan asking for new measures to be taken to make the lenders respond to the appeals quicker and faster. The letter read, “Of particular concern are homeowners who have been instructed by HUD-approved counselors to contact their (loan) servicers only to be rebuffed or, worse, never even reach their servicer.”

Two of the unfortunate borrowers trying to get modification are Robin and Craig Doyle residing in Woodland Hills in California. They have been trying for a workout since February last. Robin is a freelance writer. She was initially asked to post a letter describing her hardship together with proof of her income and tax papers. She got together a file running into 200 pages. After one month she was told to rearrange the papers as these documents were not current anymore but outdated. On another occasion she was told that her file had by mistake been altogether closed. In yet another instance she was refused help on the ground that her papers had not included fees given to the house association. Robin bemoaned, “I’ve had to resend it four times. It’s making me sick. It’s been five months. I’ve spent hours and hours on this and sleepless nights. It’s foremost on my mind. I look at my beautiful home and wonder if I’ll have it next month.”

Default of Owner Leads to Foreclosure of Hotel in Hawaii

Posted on July 1st, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

hotel-in-hawaii

The default of owner of Sheraton Bay Resort and Spa is facing foreclosure after the owner defaulted on loan. It is another symptom of the sick condition of the tourism industry in Hawaii since the recession.

Kenneth Marcus has been appointed commissioner by Ronald Ibarra, the Circuit Court Judge. He confirmed that the hotel will be put up for auction on 31st July 2009.

The owners of Koa Hotel have failed on a loan with dues running into nearly $60 million. Marcus said that right now, at least for some time, the hotel will continue to function as before. Marcus said, “As far as the operations of the hotel, nothing is likely to change, for all outward appearances. In terms of the short term, it should be business as usual.”

It remains unsure what will happen to the running of the hotel after the auction. It is however unlikely that anybody buying the hotel will shut it down. Koa hotel is owned by an equity firm – Brickman Associates based in New York. The major creditor of the property is Lehman Brothers. The latter had collapsed last year and filed bankruptcy.

The business of the resort started to decline when visitors in general began to stop coming since spring of 2008. This year the tourist number so far has declined by 15% compared to the same period during 2008.

The premises comprises of 521 rooms as well as a spa standing on 20 acres. The land is owned by Kamehameha Schools. There are three eateries and bars, shopping centre, exquisite pool as well as a spa. It also has a wedding chapel, a centre for fitness, business hub, and a couple of tennis courts.

The notice for the foreclosure for sale has not been put up as yet but will soon be done. No minimum bidding price has been said. Those who are interested are expected to register with Marcus – but not later than five days prior to the auction date. The bidders would have to ink an agreement of confidentiality before being allowed to browse through some financial documents. The winning bid would be taken by Marcus to court of Ibarra where more bids would be permitted. The winning bidder will get the approval of Ibarra.

Koa Hotel is current in payment of property taxes; neither were they defaulting in lease payments. Koa Hotel was bought from the previous Kona Surf Hotel in 2001. The owners took a loan of $82 million from Lehman Brothers.

Foreclosure Solutions Dogged by Scams and Financial Scandals

Posted on June 26th, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

foreclosure scams

Foreclosures solutions are being dogged by scams and foreclosure scandals. What has been going on for the past decade has intensified and come into prominence with the breakout of the foreclosure epidemic. There was the accounting fraud of Enron and now the trading shame of mutual funds and sub-prime mortgages.

The Obama team is hoping to clamp down regulations on the financial system to give protection to the consumers in the future. How far President Obama will be successful in having his way, time alone can tell. The focus of the package is on the making of a new agency. Other plans are there to give protection to mortgage and credit card holders.

If given the green signal by the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will have wide powers to protect the credit, savings etc of the consumers. It would be an independent body and not share the platform with other entities that see to these duties now. Thus the powers of some will be taken away – the most notable one being the Federal Reserve.

These drastic steps have been taken in response to strong criticism levelled against the lenders and credit card firms for using fraudulent and deceptive practices to cheat consumers and to intentionally burden them with debts.

The new agency would have the power to lay down rules, change mortgage laws and scrutinize the operations of financial bodies. They will also have teeth by being able to enforce rules, imposing penalties and banning wrong practices. It would be expected of the financial firms to be “clear and conspicuous” in letting the consumers know ahead of the costs, the fines as well as risks involved in deals.

The states would now be permitted to pass laws that could be stricter than the federal standards.

The Obama government is determined to see that this new measure is not passed off lightly as just another drill by the bureaucracy. The term “plain vanilla” has been used in referring to a mortgage that would be straight and simple without confusions. The agency would expect of the banks to issue 30 year fixed rate mortgage loans without any traps attached. Even if the consumers opted for more complex products these too would be subject to stringent supervision and rules.

It is calculated that by proper functioning of these new measures future trouble would be avoided. Certain types of mortgages like the sub-prime ones would be firmly banned.

Find Homes Foreclosure in Georgia by Top Counties

Flood of Foreclosures bringing down Property Values

Posted on June 25th, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

foreclosures in North Carolina

Flood of foreclosures for sale are bringing down property values in the traditional market as well as the market dealing with distressed sales. There is more supply than demand leading to the inevitable – drop in property values. There are hardly any buyers because of the recession and the credit squeeze. Lenders are shy of advancing loans.

In May 2009 foreclosures of homes right across North Carolina were down by 35% from what it was a year ago according to RealtyTrac. In May the foreclosure rate in USA was 1:398. But even those who have not been foreclosed upon many be affected by the foreclosure mood of the market in an indirect way

The Acadina locality of Parkton is thick with foreclosed units. Kathy Wood who deals with real estate said that the homes “were selling at a very inflated price.” If the number of foreclosures were small the real estate market would not be affected. Wood analyzed, “If I was to sell my house, an appraiser could not use the foreclosure down the street as a comparable, because he would have to compare it to other existing resales and not to foreclosures.”

But in regions like Acadiana this explanation does not work. There have been so many foreclosures that the appraisers have no other alternative but to compare.

Woods added that most of the banks who have taken over possession of the houses after foreclosure have property-preservation companies that see to the maintenance. Alternatively it is the job of realtors. Wood said, “What I would say to a neighbor is if the house is not being maintained, give the agent whose sign is in the window a call because the banks do expect us to do that.”

Even the best of neighbourhoods get stigmatized if there are a couple of foreclosures. She noted that there have been quite a few foreclosed houses selling at a relatively higher price this current year. She said, “I’ve probably had more listings over $200,000 than I’ve had my career of doing foreclosures.”

One of the lucky few who have managed to make a bargain purchase in the foreclosure market in Acadiana is Ben Mahaffey. He commented, “It’s awful to see all the high grass, and all that stuff floating around here, everything in disrepair. But it’s not that bad.”

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency provides information to those who are in trouble and facing foreclosures for no fault of theirs.

Find Foreclosed Homes in North Carolina by Top Cities

Home Foreclosures Continuing with its Galloping Pace as Banks Fail to Process Applications

Posted on June 24th, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

foreclosed

Home foreclosures are continuing with its fast galloping pace as banks fail to process prevention applications. The Obama government launched its $75 billion programme with much hope but since its launch the measure has been riddled with hurdles causing delay. Many borrowers on the brink of falling into foreclosure have repeatedly complained that while time is vital for them, phone calls are not answered. Lenders are giving wrong information. Many complain that they are being refused on vague incomprehensive grounds.

In the first part of March 2009 the plans were disclosed. The target was to prevent foreclosures of about 4 million borrowers by modifying their loans into more affordable terms. So far 190,000 applications for modifications have come through according to USA Treasury. During this time lenders have initiated foreclosure proceedings against over 1 million residential houses as per the findings of RealtyTrac. Nearly 20% have been successfully foreclosed or repossessed. According to the Center for Responsible Lending 2.4 million Americans are potentially at risk for falling prey to foreclosures. Another 8.1 million will be ensnared into it within the forthcoming four years.

The general complaint by the borrowers is that the banks are taking nearly 45 to 60 days time before responding to enquiries. This is according to the findings of NeighborWorks America. It is a non-profit counseling body dealing with prevention of foreclosures.

There are some borrowers who are waiting for a reply even after five months have lapsed since they contacted their lenders. This has led them to continually live in a state of uncertain fear.

Joel Naroff of Naroff Economic Advisors said, “Some lenders may not be turning (homeowners) down right away because it might be politically easier to push them off and delay. No one will admit they’re doing this.”

According to Naroff the banks are being flooded with demand for even more mortgages that includes refinancing. As more people are becoming jobless more applications are piling up. Mortgage defaults and unemployment numbers are going up hand in hand. This means that there is the fear that even those who have managed to modify their loans might falter in making monthly payments. Things will become worse with the falling of property values.

The lenders contend they are doing their best to tackle this flood of applications. But some officials say that the banks are intentionally delaying their responses. Richard A. Smith of Realogy said, “The loan-modification program is suffering. What we’re doing right now isn’t working as expected. The delays are horrible. Banks, unfortunately, just weren’t geared up for this.”

Search Homes Foreclosure in South Dakota by Top Cities

Foreclosures Touch an All Time High

Posted on June 23rd, 2009 in Foreclosure | 1 Comment »

foreclosure11

Residential foreclosures have touched an all time high. It’s not only the subprime borrowers whose have been foreclosed houses. The number of Alt-A loan borrowers faltering on the loans has increased too. Now even the prime loan borrowers have skipped on payments, as a result of which their homes are being foreclosed in large numbers. In fact, the foreclosures of homes of prime borrowers constitute the largest share of total foreclosures now.

At present, residences of 6 per cent prime borrowers are in some stage of foreclosure. This is twice what it was a year back. Four states lead in prime foreclosures and these are California, Florida, Arizona, and Nevada. But there are still other homes in other parts of the country which are being lost to foreclosures. The primary reason for this is not hard to understand – unemployment.

Job losses are still rampant and the number of those receiving unemployment doles is at an all time high of 6.7 million. The only silver lining is perhaps that the number of those making unemployment claims has dropped to 623,000 – registering a sharp drop of 13,000 in a week’s time.

The Federal Reserve has also made a point that the banking system has been stress tested. This test was planned to measure the performance of the USA’s 19 biggest banks. No doubt, their health is very important but they are not the only ones who are in the deep because of property loans. There are many mid-sized and small lenders who are facing losses as well.

Now the question that arises is if the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) will improve the prospects of the lenders? No one is quite very sure. Financial firms may benefit from the inexpensive financing and pass on the benefits to the borrowers. This will ultimately lead to the recovery of USA’s beleaguered economy. But there are fears that the government may suddenly change the program plans. If that happens, then the firms will not benefit.

Also Wall Street is not very stable – it is up one day, down the next. However, the primary concern of the government should be to create more jobs. Unless employment is created, homeowners will not be able to pay the mortgage. Foreclosures of prime properties will continue. As the trend shows, it is not only the sub-prime borrowers who are defaulting. The prime mortgage borrowers are skipping as well, and only job creation can put an end to this financial catastrophe.

Search Foreclosures for Sale by Top Cities

Foreclosures Evicting Rhode Islanders

Posted on June 22nd, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

foreclosure

Foreclosures are ruthlessly evicting Rhode Islanders. According to the legal services of the state in 2008 as many as 5,887 residents of Rhode Island were ousted from their homes due to the foreclosure crisis. In Providence it is estimated 58 were thrown out from their homes in Westerly and Chariho localities in the previous year.

It is not just the percentage but the number of families displaced is of significance said Rev. Jean Barry of an agency in Westerly that help evicted families said, “It’s disturbing because I don’t think we’ve seen the end of it in the greater Westerly area.” Unless the unemployment rate of 11% nothing better can be expected.

The report of foreclosures in 2008 ran into 30 pages detailing issues regarding eviction. It was released recently in June by the Rhode Island Legal Services. It is an important firm dealing with problems of the low income group.

The analysis has exposed facts about the number of Rhode Islanders who were ousted from their homes in 2008 because of foreclosure actions. The documents showed that financial bodies filed as many as 2,338 eviction suits in the previous year. A total of 5,887 were forced out of their hearth and homes. Nearly half of these evictions took place in Providence and 33% from the combined regions of Central Falls, Cranston, Pawtucket, Warwick as well as Woonsocket.

Spokespersons of Legal Services as well advocate for Affordable Housing and Homeless Prevention said that the figures do not paint the full picture because the displacements that happen outside the court cannot be tabulated.

After repossessing the properties the lenders throw out the residents either by plain force or with the help of the court.

The numbers are about families and this poses poignant questions about where they go and what happens to these people.

Recently the WARM Centre made arrangements for seven of the families to stay in motels for a week. The soup kitchen of the centre has noted hundred new faces in the previous three months.

Nearly all the families were previously tenants and were displaced after they lost their jobs. According to the estimates of National Low Income Housing Coalition 40% of those who are evicted from their homes by the foreclosure process are tenants. Barry said, “We can still handle what is happening, but if this pace keeps up, we will have to reach out to the community.”

Search Foreclosed Homes in Rhode Island

Foreclosed Plant Studios Finds No Takers

Posted on June 19th, 2009 in Foreclosure | No Comments »

foreclosure

The Plant Studios, where Mick Fleetwood recorded his classic rock album, Rumours, is lying in a state of disrepair. When Fleetwood went to the place, he found it all locked up. This is the place where some of the hit songs were recorded but now it is closed. The future of this foreclosed property is uncertain.
The Plant Studios was foreclosed after its previous owner Michael Indelicato had defaulted on loan payment. Now the property has been taken over by Marin Mortgage Bank. It is expected that the studios would be palmed off to the real estate developers.

Fleetwood has started a campaign to save the studio. He has vowed to preserve the heritage of the site. Singer Mari “Mack” Tamburo and engineer Arne Frager have chipped in with the preservation effort. Tamburo says that a lot of wrong information about the building is doing the rounds. The campaigners hope to create a awareness about the importance of the building and people will offer to buy it.

But there is a problem here. The studio has been evaluated at the price of $4.4million but it is difficult that any buyer will cough up such a large sum of money in these depressing times. Tamburo, however, says that a high-profile personality of the music industry can buy the studio. She observes that if top musicians pool in money the building can be easily preserved. She also observes that if only 10 per cent of the 40 million who had bought “Rumours” contributed $1 each, then thebuilding can be preserved for posterity. But will it be possible to reach the large section of people? Tamburo does not know the answer.

Tamburo says that she plans to reopen the studio where rock and roll would be played out. It could act as an incubator where young artists can receive training from legacy artists. This will stimulate the creativity of the budding artists and in the long run invigorate the local economy. Indelicato also says that he will support any effort to preserve the plant. He is also working on a few projects that will involve the building. But right now, nothing is final as yet. Whatever be the case, Tamburo hopes that the studio does not meet with the same fate as the Hit Factory of New York. The plant opened in 1972. It has a colorful history of music.

Search Foreclosed Properties in New York by Top Counties

 Page 5 of 40  « First  ... « 3  4  5  6  7 » ...  Last »