The loan modification program was launched by the Obama Administration to help distressed homeowners and reduce the number of distressed foreclose properties in the country. Donovan pointed out that in the short time that the program was launched, it has already made about 400,000 loan modification offers. He said that the figures were bigger compared with previous federal efforts to curb the foreclosure crisis.

However, Donovan noted that President Barack Obama made a goal of altering between 3 to 4 million loans to make them affordable within three years from the day the program was launched.

According to industry analysts, the program has to work full time to get to the level that it could provide relief and make a difference to the lives of distressed homeowners.

Donovan said that the Obama Administration has intensified its efforts to make it possible to achieve large-scale loan modifications, adding that this involves mortgage servicers getting the things necessary to achieve the goal, including resources, staff and systems.

According to Donovan, senior administration officials and top executives from mortgage lending companies have met last month to discuss how to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the program.

He added that both parties have set up a goal of getting 500,000 thousand troubled loans into trial modifications by November 1. Already, the Treasury Department had released its first report containing the number of modifications offered by each participating lender.

The report showed that the Bank of America topped in the number of mortgages eligible for the program, with 800,000 loans, which are double the total number of mortgages eligible for modification by the second largest lender. However, the report noted that the bank offered trial modifications to just 3.5 percent of its total eligible loans.

Meanwhile, Saxon Mortgage Services is the lender with the highest number of completed loan modifications, amounting to 25 percent of its total eligible loans. The lender is followed by J.P. Morgan Chase Bank at 20 percent and CitiMortgage at 15 percent.

Donovan: Foreclose Prevention Program, Time to Pick Up Speed is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

Housing analysts in the area however fear that the rising number of repo homes would block any small improvement in the housing market.

In July, a total of 2,223 houses, townhomes and condo units were sold in the Charlotte area, a decrease of 18 percent from total home sales in July last year. According to Charlotte real estate analysts, the July home sales decrease rate was the smallest drop rate on a year-over-year basis since September 2007.

Home sales also increased compared to June 2009 sales, continuing a series of monthly sales increases in 2009 including the best level of spring home sales in 3 years.

Another positive sign observed by analysts is the slowdown in the drop rate for pending sales. In July, the drop in pending home sales was only 15 percent, the smallest rate of decline in pending home sales since July 2007.

The average home sales price fell to $212,977, a drop of 7.7 percent compared to the June sales price, but better than the double-digit drops in the first months of the year.

Across North Carolina, foreclosure filings in July increased to almost 6,100, a rise of around 33 percent compared to filings in July 2008. Foreclosure filings in Mecklenburg in July still surpassed the 1,000 mark for the fifth straight month, but did not surpass the April record number of more than 1,600 filings.

Foreclosures in Mecklenburg started to rise again after declining during some of the first months of the year.

In the first 6 months of the year, nearly 4,500 residential properties received foreclosure filings in Charlotte, based on a nationwide survey of foreclosure postings. One housing unit out of every 158 units was hit with a default or foreclosure notice, putting the Charlotte metro area 112th in a ranking of the 203 metro areas with the highest foreclosure rates.

In the same survey, North Carolina ranked 36th in foreclosure rate, with one housing unit out of every 326 units getting hit with a foreclosure filing.

One of the sharpest effects of foreclosures is their price reduction effect on surrounding homes. Home values in Mecklenburg County have been declining. About 20 percent of single-family detached houses sold in the first months of 2009 at heavy discounts had been in foreclosure for 18 months before they got sold.

Drop in Charlotte Home Sales Slowed Amid Foreclosures Homes is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

The property, which accounted for almost 50 percent of Sausalito’s hotel tax revenue, will be auctioned off after its owners missed payments on their loan.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) took control of Casa Madrona when its delinquent loan caused the failure of Integrity Bank based in Georgia. Because of the economic contributions of Casa Madrona on the city, officials and merchants are on edge until new owners can be found.

According to industry experts, Casa Madrona accounted for a large share of the real estate market in the city’s downtown area. Sausalito chief financial officer Charlie Francis recounted that Casa Madrona had stopped paying hotel tax or transient occupancy tax since November 2008. The hotel tax is equivalent to 12 percent of total annual room sales.

The hotel, which has 63 rooms, generated nearly $1 million annually since 2006 and accounted for 40 percent of the total hotel tax in the city.

The FDIC took control of the property, which also features a 5,000-square-foot event space and 3,000 square feet spa, early this year due to failure of its owner, MHG Casa Madrona to pay its loan balance of over $24 million.

According to industry experts, the FDIC intervened when the hotel property’s delinquent loan caused the failure of Integrity Bank. The federal agency started the foreclosure process and appointed a Georgia-based asset manager to help in the restitution with Sausalito. The agency also named a hotel management company to manage the daily operations of the hotel property.

As part of the restitution, FDIC paid the city of Sausalito about $125,000 representing unpaid taxes and $5,600 monthly as payment for the use of parking spaces by hotel guests. Since the FDIC took over, the hotel property has started paying its tax weekly as stated under the city policy.

County assessor’s office data showed that the assessed value of the hotel property amounted to $16.6 million. Michael George, general manager of Casa Madrona, hopes that a new owner for the hotel would be named soon so that the property could move forward towards revitalization.

California City’s Largest Hotel on Foreclosed Property Auction is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

The association noted that most often, consumers can purchase these repossessed cars and homes at discounted prices.

According to industry experts, many automobile auction companies that market repossessed cars sell only to dealers who are licensed. Typically these dealers placed the cars on used lots. They said that for people who want to purchase used cars, boats or motorcycles may try the local credit unions.

Experts said that prices of repossessed automobiles are based on the standard value of the National Automobile Dealers Association, the remaining unpaid loan amount and the condition of the car. Members of credit unions can inspect the cars and may submit their bids which will be reviewed by the union president.

The East Texas Professional Credit Union said that if the bids are accepted, members can purchase the cars. For non-members to become eligible to purchase repossessed automobiles, they are required to join the credit unions by opening checking accounts.

For people who are interested in purchasing properties who were foreclosed due to non-payment of mortgage loans, they need to have cash or a pre-approved loan during auctions. When lenders foreclosed on properties, they appoint trustees who will place the foreclosed houses for public auctions.

According to industry experts, foreclosure is a public legal procedure, thus announcements of auctions of foreclosure properties are displayed at courthouses.

Allied Home Mortgage branch manager Tom Holyfield said that bank owned foreclosed homes sold at auctions are priced 5 percent below the fair market value. Some industry experts said that potential buyers could find great deals at auctions, but often they are hit or miss because usually, they are not allowed to inspect the foreclosed home first.

In the event that lenders did not receive acceptable bids at auctions, they will take over ownership of the foreclosed houses and sell them. Prices for bank-owned properties vary but in East Texas, houses are sold at market value.

As with auctions for repossessed properties, potential buyers of bank foreclosed houses should submit a pre-approved loan letter or documents showing proof of income.

Industry experts said that potential buyers should know that if several offers were made on a foreclosed home, the banks will determine which offer they will accept and usually, cash offers are the preferred choice of lenders and banks.

Bankers: Number of Foreclose Homes, Cars Rose is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

Inland Empire Economic Recovery has received about $50 million to buy and renovate repo homes in bulk. The nonprofit organization is a partnership between local businesses and the Inland government.

Inland Empire Chief Executive Officer Bob Hooker explained that the organization’s pending agreement with Sierra Capital will give it a financial leverage to buy a large volume of bank owned foreclosed homes at discounted prices.

Sierra Capital Chief Executive Officer and President Keffer Norris hopes that the partnership between Inland Empire and his company would be able to start purchasing foreclosure properties within a month.

Hooker said that the public-private partnership intends to use the funds to purchase and renovate bank foreclosures, sell them to eligible owner-occupants and bring profits to investors. Under the plan, the partnership hopes to recover the original investment from the resale price of renovated foreclosure homes and then use the proceeds from the sale to purchase, fix and sell more distressed houses.

Norris said that the initiative would provide opportunity for banks to sell a large volume of their properties on foreclosure listings. The Inland Empire could acquire foreclosed properties at 15 percent or 20 percent less than the appraised value. He added that the $50 million funding would be enough to allow the partnership to purchase and renovate about 200 to 300 bank foreclosure properties in the area every four months.

For almost two years, Sierra Capital was able to rehabilitate nearly 350 bank owned foreclosed houses in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Inland Empire’s major goal is to prevent the neighborhood deterioration that happened in the Inland Southern California in the early 1990 recession which resulted to investors buying volumes of foreclosure properties and filling them with renters.

In January, the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors awarded the partnership with seed money amounting to $2.5 million. But so far, the partnership has not purchased or renovated a single foreclosed house due to difficulties in obtaining private investment money and establishing relationships with some bank asset managers.

Last month, Inland Empire partnered with construction and development firm, Glaeser Builders Corp. for projects worth $1.5 million. Glaeser owner Pete Glaeser said that the partnership will purchase their first bank foreclosed house in Rialto to be followed by 10 foreclosed properties owned by the Bank of America in Victorville and San Bernardino.

Financial Leverage for a Foreclosed Homes Prevention Program is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

Based on the index, not one of the 12 community types expects an improvement in the number of foreclosure homes in their areas. This problem continues to be an economic and emotional burden to communities and residents.

In the first six months of this year, 1,905,723 filings of foreclosures were made on 1,528,364 households across the country, representing a 9 percent rise from the preceding six months. Meanwhile, 1 out of 84 or 1.19 percent of housing units in the country received a foreclosure filing from January to June.

These figures do not include families struggling to remain in their houses, a situation causing additional stress to the national and local economies.

According to industry analysts, the emotional impact of repossession can affect every sector of the economy.

They said that every time people see foreclosure houses with for sale signs or properties being foreclosed on, they are psychologically affected and so is the economy in the area.

They explained that the tendency of people living in areas with a great number of foreclosed properties is to stop spending, which affects the local businesses. Also, the increasing unemployment rate is being linked to the growing foreclosure problem. They added that as people start to lose their sources of income, they also start missing mortgage payments which subsequently led to foreclosures.

In St. Louis, Missouri, a great number of people have lost their jobs and are having difficulty saving their properties from foreclosure due to loss of income and limited means to avoid foreclosure.

Housing counselors at Beyond Housing, an affordable housing provider, noted a significant increase in the number of unemployed people who are asking for assistance. Chris Krehmeyer of Beyond Housing said that many people with good credit history and loans are starting to lose their properties to foreclosure.

But not all housing markets in the country are on a downhill. Some, including Hampton Roads in Virginia, are showing signs of recovery in terms of home sales. According to industry experts, the low interest rates and $8,000 federal tax credit have been a big help to boost home sales. However, they are one in saying that trouble is still ahead as the number of foreclosure houses across the country remained unabated.

Foreclosure Houses Still Haunt Communities Nationwide is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

Recently, lawyer Marc Shapiro who has been buying foreclosure auction properties for years, has been outbid on a four-bedroom house by an individual investor whom he has not seen in previous foreclosure homes held in Collier County.

The house, which has a private access to a beach, was sold at $1,427,000, higher than Shapiro’s bid of $1.2 million, but a bargain compared to the original value of almost $2.9 million.

Shapiro said that more and more people are participating in foreclosure auctions. He said that in the past, Collier County Clerk of Courts foreclosure for sale were attended by only about two or three bank representatives.

But now, he said, about 30 to 50 people are participating in auctions and the bidding is getting competitive.

Both individual and corporate investors are looking for foreclosure auction properties to buy, fix and rent out or resell.

In Naples, the most active companies in foreclosure auctions are Asset Services, MFC Investments LLC, Greater Atlantic Investments LLC and United Equities and Real Estate Group.

Shapiro also observed that investors are getting back into the market because home buyers are finally acting on their home purchase plans.

Especially for lower priced properties, sales of existing homes have been increasing these past several months in Naples and other parts of Collier County. Investors and first time buyers have been taking advantage of lower foreclosure auction prices.

In May, the median home resale price decreased to $174,000, a significant drop from the median of $314,000 in May 2008, based on data from the Naples Area Board of Realtors.
Houses priced below $300,000 are getting sold more quickly than in the past.

To participate in a Naples foreclosure auction, one needs to have the five-percent deposit before bidding and must be able to complete payment by the next day.

For a five-bedroom house in Golden Gate, the bidding last week started at $200 and increased by $4,000 and later by $100. It finally stopped at the bid of $80,500 by United Equities.

United Equities is headed by Glenn Vereen who buys foreclosure auction homes, repairs them and the resells them usually to first time home buyers.

Vereen said he is a regular foreclosure auction participant, buying six properties in May and four in the first week of June.

Competitive Foreclosure Auction in Naples, Florida is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

The program will be funded by a total of $13.8 million provided by federal and state agencies. The federal Housing and Urban Development Department’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program provided $5,681,443; the New York State Housing Finance Agency gave $6,930,349; and the New York State Affordable Housing Corporation gave $1.24 million.

Household income will be the key qualifying factor for families, with four-member families required to be earning not more than $122,000. Families also need to pass mortgage loan application requirements.

Under Suffolk’s affordable housing program, applicants are given up to July 31 to submit their applications. Qualified families would be chosen through lottery and buyers would choose from rehabilitated bank-owned foreclosures and government repo houses in neighborhoods most affected by foreclosures.

Applications would be handled by the nonprofit Long Island Housing Partnership, which is expected to launch its online application channel within two weeks. Families interested in the program can call the partnership at 631-435-4710.

Among areas with potential government repo and bank-owned properties are Selden, Centereach, Central Islip, East Patchoguen, Coram, Bay Shore, Huntington Station, Brentwood, Mastic, Medford, Mastic Beach, North Bellport, Shirley and North Amityville.

For a period of three years, Suffolk would buy bank-owned homes and government repo houses in these areas, fix them and then sell them between $150,000 and $225,000.

Qualified homebuyers will be required to take an eight-hour session on mortgage and home ownership counseling conducted by Long Island Housing Partnership. After a foreclosure property is renovated, the house will be offered for sale to the first on the program list.

County Executive Steve Levy said the NSP and state funds will enable the program to save neighborhoods filled with many government repo and bank-owned foreclosures by preserving home values and controlling the decline of tax revenues.

Mark Lesko, town supervisor of Brookhaven, also lauded the program, saying it is a realistic kind of assistance in difficult times. The program will not only help families, it will also help communities survive the housing crisis and economic downturn.

All in all, the program to buy, fix and sell bank foreclosed homes and government repo houses will be handled under a multiagency effort, involving government and nonprofit officials.

Long Island Rehabs Government Repo Houses for Families is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

Real estate analysts in the area said that first-time home buyers will soon account for 50 percent of the metro area’s total home sales.

In the first two months of 2009, sales to investors still accounted for many purchases of bargain-priced foreclosed homes for sale across the city, but they did not dominate the market as aggressively as they did in the heydays.

In April, around 19 percent of homes for sale in the metro area were snapped up by investors, based on data from Cromford Report real estate consultant Mike Orr, who analyzes data from the Information Market and the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service.

During the heyday of the housing market, home purchases by investors accounted for about 40 percent of home sales in the Phoenix metro area.

Among the factors encouraging first-time homebuyers to plunge into the housing market are the federal $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and various programs offered by states, cities and counties to help first-time home buyers to buy foreclosed homes for sale. Funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program also enabled cities to help lower-income families to take advantage of the low prices of foreclosed homes for sale.

The median home price in the Phoenix metro area is $116,500, an increase of 1.3 percent from the $115,000 median price in April. Analysts said the increase is negligible, but if the gains continue for the next 12 months, home prices could improve by an annual total of 15.6 percent.

The per-square-foot median price of a home in the Phoenix metro area increased to $84.86 in May, an increase of 2.4 percent compared to the price in April.

Orr also related that Valley homes offered for sale below $150,000 are easily and quickly snapped up. Many foreclosed homes for sale in the $150,000 range have been getting multiple purchase offers.

Realtors have also observed that the investors buying homes in Phoenix now are different from the housing boom speculators who made very small amounts of down payments and who just walked away when the market collapsed.

Now many investors are expressing their faith in the Phoenix metro area by buying in cash or making large down payments for foreclosed homes for sale.

First-Time Buyers Seize Phoenix Foreclosed Homes for Sale is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing

The law gives a 90-day foreclosure moratorium to troubled homeowners who want to negotiate with their lenders to modify their loans to make payments affordable.

In Granholm’s weekly radio address, she explained that the bipartisan legislative agreement would provide relief to homeowners who are facing foreclosures. She commended the efforts of Michigan Representative Andy Couloris who helped create the agreement. She reiterated her government’s commitment to protect Michigan families from foreclosure and help them remain in their homes.

During the 90-day foreclosure moratorium, qualified homeowners would be allowed to seek help in modifying their mortgage loans from housing counselors available through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Homeowners would then be required to discuss with their lenders possible loan modification plans.

If homeowners and their lenders come to an agreement on a loan modification plan, repossession is avoided provided that homeowners abide by the bipartisan legislative agreement.

Granholm pointed out that avoiding foreclosures would benefit not only Michigan families, especially those who are in danger of losing their properties, but also neighborhoods.

Distressed foreclosure properties cause neighborhoods to deteriorate and home prices to decline, affecting the whole community and the state’s economy, she added.

The law requires lenders to notify in writing troubled homeowners about their mortgage default and to provide them with contact information.

Granholm explained that it is important that lenders, homeowners and housing counselors coordinate to stop foreclosure. She said that less than 20 percent of delinquent homeowners communicate with their lenders or housing counselors as soon as they start missing payments. She claimed that the law creates a procedure in which lenders and homeowners communicate and negotiate.

Under the law, a lender would develop a loan workout scheme in which the borrower’s monthly mortgage payments would not be more than 38 percent of his income. A loan modification plan may include reducing interest rates or extending the loan term.

Michigan’s foreclosed homes foreclosure filings reached a total of 33,184 in the first quarter of this year, representing a 2 percent decline from the last quarter of 2008 and 12 percent increase from the first quarter of the previous year.

Michigan Law to Prevent Foreclosed Homes Foreclosure is a post from: Foreclosure Homes Investing