Category Archives: Real Estate

Real Estate

Foreclosures Rise Slowest in Four Years

U.S. foreclosure filings rose 6% in February from a year earlier, the smallest increase in four years, according to RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac Chief Executive James J. Saccacio added the leveling of the foreclosure trend isn’t necessarily evidence that fewer homeowners are in distress and at risk for foreclosure, but rather that foreclosure-prevention programs, legislation and other processing delays are capping monthly foreclosure activity.

The market researcher reported foreclosure filings on 308,524 U.S. properties in February, up 2% from January. Default notices, meanwhile, were up 3% from the prior month but down 3% from a year earlier. Scheduled foreclosure auctions and bank repossessions were both down from January, but grew from a year earlier.

Nevada posted the top foreclosure-filing rate for the 38th consecutive month despite a 30% year-over-year decrease. One in every 102 Nevada homes received a filing, more than four times the national rate. Even with a 9% decline in February from the prior month, Las Vegas was the worst metropolitan area, with one filing for every 90 homes.

California, meanwhile, posted a 15% year-over-year decline in February. Six California and Arizona metro areas were in the top 10 nationally, while Florida again had two.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Do you know that it’s getting to be a seller’s market in the under $250,000 price range? Almost every home in that price range seems to have multiple offers now. Interest rates are low. This combined with federal tax credits and investors still  buying is continuing to fuel sales.

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Search Foreclosed Homes And Short Sales
At click here JohnO’DellRealty.com

Real Estate

Bank of America’s Contractor Confiscates Parrot

Bank of America Nevada City, CA

A contractor for Bank of America went into the home of a borrower which was not vacant nor in default with the mortgage. While Angela Iannelli was away, under instructions from Bank of America, the contractor cut off utilities, padlocked the door and confiscated her pet parrot, Luke.  Maybe the contractor was thinking the woman was in default with her mortgage, would make her payments current if he took the parrot for ransom.

According to the Wall Street Journal:

“Angela Iannelli, 46 years old, alleged in a lawsuit Monday that the October incident—which separated her from her 11-year-old parrot for more than a week—caused so much “emotional distress” that she needed a prescription medication for anxiety.

A Bank of America spokesman said Wednesday a bank employee erroneously believed the house was vacant and sent the contractor there with instructions to install a new lock and otherwise “secure” the property. The bank spokesman said those instructions were inappropriate because Ms. Iannelli wasn’t in default and the house wasn’t vacant.

Mortgage lenders have struggled in the past three years to hire and train enough people to deal with the biggest wave of foreclosures since the 1930s. Nearly eight million households, or 15% of those with mortgages, are behind on their payments or in the foreclosure process.

Many borrowers complain they get the runaround when they call their lenders for help, receive contradictory information from different employees and are required to repeatedly fax the same documents.”

You can say that again. Dealing with banks, you can expect multiple answers to your mortgage problems and repetition of them asking for the same paper work over and over.  You are also transferred to a different person each and every time you call them, so that it appears that they are in complete chaos. In the final analysis, it seems that the last thing they want to do is modify your mortgage or help you in any way.

You can read the full story by clicking here: Wall Street Journal

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Do you know one thing about a short sale
that could haunt you for many years to come?
Call  me and find out 530-263-1091

Real Estate

Now is the Time to Get Your Real Estate Deal, While You Still Can


The combination of affordable home prices, low interest rates, and the federal tax credit for home buyers have created an opportune time for many buyers to purchase a home.  Many real estate analysts also believe that most housing markets have stabilized, but that some markets may decline further.

MAKING SENSE OF THE STORY FOR CONSUMERS

  • Buyers should keep in mind that housing markets are local and can vary greatly from one neighborhood to the next.  Working with a REALTOR® familiar with the area in which the buyer is searching can help the buyer select a house that best suits their needs.
  • California’s housing market has shown signs of stabilization since early last year.  Sales of existing, single-family homes bottomed out in August 2007, and the median home price reached its trough in February 2009.  In January, California’s median home price was 17.2 percent above the low for the current cycle.
  • The federal tax credit for home buyers was extended and expanded late last year.  Qualified first-time buyers may be eligible to receive a tax credit of up to $8,000 on homes purchased before April 30, 2010.  Repeat buyers may be eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.  Visit First Time Home Buyers Credit Answers for more information about the federal tax credit for home buyers, including eligibility requirements.
  • The Federal Reserve has helped maintain low interest rates, which, in turn, has assisted home buyers.  However, the agency plans to stop purchasing mortgage-backed securities at the end of this month, which likely will increase rates on 30-year fixed mortgages.  Buyers may be able to lock in a low interest rate by working with their lender.

To read the full story, please click here.

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Here for you
Because I care
Call 530-263-1091

Real Estate

Jail Time for Man Convicted of Stripping Foreclosed Home

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Example of Stripped Home
Example of Stripped Home

At last, someone has been convicted of stripping their foreclosed home! After showing many homes that have been foreclosed on and stripped, it’s about time law enforcement is doing something about this.

For example, I was going to make an offer on a foreclosed home for a  client just this last week, but the listing agent told me to figure $10,000 extra to the purchase price to replace the well pump and tank that had been stripped out.

According to AZFamily.com

“Authorities say a real estate agent has been convicted of fraud for stripping fixtures from his foreclosed home in  Anthem.

Maricopa County prosecutors say it’s the first conviction in a so-called “home stripping” case so far.

Authorities say 34-year-old Kailash Bhatt advertised kitchen cabinets, granite countertops, a double oven, microwave and dishwasher for sale on the Internet.

They say Bhatt was arrested after he accepted $2,000 from an undercover mortgage task force agent for the items, violating the mortgage company contract on the home.

After a five-day trial, prosecutors say Bhatt was convicted Thursday of defrauding secured creditors and will be sentenced April 1.”

Stripping out cabinets, granite counter tops? Wow, glad he’s going to jail and I’m sure he’s losing his license too. So, what do you think?

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
530-263-1091

Real Estate

Home Affordable Refinance Program Extended Another Year

According to a news release, the government is giving homeowners another year to refinance  their loans under a little-used program designed to help borrowers whose homes have plummeted in value.  My experience with clients who have tried to refinance their homes have had a total horrible experience with their mortgage holders.

The Obama administration effort, known as Home Affordable Refinance Program, had been scheduled to end on June 10 but will now run out on June 30, 2011, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Monday.

The program allows borrowers who owe up to 25 percent more than their homes are worth to refinance to lower interest rates.

It was originally projected to help 4 million to 5 million homeowners with loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. So far, it has helped around 220,000, according to the Treasury Department. Yes, and you can blame the banks 100 percent. They would rather foreclose then refinance.

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker

Real Estate

Hong Kong Real Estate Bubble About to Burst?

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As i mentioned in a recent article, China’s real estate is super hot and may be ready to collapse,  well, it looks like Hong Kong and Singapore  are in the same boat. Home prices in Hong Kong have risen 25 percent and land prices have doubled. Singapore’s government has stated that because of low interest rates, it is fearful that they may be getting into an overheated real estate market and are going to increase the housing market.

.According to the Wall Street Journal:

“Strong results in a Hong Kong government land auction are the latest sign that the city’s real-estate market is surging higher after a brief lull, as government officials here and elsewhere in the region grapple with how to cool off overheating property prices.

Around the region, easy credit and ample liquidity is fueling fears that real-estate prices may be rising to irrational levels.

Unlike China and Singapore, however, Hong Kong has little control over interest rates because its currency board system, which pegs the local currency to the U.S. dollar, forces it to import U.S. monetary policy.

“Hong Kong property buyers have been in a prolonged low-interest-rate environment, and now they’re behaving like drunken drivers on the road—they don’t think about consequences,” Ms. Wong says, estimating that prices have increased 5% this year. While speculative activity has been subdued, she argues the public is “overstretching” itself, convinced that “prices will go up forever.”

Sounds familiar doesn’t it?  What do you think?

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Because I care
Call 530-263-1091

Real Estate

Reagan Office Building for Sale

I guess if you need money you sell your real estate? How about the State of California selling some of their real estate to raise money?  Do you think that’s a great idea?  In the bottom of the real estate market, the State is selling two dozen buildings in order to raise $2 billion to pay off some of their long term debt.

Included in the sale is the Ronald Reagan building, which they will then lease back for the next twenty years.

According to the Los Angeles Times:

“Under the proposal, for example, the twin-towered Reagan state office building at 3rd and Spring streets would be purchased by an investor who would in turn lease it to the state. The state would pay the new owner an estimated $12.2 million a year in rent, according to the plan.

State officials will now accept bids on 24 office buildings on 11 sites in Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Rosa. Investors may buy the properties en masse or individually.

The planned sale comes during one of the worst real estate markets since the Great Depression. Commercial property values have fallen as much as 40% from their 2007 peak, according to industry analysts. Although the depressed market may hold sales prices down, it may also help the state as it negotiates how much to pay in rent after it leases back the buildings.

The recession drove up vacancy rates in many privately owned office buildings as white-collar companies contracted through layoffs or closed their doors. Landlords in most of the country’s major office markets have been forced to reduce rents to attract or keep tenants.”

Talk about a study in mismanagement, the State of California is one for the text books.

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Helping you in buying or selling real estate
Call today 530-263-1091

Real Estate

Phony Fornensic Review for Mortgage Relief Latest Scam

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Los Angeles-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. has joined the California Department of Real Estate (DRE) and the State Bar of California in warning Californians to avoid forensic loan audits, the loan-modification industry’s latest “phony foreclosure-relief service,” in which homeowners pay up-front fees for a forensic review of their lender’s practices, but are provided no actual foreclosure relief.

“Forensic loan audits are yet another phony foreclosure-relief service hawked by loan-modification consultants trying to cash in on the desperation of homeowners facing foreclosure,” Brown said. “The foreclosure-relief industry continues to be long on promises, but short on results.”

Individuals and businesses who offer forensic loan audits use inflated and misleading claims to convince homeowners to pay up-front fees for services that produce no actual foreclosure relief. Homeowners are encouraged to pay for an audit of their mortgage loan file to determine their lender’s compliance with state and federal mortgage-lending laws. This audit is pitched to homeowners as a tool they can use to gain leverage and speed up the loan-modification process.

In truth, there is no evidence or statistical data to support claims that forensic loan audits-even if performed by a licensed, legitimate and trained auditor, mortgage professional or lawyer-will help homeowners obtain loan modifications or provide any other foreclosure relief.

“The State Bar is committed to dealing with all aspects of loan foreclosure fraud involving attorneys,” said State Bar President Howard Miller. “We will continue to work with all the other government agencies to prevent fraud and to move for disciplinary sanctions against attorneys who violate their obligations to their clients.”

By law, all individuals and businesses offering mortgage-foreclosure consulting, loan-modification and foreclosure-assistance services must register with Brown’s office and post a $100,000 bond. It is also illegal for loan-modification consultants and businesses to charge up-front fees for their services.

Brown has sought court orders to shut down more than 30 fraudulent foreclosure-relief companies and has brought criminal charges and obtained lengthy prison sentences for dozens of deceptive loan-modification consultants.

Source Attorney Edmund G. General Brown, Jr.

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Here to help you in all your real estate needs

Real Estate

Good Real Estate News: Home Equity is Rising Again

Numerous articles have reported that homeowners are underwater and that strategic defaults are increasing. However, a little known statistic by the Federal Reserve shows that home equity again is on the rise.

KEEP THIS IN MIND

• The Federal Reserve conducts substantial research on mortgage balances and home-value changes in hundreds of local markets nationwide and reports its finding quarterly. According to the Fed’s most recent “flow of funds” survey, homeowners’ net equity increased by nearly $1 trillion compared with the recession’s lowest point between the first and third quarters of 2009. From June 30 to Sept. 30, net equity rose by $418 billion.

• According to a report by Zillow.com, the overall negative equity rate among U.S. homeowners remained flat in the fourth quarter at 21.4 percent. This report, combined with other housing factors and studies, may indicate that the unprecedented reduction in home equity is shifting.

• Some homeowners, especially those in areas with high foreclosure rates, are choosing to strategically default on their mortgages, even though they can afford the mortgage. Many homeowners who choose this approach do so because they do not see an economic rationale in continuing to make their mortgage payments. Homeowners considering this option should be aware of the negative effect it will have on their credit status. Foreclosures can remain on credit reports for up to seven years, likely increasing the interest rates the consumer pays for credit, and making it more difficult to receive approval on a new mortgage loan.

To read the full story, please click here: Washington Post

Real Estate

China’s Building Bubble Bout to Bust

Another building bubble?  Yes, but this time it’s not the US that has a building bubble, we are way past the bubble and on the path to recovery. This time it’s China, with banks making as many loans as possible to get the mortgage upfront fees. (Does this sounds familiar to you?)

Flipping properties, factory owners are more interested in buying and selling property then production. Get this, even manufacturing in China is going out of country because of high labor prices!

According to the Star.com:

“Frenzied developers with access to cheap money are creating a glut of premium office space and luxury apartments, priced at about 80 times the average income of the city’s residents. Prospective middle-class homeowners, in panic-buying mode, are snapping up two properties at once, hoping to flip the second one to finance the first. Civic officials are encouraging the building boom.

The sale of vacant lots bolster their municipal coffers.

Banks eager to reap upfront fees are granting mortgages to all comers. Even factory owners are in on the speculation, generating more profit from flipping property than from traditional manufacturing, which increasingly is moving offshore to Vietnam, Malaysia and other nations with lower labour costs.”

Read the full article at  TheStar.com

John J. O’Dell
Real Estate Broker
Your real estate specialist
Call today 530-262-1091