Tag Archives: Foreclosures

Real Estate

Foreclosures Down 29% From Year Ago

Photo credit: http://www.freeimageslive.com/galleries/buildings/structures/pics/oldbridge.jpg
Photo credit: http://www.freeimageslive.com/galleries/buildings/structures/pics/oldbridge.jpg

Foreclosures are continuing a steady fall, as home prices rise and the housing market picks up nationwide.

About 1 million homes were in some stage of foreclosure in May, down from 1.4 million in May 2012, a 29 percent decline, according to CoreLogic’s latest foreclosure report. As of May, the foreclosure inventory represented 2.6 percent of all homes with a mortgage — down from 3.5 percent a year prior.

There were 52,000 foreclosures completed nationwide in May, down 27 percent year over year. However, the numbers are still elevated compared to what’s considered normal for the market. Prior to the decline in the housing market in 2007, completed foreclosures averaged 21,000 per month between 2000 and 2006, according to CoreLogic.

Since September 2008 — the start of the financial crisis — about 4.4 million foreclosures have been completed, CoreLogic’s data shows.

Meanwhile, shadow inventory is down 34 percent from reaching its 2010 peak. It was under 2 million units in April, representing a 5.3 month supply.

“We continue to see a sharp drop in foreclosures around the country and, with it, a decrease in the size of the shadow inventory,” says Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Affordability, despite the rise in home prices over the past year, and consumer confidence are big contributors to these positive trends. We are particularly encouraged by the broad-based nature of the housing market recovery so far in 2013.”

The stock of seriously delinquent homes, which is the main driver of shadow inventory, is at the lowest level since December 2008, adds Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.  “Over the last year, it has decreased in 42 states by double-digit figures, resulting in rapid declines in shadow inventory for the first quarter of 2013,” Fleming says.

The following five states account for nearly half of all completed foreclosures nationally and had the highest number of completed foreclosures in the last 12 months ending in May:

  • Florida
  • California
  • Michigan
  • Texas
  • Georgia

Source: CoreLogic

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Real Estate

What Will the New ‘Normal’ for Housing Be?

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Mortgage giant Fannie Mae recently offered some predictions of what the housing market’s “normal” will look like in the next two years.

In its report, “Transition to ‘Normal’?”, Fannie says while the housing market has shown improvement, uncertainty remains over both the economy and the real estate market.

“Our forecast is that 2013 and 2014 will exhibit below-potential economic growth,” according to the white paper. “This is despite the fact that we expect the housing rebound will continue and that the economy will benefit from the gradual increased growth of U.S.-based manufacturing, as well as the expansion of domestic energy production.”

The following are some of the projections Fannie made in its report:

  • Mortgage rates to stay low: Fannie Mae expects mortgage rates to remain low over the next few years. The mortgage giant expects rates will increase to no more than 4.2 percent by the end of 2014.
  • FHA loans may get more expensive: More costs may be assigned to Federal Housing Administration loans.
  • Refinancing drops: The boom in refinancing may have peaked last year with slower activity projected this year. “We expect 2012 to be seen as the high watermark for refinances and 2013 as the first of several transition years as the housing finance market transitions back to a more normal balance between purchase and refinance activity.”
  • Foreclosures continue to fall: Fannie expects foreclosures to continue to decline from their peaks as more alternatives to foreclosure are pursued.
  • Housing starts to rise: Fannie Mae predicts that housing starts will increase 23 percent in 2013 — which would be 60 percent more than the record low in 2010. Fannie expects housing starts won’t reach sustainable levels until 2016.
  • Mortgage originations grow: “Given our expectations of continued improvement in housing starts, home sales, and home prices in 2013,” Fannie Mae writes, “we project that purchase mortgage originations will rise to $642 billion from a forecast of $518 billion in 2012.”

Source: “‘Normal’ Housing Market May Not be What it Used to Be,” Realty Times (Jan. 30, 2013)

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Real Estate

Major Foreclosure Servicer Charged With Forgery

 

Photo courtesy of Riverfront Times
Photo courtesy of Riverfront Times

Finally, someone is getting indicted for robo signing. Robo signing, if you haven’t heard or know what it was, is having  employees signing thousands of  false mortgage documents. Read the story below from the New York times for further explanation:

“DocX, one of the largest companies in the nation to provide foreclosure services to lenders nationwide, has been indicted by a Missouri grand jury on forgery charges stemming from foreclosures against home owners in the state.

The indictment marks one of the “few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against home owners” nationwide, The New York Times reports.

According to the indictment, DocX is accused of making “mass-produced fraudulent signatures on notarized real estate documents” and could face up to 136 counts of forgery in the preparation of documents used to evict defaulting home owners from their homes. DocX could face a fine of up to $10,000 for each forgery conviction.

DocX is a unit of Lender Processing Services of Jacksonville, Fla. The company is accused of executing and notarizing millions of mortgage documents for banks and lenders the last few years. Lender Procession closed in April 2010 after allegations surfaced of alleged forged documents.

Some of its employees were also indicted last week and could face several years in prison if found convicted.

An attorney for DocX says the company will enter a plea of “not guilty” and declined to comment further about the charges.”

Source: “Company Faces Forgery Charges in Mo. Foreclosures,” The New York Times (Feb. 6, 2012)

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Real Estate

You Own My Mortgage? Prove It

Delinquent home owners are finding a wild-card in saving their home from foreclosure. In court, more home owners are successfully arguing that their mortgage companies can’t prove they own the loan and don’t have the right to foreclose on them.

The Wall Street Journal reports: “In some cases, borrowers are showing courts that banks failed to properly assign ownership of mortgages after they were pooled into mortgage-backed securities. In other cases, borrowers say that lenders backdated or fabricated documents to fix those errors.”

In a few cases, home owners have even had their foreclosures reversed as courts blame lenders’ sloppy paperwork.

Some argue that borrowers are using “arcane legal rules” to get free houses when not paying their bills. Banking industry lawyer Laurence E. Platt at K&L Gates in Washington says “the real assault on the legal system” are efforts by judges and local officials to not give lenders their rightful ownership and make foreclosures nearly impossible.

However, attorney Thomas Ice in Royal Palm Beach, Fla., argues that borrowers shouldn’t have to tolerate incomplete or falsified evidence by lenders.

Source: “Banks Hit Hurdle to Foreclosures,” The Wall Street Journal (June 1, 2011)
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Real Estate

5 Unexpected Foreclosure Hotspots

One of the lakes in Grouse Ridge, Nevada County, CA
One of the lakes in Grouse Ridge, Nevada County, CA

While Las Vegas boasts the worst foreclosure rate in the country, several other cities are creeping up with the fastest growing rates of foreclosures — and they’re in some unexpected places.

These cities mostly have one thing in common: They’re all battling a growing number of job losses among their residents that are leading more home owners to default on their mortgages.

Here are five cities with some of the fastest-growing foreclosure rates in the country:

1. Spartanburg, S.C.
Foreclosure rate: 1 in 60 homes

This city in upstate South Carolina faced a 228 percent increase in foreclosure filings in 2010 — making it the nation’s fastest-growing foreclosure rate. In 2009, the city’s unemployment rate hit 12.7 percent in 2009, dropping to 10.9 percent in 2010, yet still well above the national average.

2. Albuquerque, N.M.
Foreclosure rate: 1 in 46 homes

Albuquerque had a 60 percent increase in foreclosures in 2010. This city has had one of the fastest-growing metro areas over the past decade, attracting young professionals and retirees, but its economy was hard hit by the recession.

3. Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Foreclosure rate: 2.25 percent

Myrtle Beach had a 44 percent increase in foreclosures in 2010. Once a big draw for vacation-home buyers, the city’s second-home market was crushed by the recession when tourism dropped and unemployment increased.

4. Savannah, Ga.
Foreclosure rate: 1 in 40 homes

Savannah had a 37 percent increase in foreclosure filings in 2010. Its unemployment rate is still on the rise; in November it rose to 8.9 percent. Many of the foreclosures in the city are in its Historic District or The Landings, popular areas where home prices rose quickly during the housing boom days.

5. Charlotte, N.C.
Foreclosure rate: 1 in 50 homes

Charlotte also had a 37 percent increase in foreclosure filings in 2010. Its unemployment rate is dropping; it was 10 percent in November. Charlotte has become the 33rd largest metro area in the country, growing by more than 30 percent in the past 10 years.

©2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. All rights reserved.

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Real Estate

The States of Arizona and Nevada Sues Bank of America for Foreclosure Fraud

Bank of America Nevada City, CA

The states of Arizona and Nevada has sued Bank of America for alleged foreclosure fraud.  The lawsuits are very similar in scope, and basically allege that Bank of America engaged in deceptive practices specifically with regard to mortgage servicing, loan modification, and foreclosure.

Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard said in a press release:

“Bank of America has been the slowest of all the servicers to ramp up loss mitigation efforts in response to the housing crisis.  It has shown callous disregard for the devastating effects its servicing practices have had on individual borrowers and on the economy as a whole”.

The Arizona complaint alleges that Bank of America committed fraud in Arizona, and mislead borrowers about foreclosure and loan modification programs in the following ways (quoted from the press release):

• Whether homeowners must be delinquent on their mortgage payments to be considered for a loan modification.

• How much time it would take to receive a decision from Bank of America on a modification request or a short sale request.

• Whether foreclosure would proceed while a modification or short sale request was pending, or while a homeowner was making trial payments.

• Whether the homeowner had been approved for a loan modification.

• Failure to provide valid reasons why the homeowner was declined for a modification.

• Whether the homeowner would be approved for a permanent modification if the consumer successfully made all trial modification payments.

The Nevada lawsuit has essentially similar allegations.  Nevada Attorney General Catherine Masto said in a press release:

“We are holding Bank of America accountable for misleading and deceiving consumers.  Nevadans who were trying desperately to save their homes were unable to get truthful information in order to make critical life decisions”.

Real Estate

Many Mortgage Holders Underwater

In what could be another sign that the housing crisis is far from over, the percent of mortgage holders who are underwater on their homes continued to rise in the third quarter–and some say it could be another eight to 10 months before that trend turns around.

In the U.S., 23.2% of U.S. mortgage holders were underwater, owing more money than the house is worth. That’s up from 21.7% from a year ago, according to Q03 data out Wednesday from Zillow.com. Roughly 13.9 million homes now have negative equity. Many of these homes could end up in foreclosure should borrowers give up making payments on homes that aren’t worth what they owe—let alone building equity. (See “The Great Mortgage Mystery“)

In the latest report, the worst hit areas of the housing bust show small signs of improvement, while new locales saw growth in underwater real estate. In Miami, for example, 42% of homes have negative equity, compared to 45.1% in the third quarter 2009, according to Zillow. That’s in part because many of these underwater homes have been foreclosed on.

In San Francisco, the number of underwater homes has dropped from 24.9% to 20.2%, mainly due to stabilizing home values that are pulling more people out of negative equity, says Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. The median sales price of existing single-family homes in the San Francisco metropolitan area is up about 25% since last year, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Source: Wall Street Journal

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Real Estate

Home Sales Slow in September Due to Foreclosure Moratoriums

U.S. pending home sales slipped for the first time in three months in September as foreclosure moratoriums  slowed sales.

The National Association of Realtors’ index for pending sales of existing homes fell 1.8% to 80.9, the industry group said Friday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected pending home sales would increase by 3% in September.

Year over year, the pending-home-sales index is 24.9% below its level of 107.8 in September 2009. The NAR on Friday also revised its August index upward slightly to 82.4 from the previously estimated 82.3.

The NAR index is based on pending sales of existing homes, including single-family homes and condominiums. A home sale is pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction hasn’t closed. Pending sales typically close within one or two months of signing.

Pending home sales plummeted in May after the expiration of a government tax credit program but had been on the rise in July and August as rock-bottom mortgage rates and distressed property sales enticed buyers.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Real Estate

Beware of Foreclosure Scams

  • A company/person asks for a fee in advance to work with your lender to modify, refinance or reinstate your mortgage. They may pocket your money and do nothing to help you save your home from foreclosure.
  • A company/person guarantees they can stop a foreclosure or get your loan modified. NO ONE can make this guarantee to stop foreclosure or modify your loan. Legitimate, trustworthy HUD-approved counseling agencies can assist you with options and facilitate communication with your mortgage company.
  • A company/person advises you to stop paying your mortgage company and pay them instead. Despite what a scammer will tell you, you should never send a mortgage payment to anyone other than your mortgage lender. If you have trouble making your monthly payment, contact your mortgage lender.
  • A company pressures you to sign over the deed to your home or sign any paperwork that you haven’t read or you don’t fully understand. A legitimate housing counselor should not and will not pressure you to sign a document of any kind.
  • A company claims to offer “government-approved” or “official government” loan modifications. These may be scam artists pretending to be legitimate organizations approved by, or affiliated with the government. Check to be sure by contacting your mortgage lender directly  to learn more about government programs for which you may qualify.
  • A company/person you don’t know asks you to release personal financial information. Check to be sure you are speaking with a legitimate company/person by contacting your mortgage lender directly

    • If you are facing foreclosure go online to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Click Here

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    Real Estate

    Wells Fargo to Refile 55,000 Foreclosure Cases

    Wells Fargo & Co. said it plans to refile paperwork in 55,000 foreclosure cases after it discovered flaws in foreclosure documents.

    The San Francisco-based bank, which is also among the largest providers of residential mortgages in Minnesota, had previously stood by its foreclosure paperwork as other major mortgage lenders came under scrutiny.

    Wells Fargo proceeded with foreclosures while rivals including Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. delayed theirs.

    Wells said it had identified possible problems with a final step in its foreclosure process by bank employees and notaries on legal affidavits.

    The bank will begin the filings in 23 states and hopes to complete them by mid-November.

    “The issues the company has identified do not relate in any way to the quality of the customer and loan data.” Wells said in a statement. “Nor does the company believe that any of these instances led to foreclosures which should not have otherwise occurred

    Read more: Wells Fargo to refile 55,000 foreclosures | Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal