Tag Archives: Foreclosures

Angel & I on Real Estate

February 19, 2009 jd 2 Comments

Angel, she hates to have her picture taken.

If Angel and I could talk to each other, the conversation might go something like this.

Angel to me, why are people so upset because the government might save their neighbors house who is facing foreclosure. After all, they’re saying I make my payments on time, I don’t want or need a government handout, why should they get one?

Well, Angel, it’s not that simple. I remember when I took a law class, the instructor (who was an attorney) said, there is right and wrong, then there’s the law. Now I say, in these times there is right and wrong and then there is real estate. Real estate needs help now, and it may not be exactly the right or wrong way to do it, but something has to be done.

Helping our neighbor to avoid foreclosure helps all of us. It keeps housing inventory from increasing, it helps prevent our home values from dropping and it keeps the neighborhood from deteriorating. There are vast neighborhoods that have just fallen apart, one home after another being foreclose on, vandals tearing the house apart, or homeowners selling parts of their home before they move. (See my previous blog “Rip off a House, Go to Jail”)

Now some people have further said, what kind of an example are we giving our children? Are we teaching them that if they get in trouble the government will bail them out. I don’t think so; I think you need to educate your children as to the realities of the times. Sometimes, government just has to get involved for the good of the Nation.

What do you think Angel? I think that makes a lot of sense, can I have a cookie now?

Rip off a House, go to Jail

February 12, 2009 jd

Just as we get a high when we purchase a new home, it must be an equal low when you are losing your home to foreclosure and for some people it brings out their dark side.

For example, browsing on the Internet, I read where someone was having a “Demolition Sale” on their soon-to-be foreclosed home. According to the article anything and everything in the house was for sale!

Here’s another one from a house that once sold for $630,000 that was published on Voice of Sandiego.org

“The kitchen cabinets were gone from the yellow, 1960s-era four-bedroom, two-bathroom house. So were ceiling fans, blinds, light switches, outlet covers, interior doors, closet doors, the toilet, a vanity, the stove and marble counters. The kitchen walls had jagged lines of marble tile, marking the perimeter where the cabinets once were. Gaps showed in the paint, inside and out, the job stopped in mid-refurbishment. The former owner had stripped the house and taken nearly everything with her.”

According to an article from the California Association of Realtor®

“The report said, in summary, damages intentionally caused by the mortgage holder can be subject to criminal and civil penalties. In fact, removal of fixtures valued more than $100 constitutes a felony in the State of California and can result in a state prison sentence for a year or more.

“Even fixtures totaling less than $100 can result in a misdemeanor and could include county jail up to one year and/or a fine up to $1,000.”

The problem of course is that the foreclosed owner of the house has no assets. So pursuing them would not get the banks any money. However, I think they should pursue them. Why? Because twenty percent of the people foreclosed on do just that, rip the house apart. This hurts you and I, because it reduces the value of the home when it goes back on the market and it lowers the value of your home and everyone else’s too.

Real Estate

Now What? Who Owns This House?

February 4, 2009 jd 2 Comments

So what do you think about people renting out a home that is not theirs? Seems like one way to make money in this economy if you’re looking for free room and board at the local jail house.

Yet this is what happened in West Natomas, in a gated neighborhood that has million dollar homes and such neighbors as the owners of the Sacramento Kings, former Kings star Mike Bibby and other such people with fame and money.

At issue is a 3,361 square foot, 4 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom home that has been vacant for some time. Police investigating the case found that the home had been purchased at auction last Thursday by Aurora Loan Services Inc. of Littleton, Colo, and that Aurora did not know who Phillis Powers was or why someone was living in their home.

However, when police approached the people living in the house, the couple produced a contract allowing them to rent the home for $1,500 a month. The contract had the name of Sacramento real estate broker Phillis Powers. (Hopefully she wouldn’t be a broker much longer.)

To make matters more bizarre, there were two printed signs in the front window claiming the home was the “Private Property of sovereign Woman of republic of California” and that federal and state employees could not access the property.

The sign also mentioned “freeman” which may be a reference to the radical anti-government group that gained fame in 1996 during an 81 day standoff with federal authorities in Montana.

So now, along with everything else that’s happening, we have to watch out for scammers renting homes that they don’t own. Don’t tell the politicians in Sacramento about this, they might use this technique to balance the budget.

For some more of this bizarre story
Sacramento Bee

Real Estate

How Not to Face Foreclosure!

February 2, 2009 jd

From a scene that could have come out of a movie, a husband and wife loaded up with guns, ammunition, and homemade bombs and fought off Otero County, New Mexico, Sheriff Deputies that initially tried to serve the foreclosure notice.

Then they got into a battle with the New Mexico State Police SWAT team comprised of nearly 100 officers. At the end, the wife was dragged out of the home by a bomb robot and the husband was found dead with a rifle at his side.

According to Alamogordon Daily News

“Sgt. Andrew Tingwall said the woman, whom police would not identify, was heavily armed and wearing a bulletproof vest. She was arrested and charged with assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a police officer.

He said officers decided to use the robot to grasp her ankle and pull her out of the house.

Officers pulled her away from where she was lying face down,” Tingwall said. “She had two pistols in her pockets and (was) lying on a shotgun.” Police medical members rendered first aid to the woman. Tingwall said she was taken immediately to a hospital.

“At approximately 2 a.m., SWAT officers made an approach of the residence behind a Dona Ana County bomb robot. The approaching officers discovered that there was a male subject with a rifle lying deceased behind a vehicle.”

The wife is facing felony charges with assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a police officer. She may face additional charges according to the police.

So the score, husband dead, wife in jail, house foreclosed. Facing foreclosure is not easy, but this is not the way to go!

Real Estate

Beware of Foreclosure Scams

January 27, 2009 jd

It seems when people are distressed, there is always someone to help out and someone to take advantage of them. Now there are a lot of swindlers out there trying to take advantage of people who are on the verge of losing their home. If you are like me, I tend to trust people which is a good thing, but can also be bad, so be careful.

If you happen to fall into their trap, you can lose your money, ruin your credit and in most cases have no hope to avoid foreclosure. If you think you are facing foreclosure, be careful and be sure to read the following article from the Los Angeles Times. Here is part of the article.

“The scams typically work like this: Swindlers target homeowners who are behind on their payments, promising to help them renegotiate their mortgages and avoid foreclosure in exchange for a fee. Then, typically, the swindlers take the money and disappear leaving the homeowners in worse straits than when they begun.

The scammers have popped up everywhere in the last year as the real estate market has spiraled down.

From the ubiquitous orange signs on freeway off-ramps that blare “Modify Your Payment” to men impersonating bank executives going door to door, homeowners in trouble are being targeted relentlessly.”