Archive for the 'Foreclosure Crisis' Category

For the last quarter of 2007, the proportion of homes that entered foreclosure increased to 0.83 percent. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, this is a record high compared to the 0.78 percent recorded in 2006. Aside from this, home equity has also fallen from 49.6 percent to 47.9 percent and delinquency rate was up to 5.82 from 5.59 percent.

Experts are looking at falling home prices as the reason for the worsening foreclosure crisis. Of course, other factors that contribute to the current housing market problems may differ depending on the state. For example, the large surplus of newly-built homes in California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida plays a big factor in the growing foreclosures problem.

With such a large inventory of foreclosed homes, buyers can not help but be excited with the great investment opportunities that these properties offer. In a housing market that favors buyers over sellers, you must take advantage of these opportunities. You will save much money from buying these properties and even earn more if you decide to buy them for investment purposes. Even with repair and renovation expenses, you will still make a killing.

The key, of course, is finding the best deals. In order to find the best deals offered for these foreclosed properties, you must have reliable foreclosure listings that will provide you with amazing leads. Bank Foreclosures Sale can give you access to the hottest foreclosure homes for sale.

Before making an offer, you should make sure that you have inspected the property thoroughly. It would also be wise to get your finances in order and get pre-approved for a loan if you are planning to take one out. Improving your negotiation skills will also come in handy if you are looking to enjoy bigger discounts.

In a move aimed at fighting the rising numbers of foreclosures in his state, Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann made a move to slow the foreclosure process down, and in doing so has attracted the attention of state officials and lawmakers across the country. Citing laws that require lenders to prove that a home is in default before a foreclosure can be pursued, Dann has attempted to make it requisite for lenders to adequately prove to the court through paperwork that they have the right to foreclose on a property before doing so. While this procedure is a law, in the past many courts have overlooked it when allowing foreclosures, since the paperwork takes time to assemble and prove. But in Dann’s eyes, time is just what homeowners in danger of foreclosure need, and if the law provides more of it for them than they are getting, he think that homeowners should be entitled to it.

However, what is truly novel about Dann’s crusade is that he is also advocating that homes subject to state tax liens should be waived until the correct paperwork and procedures are prepared. This raised issues this past Monday in court, as the Common Pleas magistrate rejected Dann’s argument. The magistrate even took it a step further, claiming that dismissing outstanding foreclosures cases in which the state holds liens would be depriving taxpayers of the money that pays for services and infrastructure in their state. Dann objected to this claim, and plans to keep fighting to slow the process of foreclosure in Ohio.

What Marc Dann’s plan shows us is just how serious lawmakers and state officials are about trying to curb the incredible surge in foreclosures. Despite the fact that 2007 set record levels of foreclosure activity in many locations, 2008 is expected to see even higher climbs in the national foreclosure average, and this is leading many people to finally take action. Ohio has been hit especially bad with foreclosures, especially in the Cleveland area, where foreclosures have affected all levels of income and all neighborhoods, from the most crowded inner city locations to the most pristine suburbs. Many of these properties are being sold for well below their actual value, another reason Dann believes the state should slow the foreclosure process. He believes that by getting homeowners to keep their properties and pay off their debts over time, the state will actually save money, since so many foreclosure homes are being bought up by investors for much less than their worth.

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As the crisis in the real estate and foreclosure markets deepens, it’s becoming clear that both state and federal lawmakers and officials are beginning to take the problem very seriously. The slump in the housing market has been going on for roughly four years now, and as property values and sales continue to plummet, the entire economy seems to be reeling from its effects.

Traditionally, most economic recessions in the United States have occurred after downturns in the housing market. For this reason, many economists and government experts tend to see the housing market as something of a litmus test for the overall health of the economy. While many believed that an economic slump was imminent due to the rising rate of foreclosures and the virtual halt in the real estate market, it seems now that the situation has gotten dire, and government officials are reacting.

Perhaps the biggest news in recent days has been the cuts in the interest rate made by the Federal Reserve. In just over 9 days, the benchmark interest rate has been cut several times at a total of 3%. This marks a 1.25% drop in that time period, which is fairly significant. It shows that the Fed is serious about trying to stave off the threat of recession, but it also shows how serious the situation is. This was a pre-emptive move, and it leaves room to wonder what options the Fed will have left if things to get progressively worse or more severe.

Another interesting development was the recent move in the California Senate to pass legislation to fight the rising tide of foreclosures. California has been hit especially hard by the foreclosure wave, especially in the areas surrounding Sacramento, San Bernardino and Bakersfield. However, the bill was defeated by only one vote, after many Republicans disapproved of the measure requiring lenders to personally contact homeowners and talk to them about their default before pursuing a foreclosure.

Sadly, many homeowners simply have no contact from their lenders at all before a foreclosure occurs, and many are left wondering what happened. Unaware of any resources or outlets for help available to them, homeowners are going into foreclosures submissively. As a result, many people are losing their homes, property values are falling even further and the market is flooded with both foreclosure and open market homes.

However, this surge in foreclosures has also brought out a new kind of real estate investor, those who buy foreclosures at auction or pre foreclosures from homeowners before their properties go to sale. With so many properties coming onto the foreclosure market, prices for these properties are way below their actual market value, as homeowners and lenders alike are simply looking to sell them off to get something back for them. Many buyers are finding savings of up to 50% in especially hard hit areas. These sorts of deals can be very lucrative, despite the sluggish market. Hanging on to them with low monthly cost mortgages can be a great way for homebuyers to win great properties for their families for low prices, or for investors to get a rock bottom deal with the potential for huge profits in the future.

And what’s more, buying homes in the pre foreclosure stages is helping many homeowners to keep from becoming statistics of the foreclosure epidemic. Selling early and avoiding a foreclosure allows them to not only preserve their credit, but also to walk away with some extra cash in their pocket. If the market is going to turn around, foreclosures are going to need to be bought up, and with their growing popularity among buyers, this could be the beginning of a big wave of smart foreclosure investment by savvy buyers.

As more and more abandoned homes begin to crop up in urban areas across America, Mayors and city officials are becoming acutely aware of the problems that foreclosure homes are raising in their cities. With 2007 experiencing new highs in the nationwide foreclosure homes rate and experts predicting even more new foreclosure homes to come onto the market in 2008, municipal authorities are bracing themselves for the economic and social impacts that these new foreclosures will have on their cities.

With experts everywhere predicting to see even more foreclosures for sale in 2008 than 2007, it seems that the first signs of this trend are proving them correct, especially in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that during the first 3 weeks of 2008, over 1,000 foreclosures for sale have already been registered and scheduled in Milwaukee County, the most populated region of the state.

It has to be accepted that the foreclosure situation has gone from bad to worse. Third quarter reports are showing a 30 percent increase in national foreclosures rate and there is no end in sight. In cities hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, lenders, borrowers and counselors are working hand in hand to somehow fix the damages.

There has been a rise in the foreclosure rate across the country and somewhere it is an impact of the foreclosure rates in various counties and states. There has also been an increase in the number of Tulsa bank foreclosures since the beginning of 2007.