Archive for the 'General' Category

The suspension of processing for foreclosures filed after December 2008 in Cook County, the country’s second most densely populated county, may lessen temporarily the increase rate for bank foreclosed homes in the area for several months. The suspension may also give some reprieve to families who have nowhere to go other than to stay on properties certain to become foreclosed homes while the judges decide on foreclosure cases in 2008.

Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird, presiding judge of Cook County, ordered most foreclosures filed since January this year to be suspended until September so the court can complete all foreclosure cases filed in 2008. She said the only exceptions to the order are properties that are sure to become foreclosed homes because they have been abandoned and have been verified to be vacant.

In 2008, Cook County had 43,876 foreclosure cases filed at Cook County’s Circuit Court and it expects the number to grow to over 63,000 by December. The court has made additional appointments to cope with the foreclosure filings: 11 additional judges, 11 additional law clerks, 4 additional secretaries and 6 additional courtrooms.

Despite the additional appointments, the court is still not able to clear the backlog of cases. Each judge, who is assigned to focus on foreclosures, is given about 4,800 foreclosure cases to process.

In July and in August, the foreclosure judges will focus on completing the process for all filings in 2008.

The difficulties faced by the Cook County judges mirror challenges faced by judges in courts across the country, especially in states with the highest number of foreclosed homes such as California, Florida and Nevada.

Cook County’s foreclosed homes account much of Illinois foreclosures, putting the state on the fifth place in RealtyTrac’s chart of foreclosure rates in the first quarter this year.

According to U.S. Census Bureau’s 2007 data, Cook County has a population of 5,285,107, larger than the population of 29 individual states and larger than the total population of the 6 smallest states in the U.S.

Several lawyers warned that the court situation will surely get worse if Congress passes legislation that would force loan modifications in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases filed by borrowers intent on keeping their houses from becoming foreclosed homes. They ask if the courts have the capabilities to handle a wave of Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases when they have not even cleared foreclosure cases filed in 2008.

With thousands of properties in foreclosures lists, prospective homebuyers have a lot of properties to choose from. They can spend days going from place to place looking at houses without the need to immediately decide on buying.

The more adventurous can treat the home buying process as another adventure in life, meeting strangers and discovering things they never expected to find inside houses.

In Gwinnett County, nurse Lila Twiggs is one of those looking for an attractively-priced home and not rushing. She wants to look at as many bargain-priced houses in foreclosure listings as she can before she makes the purchase decision.

Like many other hopeful homebuyers across the country, Twiggs has been enticed to buy by the low mortgage rates and low home prices. She said is separating from her husband so she is looking for a home for her and her daughters. She considers herself realistic, so she is not looking for a dream home among Georgia foreclosures. She will spend only up to $150,000 for her new home so she will not turn out like so many others who are house poor, spending so much on mortgage payments and leaving only a little for living expenses.

At her home price range, it would not be difficult for Twiggs to find something she likes from bank foreclosure lists. Dan Forsman, chief executive of Prudential Georgia Realty, said about 25 percent of the local residential real estate market consists of homes in the $150,000 range.

Forsman has observed that homebuyers are no longer looking for new houses. They are looking for homes in foreclosure listings, hoping to find their dream homes among the low-priced properties. He said foreclosed homes comprise about 25 percent of all home sales and that home prices have declined by 25 percent every year.

Aware of large numbers of homes in foreclosure listings, Twiggs has been taking her time. After six months of looking at properties in foreclosure listings, she has not found one she liked. Based on Twiggs’ home buying decision, it is not surprising that home sales in Georgia are down by 11.3 percent compared to the first months of 2008 and down by 15 percent compared to the first months of 2009.

With Bottom Line Home real estate agent Joyce Cavener as her guide for the day, Twiggs looked at five foreclosed and non-foreclosed houses: a $144,900 home built in 1972; a $143,900 bank owned house; a $119,000 ranch house; a $154,900 house; and a $79,000 renovated house. Twiggs said she liked the first house they saw; but then decided she likes to take a look at some more houses another day.

More than 70 percent of Americans have been cutting down on their expenses to prevent their homes from being added to lists of foreclosed homes across the nation, according to online research firm Move Inc.

About 75 percent have been foregoing entertainment, vacations and eating out; about 72 percent have been reducing their expenses on personal care, clothing and accessories; while more than 71 percent have been reducing utility usage and traveling less to reduce gasoline and related costs.

The survey, conducted in the first week of March with more than 1,000 respondents, also found that more than 50 percent fear that their houses or those of other people they know will become foreclosed homes next year. Surely they are bothered by the continued rise of foreclosure rates, the soaring number of jobless Americans and business enterprises which are either closing or downsizing.

Despite these fears of foreclosures, about one-fourth of people surveyed said they have plans of buying a house in the next several years, with nearly 13 percent planning to buy within the next couple of years.

Additionally, more than 18 percent have plans of buying a house this year to capitalize on the tax credit worth $8,000 offered to first time homebuyers under President Obama’s program to stop the increase of foreclosed homes. Also, more than 50 percent of respondents planning to buy a house within the next nine months are people buying a home for the first time.

Americans are also changing their views about home ownership and the housing market. More than 62 percent are planning to stay in their homes, as opposed to buying them and selling them later for investment purposes.

Meanwhile, nearly 57 percent of Americans believe in the role of mortgage fraud in the credit crisis. They believe that eliminating mortgage fraud can help rejuvenate the housing market. About 52 percent are calling for lower mortgage rates and about 44 percent want more tax breaks for first-time homebuyers to entice them to buy and help reduce the number of foreclosed homes.

According to Steve Berkowitz, chief executive of Move Inc., the survey results indicate that Americans are generally hopeful about home ownership despite economic difficulties and despite soaring numbers of foreclosed homes. Their efforts to reduce their personal spending, to participate in loan modification schemes and to capitalize on several provisions of President Obama’s efforts to reduce the number of foreclosed homes show the higher-than-expected level of optimism among Americans.

About 48 percent of baby boomers have lost a great deal of home equity, based on the findings by two researchers of the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research. The baby boomers, the biggest age group in the nation’s history, have lost much of their assets due to stock market losses and home price declines caused by the glut of cheap houses for sale.

Preventing foreclosure may be one of President-elect Barack Obama’s top domestic priorities, but he also has other housing-related concerns on his agenda too. Alleviating homeowner’s taxes and acceding to the change of the mortgage-closing procedure are also in Obama’s to do list.

The Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Sheila Bair, has campaigned for a program to rework mortgages in order to stop foreclosures. These efforts in dealing with the critical issues on foreclosures had won her respect from several legislators and several other sectors. She has also gained support from Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank who are pushing for the implementation of her proposed mortgage-restructuring program to stop foreclosures.

Washington is still unsettled as to how to handle the foreclosure crisis.

Last November 11, the administration publicized the government’s $ 700 billion plan to refinance delinquent loans controlled by mortgage companies, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. The already passed bill, a modification of the existing Hope Now program, expects to eventually decrease by 38 percent the monthly mortgage expenses of hundreds of thousands of homeowners who are at least 3 months behind on their payments, and are at risk of foreclosure.

The idea of “Cash for Keys” makes it easy for banks to take back a foreclosed home from its occupants, and in good condition nonetheless. Oftentimes, it is a problem for banks and that is why nowadays, they have made such policy an SOP.

Without Walls International Church Pastor Randy White has disclosed the financial status of the church during a service in Tampa, Florida. He told his congregation that Without Walls leaders are negotiating with its lenders to prevent foreclosure of the church’s two campuses.

JPMorgan Chase has stepped up its foreclosure help efforts as it announced last 31st of October its plan to address the foreclosure problem being experienced by the nation through freezing foreclosures for the coming two months and restructuring loans.