Fraudulent foreclosure prevention providers are coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of today’s loss mitigation culture, according to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF). The nonprofit group, which helps distressed homeowners through the group’s HOPE hotline, says the number of mortgage foreclosure scams grew nearly 60 percent in 2012. The scammers, they say, are ... [Read More]
Fraudulent foreclosure prevention providers are coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of today’s loss mitigation culture, according to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF).
The nonprofit group, which helps distressed homeowners through the group’s HOPE hotline, says the number of mortgage foreclosure scams grew nearly 60 percent in 2012. The scammers, they say, are able to capitalize on the hype surrounding homeownership preservation as federal programs are being modified to help more and more borrowers.
HPF said it’s unknown whether all of the reported instances were truly fraudulent, but the agency still forwarded all of the complaints to the appropriate regulators and law enforcement agencies.
About half of the scams involve an attorney or individual claiming they can offer special legal services to distressed borrowers. HPF says, in fact, the services they offered are already provided by nonprofits for free.
HPF put out a warning nationwide, saying no one searching for a home-saving remedy should pay upfront fees to a firm offering assistance.
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Investment-home sales surged an extraordinary 64.5 percent to 1.23 million last year from 749,000 in 2010. Investment sales jumped to 27 percent in 2011 from 17 percent in 2010. “During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Rising rental ... [Read More]
Investment-home sales surged an extraordinary 64.5 percent to 1.23 million last year from 749,000 in 2010.
Investment sales jumped to 27 percent in 2011 from 17 percent in 2010.
“During the past year investors have been swooping into the market to take advantage of bargain home prices,” said NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun. “Rising rental income easily beat cash sitting in banks as an added inducement. In addition, 41 percent of investment buyers purchased more than one property.”
The median investment-home price was $100,000 in 2011, up 6.4 percent from $94,000 in 2010.
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FICO survey of bank risk professionals found that 46 percent of them expect the volume of strategic defaults in 2012 to surpass 2011 levels, as more than 25 percent of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. Concerns about strategic defaults were also reflected in response to a question about ... [Read More]
FICO survey of bank risk professionals found that 46 percent of them expect the volume of strategic defaults in 2012 to surpass 2011 levels, as more than 25 percent of U.S. homeowners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Concerns about strategic defaults were also reflected in response to a question about the consumer payment hierarchy. When asked if the current generation of homeowners considers their mortgage to be their most important credit obligation, 49 percent of bankers said NO and 29 percent said YES.
Although concerns remain regarding strategic defaults, other signs point to growing stability in the housing market. More respondents (26 percent) expected delinquencies on mortgages to decline in the coming months than at any previous time in the two years FICO has been conducting this survey. Furthermore, 53 percent of respondents said the housing market would improve by the end of 2012, compared with 24 percent who said the market would deteriorate.
More than half of survey respondents expected the supply of credit for residential mortgages to fall short of demand over the next six months. A similar majority (53 percent) expected the supply of credit for mortgage refinancing to fall short of demand, indicating that lenders remain cautious about the risks in the real estate market.
Article was reprinted with permission from the Calif Assoc of Realtors.
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Should I buy or rent? The answer has never been clearer: Buy. In 98 of the top 100 housing markets, buying a home is more affordable than renting, according to the online real estate company Trulia. Only Honolulu and San Francisco buck the trend. There are several reasons. Home prices are falling. Mortgage interest rates ... [Read More]
Should I buy or rent?
The answer has never been clearer: Buy.
In 98 of the top 100 housing markets, buying a home is more affordable than renting, according to the online real estate company Trulia. Only Honolulu and San Francisco buck the trend.
There are several reasons. Home prices are falling. Mortgage interest rates are at historically low levels. And rents are on the rise.
Of course, many renters are not in a position to buy. For one, it’s hard to get a
mortgage these days, despite low rates. And paying rent can push them further away from being able to afford to buy, “Rising rents make it harder for people to save for a down payment, which is the biggest barrier to buying a home that aspiring homeowners face,” Jed Kolko, Trulia’s chief economist.
The nation’s cheapest buyer’s market is Detroit, where purchasing is only 3.7 times more expensive than renting.
Other top five metro areas where buying is much better than renting are Oklahoma City, Dayton, Ohio,Warren, Mich. and Toledo, Ohio.
In San Francisco, for example, studio and one-bedroom apartments sell for 13.1 times rent, while three bedrooms or larger sell for more than 18 times rent.
“People will pay more for a home if they expect prices to rise and give them a better return on their investment,” said Kolko.
According to Ken H. Johnson, a professor of real estate at Florida International who has studied the buy-vs-rent question extensively.
He believes home prices nationally have bottomed.”The ship has turned,” he said.
“Markets should slowly start to recover. Housing will return to its traditional
role of a safety investment.”
If so, that adds an incentive to buy. And investing in many of the most expensive markets may be even safer.
Kolko pointed out that places like Honolulu, San Francisco and Boston have strong long-term growth prospects. They also have little physical space to grow, a factor that tends to keep prices strong.
The above information was obtained by the Calif. Assco. of Realtors & CNN Money.
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Five years after the housing bubble burst, America’s wealthiest families are now losing their homes to foreclosure at a faster rate than the rest of the country — and many of them are doing so voluntarily. Last year over 36,000 homes valued at $1 million or more were foreclosed on, or at least in ... [Read More]
Five years after the housing bubble burst, America’s wealthiest families are now losing their homes to foreclosure at a faster rate than the rest of the country — and many of them are doing so voluntarily.
Last year over 36,000 homes valued at $1 million or more were foreclosed on, or at least in default, according to data compiled by RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures. While that’s still a low percentage of all foreclosures, it is growing.
Out of all foreclosure activity, the share of foreclosures on properties valued at $1 million or more has risen by 115% since 2007 while the share of multi-million dollar foreclosures — or homes valued at more than $2 million — jumped by 273%. Meanwhile, the share of foreclosures on mid-range properties valued between $500,000 and $1 million fell by 21%.
Lenders are typically more willing to work with homeowners that have other resources. But with a recovery in the housing market still years away, foreclosure has turned out to be a worthwhile option after all. Saddled with bloated mortgages after a long run up in property values, many high-end homeowners have chosen to pursue a “strategic default.” Even though they can afford the monthly mortgage payments, they still decide to walk away from their home because they owe more on the property than it is worth.
In million-dollar homes, you’re looking at people who can afford it, but they have to make a business decision: Does it make sense to make payments on a mortgage when the home is worth less than they owe. In many cases, it often makes more financial sense to walk away.
This information obtained by the Calif. Asso. of Realtors, courtesy of CNN Money, Feb 23, 2012.
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Image via Wikipedia WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that a full economic recovery could take nearly three more years, and it went further than ever to assure consumers and businesses that they will be able to borrow cheaply well into the future. The central bank said it would probably not increase its benchmark ... [Read More]
Image via Wikipedia
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that a full economic recovery could take nearly three more years, and it went further than ever to assure consumers and businesses that they will be able to borrow cheaply well into the future.
The central bank said it would probably not increase its benchmark interest rate until late 2014 at the earliest — a year and a half later than it had previously said.
The new timetable showed the Fed is concerned that the recovery remains stubbornly slow. But it also thinks inflation will stay tame enough for rates to remain at record lows without igniting price increases.
Chairman Ben Bernanke cautioned that late 2014 is merely its “best guess.” The Fed can shift that plan if the economic picture changes. But he cast doubt on whether that would be necessary.
“Unless there is a substantial strengthening of the economy in the near term, it’s a pretty good guess we will be keeping rates low for some time,” he said.
The Fed has kept its key rate at a record low near zero for about three years. Its new time frame suggests the rate will stay there for roughly an additional three years.
The bank’s tepid outlook also suggests it’s prepared to do more to help the economy. One possibility is a third bond-buying program that would seek to further drive down rates on mortgages and other loans to embolden consumers and businesses to borrow and spend more.
Information obtained from the Calif. Asso. of Realtors with permission.
Article printed in the Mercury News and A.P. Jan. 25, 2012.
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In understanding the market value of your property, we must deal with some factors that we have no control over. These factors are physical qualities of your property and the competition. * Physical qualities: - Location - Age - Size of House and Lot - Floor plan and design style * The Competition: - The ... [Read More]
In understanding the market value of your property, we must deal with some factors that we have no control over. These factors are physical qualities of your property and the competition.
* Physical qualities:
- Location
- Age
- Size of House and Lot
- Floor plan and design style
* The Competition:
- The number of similar properties for sale
- Their prices and financing terms
- Physical Condition
Then there are some factors that have no effect on the current value of your property. These factors are original price and opinions of others.
* Original Price:
- What you originally paid for your house
- Credits or closing costs
- Down Payment
- The actual Sale Price
* Opinions
- What people say your property is worth
- Websites that contain comparable sales
The New York Times Program will pay homeowners to sell at a loss In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: Paying some of them to leave. To read the full story, please click here. [Read More]
The New York Times
Program will pay homeowners to sell at a loss
In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: Paying some of them to leave.
To read the full story, please click here.
Los Angeles Times Many borrowers in default stay put as lenders delay evictions Despite being months behind, many strapped residents are hanging on to their homes, essentially living rent-free. Pressure on banks to modify loans and a glut of inventory are driving the trend. To read the full story, please click here. [Read More]
Los Angeles Times
Many borrowers in default stay put as lenders delay evictions
Despite being months behind, many strapped residents are hanging on to their homes, essentially living rent-free. Pressure on banks to modify loans and a glut of inventory are driving the trend.
To read the full story, please click here.
The Wall Street Journal What home sellers don’t tell buyers As buyers ease back into the battered real-estate market, they’re often hitting a stumbling block: Fibbing by home sellers. Buyers should do their own due diligence and not rely on agents and sellers. To read the full story, please click here. [Read More]
The Wall Street Journal
What home sellers don’t tell buyers
As buyers ease back into the battered real-estate market, they’re often hitting a stumbling block: Fibbing by home sellers. Buyers should do their own due diligence and not rely on agents and sellers.
To read the full story, please click here.
