Bank Foreclosures Information

Information, Articles and News About Bank Foreclosures

October 28th, 2008

Foreclosure Seller Tip: Enhance Curb Appeal

When buying a home, you can expect buyers to rely on their first impression. For this reason, it is absolutely vital that your home will make a good one. But if your fence is somehow distracting the home buyer from the real beauty of your property, it is certainly crucial that you do something about it.

Homeowners should understand that the fence does not only serve as a security measure. You will be surprised to learn that they could actually add to a home’s market value. Since you are facing foreclosure and needs to sell your home as soon as possible, you might want to consider how your fence looks.

If you have a wooden fence, you should check it for any signs of rotting as well as termite infestation. In case there are, make sure you replace the rotten wood. Some home building experts recommend that homeowners request for galvanized post to be placed in the ground, to prevent the termite from eating the new wooden fence.

The ornamental fences will require some major touch up especially if they are of the traditional wrought-iron kind. This will involve sanding and painting. On the other hand, ornamental fences made from aluminum will not require much repair or maintenance.

If you have a vinyl fence, you are in luck for it requires minimal maintenance work. The only problem with this fence is that they could not be as appealing to home buyers especially if your home is made up of wood.

Improving how your fence looks is just the start. You should also make sure that the rest of your home is attractive. Considering the tough competition in the housing market today, it will be wise if you try your best in improving your home’s curb appeal in order to attract more buyers.

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October 21st, 2008

Decline in California Foreclosure Activity: Due to New Legislation

Last September, the California Senate Bill 137 was passed as response to the worsening problem in the state’s housing industry. The said bill included a provision that requires lenders to contact the distressed homeowner several times and wait for another 30 days after initial contact before filing for foreclosure.

Decline in California Foreclosure Activity

After its implementation, ForeclosureRadar.com reported a 61.8 percent decline in default notices and a 47.3 percent drop in trustee sales notices.

Although this should be interpreted as good news, the website does not consider it as such. Instead, it believes that it has only made it even more difficult to understand and determine the real state of the local housing industry.

For them, the long term effect of the said bill is to only delay the foreclosure process and not really provide troubled borrowers with genuine assistance.

To make matters worse, the new legislation also encourages loan modification. The problem is that most of the troubled mortgages show negative equities which will make it close to impossible for lenders to change any terms of the mortgage.

The only way a loan modification can work is if the lender agrees to significantly reduce the principal balance or lower the interest rates – both of which pose considerable risks to the lenders. If the lender agrees, it could encourage the other non-defaulting borrowers to default just so they could enjoy lower mortgage rates or principal reduction.

For homeowners facing foreclosure in California, it is probably best for you to consider availing of the mortgage relief program sponsored by the government. There are certain requirements you mist meet before qualifying but if you do qualify, you will be able to shift your existing mortgage to a government-backed housing loan, which has a fixed interest rate.

Check with your local county office for more details about this program.

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October 7th, 2008

Will the $700B Bailout Really Help Homeowners Facing Foreclosure?

When some of the biggest investment firms declared bankruptcy last month, it resulted into widespread panic in the entire financial industry. In order to prevent the nation from falling into a recession, the government immediately came up with a bailout program, worth about $700 billion. But despite the huge budget allocation, many homeowners at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure are wondering if the supposed benefits of the multi-billion bailout program will reach them.

Will the $700B Bailout Really Help Homeowners Facing Foreclosure?

For most of these troubled borrowers, such possibility is very little. This is considering that the bailout plan is meant to stabilize the economy and allow banks to have enough money to lend. The problem is that many of these lenders have become more cautious when it comes to approving loans including mortgages, car loans and even credit card applications.

To make matters more difficult for these struggling homeowners, the inventory of new and existing homes for sale in the market has continued to grow and has even caused home prices to decline considerably, especially in areas hit hardest by the subprime mortgage mess. With such market conditions, selling their homes is out of the question.

Both consumer and housing advocates are not pleased with the decision of the government to bailout these large corporations instead of using the money to help distressed homeowners. For them, these giant investment firms were the ones who funded the hybrid and subprime loans, which were considered to be the culprit for the current foreclosure crisis.

Although the government has already approved a $300 billion housing rescue program, the current mess in the financial industry will surely result to more homeowners facing foreclosure. As it is, the money allocated for the said mortgage relief program is considered to be insufficient.

According to Deutsche Bank, it can be expected that about 20 million American borrowers will have an “upside down” mortgage after about 12 to 18 months. Most of them will be from California, Nevada and Florida.

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