Bank Foreclosures Information

In the first six months of this year, the highest number of bank foreclosed home was found in the cities of Arizona, Nevada, Florida and California. But other cities are starting to climb up the list as unemployment spread unabated across the country.

Metropolitan areas with populations of about 200,000 in the four states dominated the list of cities with high foreclosure rates. The four states accounted for 35 of the top 50 cities with the most number of foreclosed home.

According to industry expert, mortgage defaults were enormous in cities with overbuilding, greatest purchases by speculators and dependency on riskier mortgage loans to improve affordability.

But experts noted that in the past months, the source of the mortgage crisis has made a shift from faulty lending policies to unemployment.

Recent market data showed that some major metropolitan areas in the country with the most number of bank foreclosed home are given life again by improving home sales brought about by the flood of first-time buyers enticed by price reductions.

But in areas where the unemployment rate reached a 26-year record high and wage cuts are common, many homeowners who were spared in previous foreclosure crisis are now finding themselves defaulting on their mortgage payments.

From January to June 2009, over 20 percent of cities with above-average foreclosure rate were in Idaho, Oregon, Arkansas, South Carolina, Utah and Illinois. Industry experts said that the shift of foreclosure activity on these cities is driven by the increasing unemployment rate. Notable among the cities with large foreclosure rate increases are Boise, Idaho and Provo, Utah.

Meanwhile, Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller Indexes showed over 32 percent decline in home prices in May. Experts said that an increase in the number of bank foreclosed home causes home prices to plummet.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Atlanta President Suzanne Boas said that as the unemployment rate continues to rise, more people from the different financial strata are seeking help.

She said that her agency has been seeing a rise in the number of clients who worked in skilled trades and professional services. She added that these people have worked all their lives, are creditworthy but are now struggling financially and seeking counseling to protect their properties from turning into bank foreclosed home.

Related Posts:

• Deepening Bank REO Properties Crisis in Coachella Valley
• Resurgence of Bank Foreclosed House Expected Soon
• Hope for Homeowners Facing Bank Foreclosed Homes
• Bank Home Foreclosures Gaining Strength
• House Repossession Filings Surge in Idaho

Distressed homeowners across Florida will receive free legal advice and free counseling under a program to be financed with money given to the state of Florida by Countrywide Financial Corporation under a settlement agreement so they can prevent their houses from becoming bank foreclosure homes.

Countrywide Financial Corporation, now owned by Bank of America, has settled with 40 states which sued Countrywide for its predatory lending practices. It has given an initial amount of $2 million to Florida as restitution for the allegations.

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum in turn presented the check of $2 million to the Florida Bar Association for the funding of a program to help homeowners save their homes from getting into lists of bank foreclosure homes.

During the presentation of the check, representatives of the Florida Legal Services Inc. and Cuban American Bar Association were also present, in addition to representatives of the Florida Bar Foundation.

The Florida Bar will use the money to help nonprofits hire lawyers and paralegal professionals to help homeowners in their efforts to save their houses from becoming bank foreclosure homes for sale.

McCollum said that because of the large numbers of foreclosure cases in Florida, many homeowners have become desperate for help, oftentimes victimized by people who have different intentions. The free legal help to be provided to them under the program will make a difference in their fight against foreclosure.

The $2 million is the first part of the $4 million allotted to Florida, with the second $2 million to be made available in 2010. The amount of money to be given to nonprofits will depend on the number of foreclosure homes in the areas that they serve.

Lawyers who work for foreclosure cases ensure that lenders follow state laws on foreclosures and follow foreclosure procedures.

Before Countrywide was acquired by Bank of America in 2008, Countrywide was sued by attorneys general across the country for its role in the foreclosure crisis. Being the country’s biggest home loan originator, the large number of Countrywide mortgages that later went into foreclosure contributed a lot to the collapse of the housing market.

Countrywide was accused of originating risky and high-cost home loans for borrowers who did not fully understand the kinds of loans they were taking out and who did not have the capacity to pay the loans.

It is hoped that with the money from Countrywide, more homeowners in Florida can save their houses from becoming bank foreclosure homes.

Related Posts:

• Tennessee Bank Foreclosures – Inform Tell Alert Advice
• Borrowers with Homes in Bank Foreclosure List Enjoy Relief
• Massachusetts Cleans Up Private and Government Foreclosures
• Restart GMAC Loans to Prevent Government Foreclosures
• CCCS Tip: Do a Yard Sale for Repossessed House Prevention

The average monthly foreclosure in Lee County, Florida is 2,000, earning the county a consistent place among the top five major areas in the country with high number of bank foreclosures for sale.

The foreclosure crisis may bring anxiety and displacement to some homeowners, but it opens a door of homeownership opportunity for others. The housing market in Lee County has become interesting to potential homebuyers, particularly with its low median price for existing single-family houses. Last month, the median single-family home price was $87,900, a substantial decline from $172,400 the same month a year ago.

Industry experts suggest that because Lee received about $18.2 million federal grant to buy and sell bank foreclosure for sales, county officials should focus on making smart choices and decisions.

The funding is made possible by the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The program requires quick action on recipients, requiring the designation of funds by July 2010 and subsequent spending within four years.

Florida Housing Coalition director Gladys Schneider pointed out that the NSP is an economic stimulus initiative and not a housing program. She added that the purpose of the program is to boost the financial market and uplift the local economy.

To be able to purchase NSP properties, potential homebuyers should belong in the low-income level. This means that a family of four should earn an annual household income of $30,350 to be able to qualify for the NSP. Moderate income buyers or those who have an annual income of $72,850 are also eligible for the program.

Under the program, 25 percent of funds are allotted for low-income buyers. All potential buyers are required to undergo an eight-hour ownership course.

The NSP is designed in such a way that it will allow the government to collaborate with real estate professionals, the banking community and contractors who will handle the rehabilitation of bank foreclosures for sale.

The purchase price of a property under NSP should not be more than 15 percent of the appraised value.

Meanwhile, Lee County has bought four bank foreclosures for sale and two have been rehabilitated. Housing manager Shawn Tan said that buying 115 homes, rehabilitating and selling them is on the plan of Lee County.

Related Posts:

• Program Targets Repo Home in Nevada
• Nonprofit to Buy and Redevelop REO Properties for Sale
• Drop in Bank Foreclosed Home Price Drove Midwest Home Sales
• Cheap Houses for Sale at Foreclosure Auctions
• Growing Trend: Multiple Offers for Foreclosures for Sale

As shown in banking financial reports for the second quarter, the big commercial banks showed their belief in an economic improvement in the second half of 2009 and on the declining effects of bad loans and bank foreclosed homes by not increasing significantly their loan-loss reserves for the second quarter.

Financial reports released by the seven biggest commercial banks in the U.S., including Bank of America and Wells Fargo, showed that the banks only slightly built up their loan-loss reserves.

According to analysts, these loan-loss moves help boost bank profits.

Analysts also said that if unemployment rate does not soar in the second half of this year and foreclosed homes stops clobbering the housing market, banks would have been right on the dot in their loan-loss reserve decisions and in their strategies to boost their second quarter profits.

Some analysts say that the banks’ decision to boost their profits by not building up their loan-loss reserves at a time of record loan losses due to foreclosure homes and commercial foreclosures can go either way. Banks could be wagering on recovery too early or they could be right on time.

Economists had predicted that the nationwide unemployment rate will surpass the 10 percent level in the coming months. They also predicted that bank foreclosed homes and other foreclosures will persist despite the rise in sales of existing homes in June because the slow recovery of home prices.

Additionally, the commercial real estate sector is showing signs of difficulties. Commercial real estate prices have dropped by 35 percent from their peak.

Losses due to bad loans continue to hit banks. JPMorgan Chase increased its charge-offs for bad loans to $6 billion, an increase from $4.4 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Wells Fargo also needs to increase its loan loss reserves, according to Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets, because its losses due to bad loans, including losses due to bank foreclosed homes, have also been rising.

Based on analysis of data, the percentage of loan-loss reserves compared to assets for all the seven largest banks, except Citigroup, decreased. Citigroup’s loan-loss reserves rose to 128 percent compared to the first quarter.

According to analysts, the markets are allowing the slow buildups of loan-loss reserves. Along with the banks, market participants are also hoping that the effects of bank foreclosed homes and other foreclosures will slow down in the second half of the year.

Related Posts:

• Foreclosed for Sale Properties Drove Fannie Mae Loss
• Bank Foreclosed Properties Rising in California
• Bank Find Ways to Address its Growing Bank Forclosures
• Bank Repo Homes Contributed to Boston FHLB Loss
• Foreclosure Help Program Can Cut Lenders Losses

Foreclosure home sales in the Midwest region added some notch last month, driven by the abundance of bank foreclosed home on the market and the drop in market prices. For the first time since September last year, home sales in the Midwest region rose by 3 percent.

Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City senior economist Kelly Edmiston said that current developments are indications that home sales are starting to move off the bottom.

Industry experts said that the volume of bank foreclosed home in the market has pressured market prices to go down to their all time low levels. This makes home prices so much affordable compared with previous years that buyers sense that the market is at a bottom. This motivated them to make home purchases thinking that now is the right time.

The 12-state Midwest region posted a 9 percent drop in the median sales price on a year-to-year basis. The $157,000 median price was further influenced by sellers becoming more aware of the real state of the market and the large backlog of distressed properties.

According to market data, home sales gains were reported on all 12 cities in the Midwest region for three consecutive months. On a year-to-date basis, existing home sales were still dropping in eight out of the 12 metropolitan statistical areas in the region last month. However, only Omaha, Nebraska and Cleveland, Ohio posted double-digit losses whereas in May, nine cities reported double-digit decline.

Data also showed that median home prices drop across the region as buyers continue to sift through the large inventories of bank foreclosed home. The biggest home sales gains were still happening in Detroit, Michigan and Minneapolis, Minnesota where buyers continue to grab foreclosed properties in a market that showed dramatic decline in median home sales prices.

In Detroit, home resales increased by almost 21 percent on a year-to-year basis last month. But the median home sale price outperformed home sales gains by dropping almost 45 percent to $50,500, the biggest decline nationwide.

In Minneapolis, home sales rose by 8 percent while the city’s median price dropped by 11 percent to almost $174,000.
The volume of bank foreclosed home and low median sale price failed to buoy up home sales in Cleveland and Chicago, posting 14 percent and 8 percent drops, respectively.

Related Posts:

• Zillow and S&P Differ in Viewing Foreclosure Properties
• Foreclosed New Homes Rise as Midwest Plants Close
• House Repossession Persists in RI Despite More Home Sales
• Demand for Bank Homes for Sale Pushed Up Home Prices
• Delaware Beach Houses on Bank Foreclosure Listings

Last October, the Bank of America agreed to provide its foreclosure relief services to troubled borrowers, whose houses is now included in a bank foreclosure list, in an agreement entered with several Attorney Generals. Holding up its end of the bargain, the financial giant has started to mail letters to the homeowners whose mortgage originated from Countrywide Financial Corp, which it purchased in July of 2008.

The said foreclosure relief program is said to be funded by as much as $150 million and participated by 40 states. Borrowers who have gone through a foreclosure, deed in lieu of foreclosure or a short sale will be informed if they qualified to receive a certain amount as settlement payment.

In addition, the program is just the first component of the agreement with the Attorney Generals. The second part of the deal, which is called the National Homeownership Retention Program, will involve providing sustainable and affordable loan payments for as many as 400,000 mortgage borrowers. The borrowers should have an adjustable rate housing loan with payment-option that was serviced previously by Countrywide.

The last part of the agreement will involve the providing of a relocation assistance or aid to homeowners who suffered through a foreclosure sale but agree to move out of the home, which is already in a bank foreclosure home, voluntarily. They will receive cash that they could use to somehow ease the transfer to their new home.

Settlement payments are said to start by the first quarter of next year. Both the notifications and payments are managed by Rust Consulting. Any inquiries should be directed to them.

Countrywide was believed to be the “ground zero” of the housing and mortgage crisis that resulted to millions of homes in bank foreclosure list. Aside from this, it also caused the financial industry losses amounting to billions. Last month, Angelo Mozillo, co-founder of the said financial institution was charged with insider trading and securities fraud by the SEC.

Related Posts:

• Florida Bar to Curb Bank Foreclosure Homes with Bank Money
• Light at the end of the tunnel for Georgia Bank Foreclosures
• Is Relief on it’s way for North Carolina Bank Foreclosures?
• Banks Required by FDIC to Report on Foreclosure Fund Spending
• Frank Pushes for Focus on Foreclosure Crisis

State economists said that they expect Florida’s economic recovery to start six months later than what they had originally anticipated. They made their revisions after reports that unemployment and the number of bank foreclosure homes in Florida rose in the first six months of this year.

Market data showed that foreclosure filings from January to June were made on 268,064 bank foreclosure homes, earning Florida the second spot in the state foreclosure rate ranking. For the first six months of 2009, Florida’s foreclosure activity rose by 7 percent compared with the last half of 2008 and 42 percent higher than the first six months of 2008.

Meanwhile, the economists at the Florida Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research predicted that the state’s unemployment rate will rise by 11 percent or almost 1 million jobless people by the end of 2011.

Office of Economic and Demographic Research head Amy Baker said that the economists were hoping that some changes at the national level would be able to benefit Florida. However, she said that initiatives such as economic stimulus and assistance to the credit market have failed to make some impact. This development may force state officials to raise taxes or reduced some services.

According to Dave Denslow, an economist at the University if Florida, to balance the budget based on the revised state forecast, Florida officials need to generate an additional amount of $2 billion.

The state’s current budget was reinforced by $5 billion in government stimulus fund and $2.2 billion in new taxes and fees.
Meanwhile, adding to Florida’s woes is the rise in demand for social service programs, particularly Medicaid which is provided to people who cannot afford the healthcare system.

Senate economic-improvement committee chairman Don Gaetz said that an increase in unemployment rate and the number of bank foreclosure homes indicated the lack of business activity which is crucial in the economic recovery. He added that when people are unemployed, they need Medicaid, food stamps and housing assistance which could burden the state financially.

Florida’s unemployment rate in June was higher by 11.5 percent, while one out 33 homeowners in the state received filing for foreclosure homes.

Related Posts:

• House Repossession Persists in RI Despite More Home Sales
• Utah Banks Await Instructions for Reducing Foreclosure Homes
• Deepening Bank REO Properties Crisis in Coachella Valley
• Bank Owned Homes Foreclosures Climb in June
• Defaults and Foreclosed Houses for Sale Growing in Ohio

Detroit is one of the cities in Michigan hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis. As of March 2009, about 20 percent or 78,000 properties were Detroit bank foreclosures. The figures are twice that much compared with the number of vacant properties in 2005.

The growing foreclosure problem in the city has brought miseries to many of its residents but strengthened the community development efforts in the area. The crisis brought out the best among neighbors who are now working to preserve and protect their neighborhoods rather than build a new one.

Detroit Vacant Property Campaign technical director Danielle Bober noted that problem with bank foreclosures has strengthened and promoted neighborhood organizations, noting the spirit of cooperation within the city.

According to reports, almost all neighborhood associations and community development corporations (CDC) in Detroit are doing something to protect their neighborhoods from the impact of the foreclosure crisis.

Throughout the city, CDCs and nonprofit organizations are offering and promoting repossession prevention counseling programs. CDCs were originally established to build new commercial and housing spaces, create revenue and growth for the neighborhood. But with the current downturn in the real estate market, CDCs decided to divert their efforts to other pressing needs.

For example, the Southwest Solution CDC offers foreclosure counseling and prevention program while the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corp. refers distressed homeowners to the Housing Opportunity Center of Southwest Solutions.

According to Southwest Housing Solutions executive director Tim Thorland, the foreclosure crisis can be solved but it will not completely go away. However, he hopes that bad loans from 2007 will stop becoming problems. He said that the organization offers counseling to every distressed homeowner and inform them of their options.

However, despite the efforts of CDCs and nonprofit organizations to prevent foreclosures, more than 78,000 properties in the city are vacant and bank foreclosures. Some neighborhoods try to help with the problem by providing maintenance on vacant properties such as keeping the grass cut.

Another neighborhood effort is the Detroit Vacant Property Campaign which provides funding to CDCs across the city to do some up keeping services on vacant houses, including cutting grass and installing solar power lights.

Neighborhoods and communities in Detroit know that the bank foreclosures crisis can be resolved if they remove vacant properties in the area and help people remain in their homes.

Related Posts:

• Find Repo Houses for Sale Easily in Detroit
• Nonprofit to Buy and Redevelop REO Properties for Sale
• Tennessee Bank Foreclosures – Inform Tell Alert Advice
• Success of Program to Buy Bank Foreclosed Homes for Sale
• Central Florida Foreclosures Increased Three Times

For some time now, the number of bank foreclosed homes in Southwest Florida is one of the highest in the country. And by the rate it is going, the foreclosure problem is not likely to leave this area in the near future.

Industry experts said that one of the challenges facing efforts to contain the number of bank foreclosed homes in the area is the backlog of foreclosures that is overwhelming the court system. The backlog of foreclosures has severely affected troubled homeowners who want to have a chance to negotiate with their mortgage providers to save their properties from foreclosure.

Foreclosure experts said that when distressed homeowners receive a notice of repossession, they should act on the problem immediately to have a right to contest the lawsuit effectively. Under the Florida law, delinquent homeowners have at least 20 days to respond on the issue. They said that homeowners should be pro-active by replying to the lawsuit immediately and seeking help from certified housing counselors.

Meanwhile, experts pointed out that one way for homeowners to save their properties from becoming bank foreclosed homes is to request for court mediation. They believed that court mediations could provide resolutions that would be advantageous to both borrowers and lenders.

Florida Bankers Association executive vice president Anthony DiMarco said that the banking industry is not opposed to mediation provided that it is not done to delay foreclosure. He said that banks do not want to foreclose but sometimes, they also have difficulty in contacting distressed homeowners.

Some industry experts predict that the rate of foreclosures in the state will continue to increase as payments for adjustable rate mortgages soared and so is the unemployment rate.

Meanwhile, local governments have taken some steps to help distressed homeowners remain in their homes. In Lee County, the nonprofit agency Home Ownership Resource Center (HORC) has been helping troubled homeowners and educating first-time homebuyers. The HORC is eligible to renew its funding from local government of Fort Myers.

Florida’s foreclosure rate is still one of the highest in the country in the first six months of this year. One in every 33 or 3.08 percent of the households in the state received a filing of foreclosed homes during the period.

Related Posts:

• What You May Not Know about Nevada’s Foreclosure Help Plan
• Mayors Adopt City Government Foreclosure Prevention Program
• Florida Bar to Curb Bank Foreclosure Homes with Bank Money
• Bank Owned Homes Foreclosures Climb in June
• Texas Bill to Delay Homes Going Into Bank Foreclosure List

In the first six months of this year, the number of bank REO properties in the state surged even higher, particularly in Coachella Valley where a rise of 68 percent in foreclosure rate was reported, compared with the same period last year.

According to current market data, the total number of California households that received a foreclosure filing rose to 391,611 for two quarters of this year. In Coachella Valley, about 12,007 homeowners received default notices, auction sales or bank REO properties. Furthermore, the number of foreclosure filings in the valley jumped significantly from 7,115 for the same period the previous year.

According to industry experts, the foreclosure crisis ballooned despite local, state and federal efforts to stop the spread of the problem. Experts noted that majority of the foreclosure homes activity occurred due to the rising unemployment.

Compounding the problem is the growing number of homeowners who found themselves owning properties with market values less than the total mortgage they owed,Meanwhile, the foreclosure rate in Coachella Valley was higher than the statewide figures. But real estate experts said that the figures could be misleading, explaining that several legal notices were filed on a property before a bank takes over it.

However some economists said that the current foreclosure rate is an indication that the flow of repossession homes activity in the valley has been constant except for those two months when a state law imposed a foreclosure moratorium. Bank REO properties are also starting to increase in Coachella Valley cities with high household income.

On a positive note, buyers are starting to flock into the valley market which contributed to a significant increase in activity in foreclosure and normal home sales. Industry experts said that multiple offers are starting to make a comeback in the valley.
Experts noted a north Palm Springs property which received 24 purchase offers. They said that the property sold for over $100,000 which was more than its list price of $175,000. They added that demand for bank REO properties increased because they are more affordable, with prices comparable to figures before 1988.
Another trend noted by industry experts is the drop in the total number of bank REO properties for sale on the market, They said that the low supply was due to a high demand.

Related Posts:

• House Repossession Filings Surge in Idaho
• House Repossession Persists in RI Despite More Home Sales
• Unemployment Cause Bank Foreclosed Home Inventory Rise
• Bank Foreclosure Property Supplies Plentiful in May
• New York: Swimming In Foreclosures