Collier And Lee Counties Continue To Drown In Foreclosures

Posted on July 4, 2008
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Reports coming in show that Collier and Lee counties are continuing to drown in foreclosures. Records are being broken.

Collier saw new foreclosure listings soar to 716. During the first six months of 2008 there were 3,827 foreclosure postings in all. Last year the number was 3,266. There is no doubt that the numbers are indicative of bad days ahead. Obviously none of the preventive measures have worked in Southwest Florida, said Dwight Brock, Collier County clerk.

In the north, foreclosures broke records by touching 2,518 in a month said Charlie Green another county clerk. However the number of foreclosure filings per working day decreased because June noted 23 working days. In May there were 2,356 foreclosures counted in 21 working days. While counting and calculating, two days make a difference. In May on an average there were 112 foreclosures per working day as compared to 109 foreclosures per working day in June.

February held the highest record. In 21 days there had been 2,463 foreclosures that calculated to an average of 117 filings for each working day. In Lee County there were 17,417 foreclosure postings in the previous fiscal year – that is from June 2007 to the end of May 2008. The number is four times higher than that noted for the previous fiscal year.

Brock had been optimistic when the foreclosure filings in Collier dropped in February (albeit slightly) and then again in April. But his hopes have been dashed with the recent reports of increases. This shows that the real estate market continues to nurse problems.

Glenn Ginsburg of Delta Realty who deals in real estate in North Naples had foreseen this debacle coming in the early part of 2007 but had never anticipated that it would get this bad. He added “It’s hysteria that’s setting in.” Owners are traumatized seeing the value of their house plummet. The situation is so bad that they do not want to fight for the house anymore. Its worth has become less than the loan amount. So they have stopped paying the mortgage dues and returning them to the lenders.

The Fort Myers and Cape Coral had the second highest number of foreclosures in the entire country during May 2008 with a rate of 1:79. Stockton occupied the first position with a rate of 1:75. These regions had seen frenetic housing activity during the boom period.

Social Services Strained By Pressure From Foreclosures

Posted on July 3, 2008
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The unprecedented number of repo homes has put pressure on social services causing great strain. Under the umbrella of social services come many organizations – pet shelter, financial advisers, food banks and the like. Each unit has a sad story to tell with every passing day.

Mike’s Dog House in Palatka, Florida is turning away about 10 house owners per week because of lack of rooms. In Cleveland recently 200 beds were added to the already bursting shelter for the homeless out of fear that foreclosures will ultimately put the families out on the streets. In Orlando Destiny Foundation is literally being besieged by those under pressure from foreclosure and economic troubles. Scott George of the foundation reports that they have seen people coming who have lost everything. They are confused and traumatized. The organization gives advice, food and runs a medical clinic free of cost apart from other related social works. They are flooded with work and are worried because it does not seem that the foreclosure weather is going to clear in the near future.

The Mortgage Bankers Association has reported that 6.4% of house owners are at least one payment lagging behind on their house loans in the first three months of 2008. Another 1% is already in foreclosure. The national economy is badly affected by the real estate market slump. Tax collection has been badly affected and this in turn is limiting funds being released by state, county and city governments for social services. The social service organizations have very limited independent funds. Despite constraints people like George are trying to figure out what best can be done to succour help to foreclosed victims.

Another Good Samaritan organization is online Petfinder.com with nearly 11,000 member shelter groups under its aegis. It recently conducted a study to measure the effect of foreclosures on pets and pet-owners. Of the 1,055 respondents, half had surrendered their pets because of foreclosures during the last six months.

Leslie Hunt has started off CompAnimals. A network of 10 adoptions shelters supports her. She gladly would have taken in all the animals that knocked at her door but her space and capabilities are limited. The unit can support 40 dogs and 40 cats at the most at a given point of time. Nearly 150 are adopted from her centre annually. The money mostly comes in from donations but a new adoption centre has increased her expenses. Her unit is sitting with a waiting list of six months.

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Bush Scheduled To Visit Arkansas To Discuss Foreclosure Related Housing Problems

Posted on July 2, 2008
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President Bush will be visiting Arkansas to discuss foreclosure related housing problems. However relatively speaking, here the foreclosure situation is better off than other parts of the country.

Bush will be visiting Arkansas for the first time since last October. He will be presiding over a round table conference to raise funds for the Republican Party of the state. Bush had won the presidential elections from Arkansas both in 2000 and 2008.

His first port of call will be with the clients of Family Service Agency in North Little Rock. Henry Cameron of the agency said that the number of people coming to them for foreclosure problems has doubled. Previously the average was five calls per month. But lately it has shot up to twelve. Cameron put the blame for this foreclosure problem on rising food and fuel prices that have gnawed into the income of households. For the average resident it is a difficult set of priorities – food to eat, gas for the car or mortgage payments to avoid foreclosures.

According to ReatlyTrac the number of repo homes in Arkansas has jumped by 26.44%. In 2006 there had been 11,318 foreclosure postings but in 2007 it went up to 14,310 making Arkansas rank 28th in the national foreclosure postings.

Last week a rescue plan for foreclosures with the broad support of both Democrats and Republicans was stalled in the Senate over tax related problems. Democrats were pushing ahead for a quick push through. If approved the bill would ensure government backing of $300 billion in new mortgages that would be cheaper for those borrowers who were under the foreclosure cloud. There is a lot of behind the scene activity by lawmakers so that the bill does not come up against a presidential veto.

The president of Arkansas Mortgage Bankers Association Laney Briggs said that the state has not witnessed the foreclosure crisis in it full intensity as elsewhere. Rather it is suffering because of what is happening in other areas. Initially there were very few sub-prime loans in Arkansas. Since the crisis there is none. What has been a big loss for the local housing market is that Alte Corporation is shifting its headquarters with it being acquired by Verizon Wireless. The latter will keep its regional presence but it does not compare with the Alte headquarters overlooking River Arkansas.

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Tough New Ideas Needed To Tackle Foreclosures

Posted on July 1, 2008
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The call of the hours is tough new ideas to tackle the surging tide of foreclosures. So far the measures taken have been on a low key. As the crisis further intensifies more and more abandoned derelict houses are dotting the country right across America like ugly pock marks.

Last week Barbara Grady reported in the Oakland Tribune that Oakland’s ground zero is a one and a half mile stretch lying across 73rd and 90th Avenues spreading on to International and McArthur Boulevards. Squeezed in here are 150 units including houses as well as apartments all in the foreclosure net. In some blocks there are more than 3 foreclosures.

Apart from being a stain on the locality with overgrown yards and littered mail crowding front steps, these houses attract criminal activity and create health hazards. Mosquitoes breed in stagnant pools and there have been reports of snakes creeping in chasing jumping frogs. Mice multiply. The greatest harm of all is done to the valuation of adjoining houses that keeps getting dragged down by the foreclosed units.

How USA reached this point of no return is now an old story and known to all. Risky mortgages were doled out during the peak of the housing activity. Many had low interest only conditions for a specified period. Loan was sanctioned without verifying income levels. There was a feeling of complacency that real estate prices would continue to rise and the loan would be easily paid off with profits netted in. But the opposite happened. When the honeymoon period of low interest expired the borrowers found themselves loaded with double or even treble monthly commitments. Simultaneously the value of houses began to plummet. The equity vanished. In fact the loan amount came to be greater than the worth of the house. It made refinancing or selling impossible.

Since the house was not worth struggling for, thousands just walked away leaving the lenders weighed down by a heavy number of repo houses. The poor in the urban areas were the worst hit. Their attempt to better their condition had ended in a farce.

One such spot is East Oakland already in the doldrums with crime, poverty and drug problems. This has been the scene here since the 1980’s. Foreclosures have worsened it. Fed up with this some residents have come forward to address the problem with the help of ACORN.

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Foreclosures Skyrocket In May

Posted on June 30, 2008
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Foreclosures in San Fernando Valley skyrocketed by 242% during the month of May. This is against a background of poor sales. A cocktail of woes has combined to bring down the real estate market to record low levels since the last four year. All the various reports coming in more or less contribute to this picture with minor variations.

But although the weather is dark and cloudy some experts are of the opinion that the skies are about to clear. In April the sale of houses inched up to 1,047 from the April figure of 960. However in May 2007 there were 1,434 sale transactions. This May holds the lowest sales figure since 1988.

The number of foreclosures jumped to 673 in May from 202 in the previous year according to the findings of San Fernando Valley Economic Research Center of California University. The real estate market is choc-a-bloc with foreclosed units with more pouring in. This has led to a drop in the average price by 27%. It fell from $660,000 in May 2007 to $485,000 in May 2008. In April the average price was $505,000. The Director said that the Northeast Valley was particularly affected with a sharp fall of 35% that calculated to $345,000 being the average sale price. The Central Valley dropped by 30% with the average plummeting to $390,000. The Northwest Valley recorded a drop of 29% with the average being $465,700. The best regions were Burbank and Glendale with a decline of 20% calculated year-to-year. The average here was relatively better – it being $619,500. It is obvious that not all the mortgages are buckling under but are being carried on.

Default notices in May counted to 1,488 – it being 5% less than April but more than double the number of defaults of May 2007.

Another report coming from The Southland Regional Association of Realtors (Van Nuys based group) showed the trend to be similar but the sales figures were at variance with the previous report. According to it the average price dropped by 31% to $450,000 – it being $200,000 less than what the level was in 2007. The May figures fell by 3% from April. The sale of properties in May increased by 6% numbering 669 deals in comparison to what it was in May 2007. Compared to April it jumped by 22%.

The May report showed the dropping of condo sales by 33% with only 168 deals. The average price fell to $299,000 – a drop of 23%.

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Repo Contractors Thriving On Multiplying Foreclosures

Posted on June 30, 2008
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In Sacramento repo homes numbers continue to increase. Thriving on multiplying foreclosures are the Repo contractors. Repo refers to the repossessed houses – units that have taken over by the bank after completion of the foreclosure process. These are also known as REO or real estate owned.

John Kukis handles about 15 to 20 Repo houses in a month on behalf of banks. He works with the help of 10 employees and sees to the repair work. There are many like him and surrounding their renovating work a new market has come up that specializes in work like replacing burnt out kitchens and damaged floors. A survey is made of stinking carpets and peeled walls as also of overgrown backyards. Vandals have left their signature on broken windows and damaged cabinets.

For banks it is a sorry reminder of what their loans have been reduced to. Such vandalized houses are very common. Lenders are knee deep in trying to bring back shape and order to more than 20,000 units in Sacramento for the past year and a half. Frustrated owners leaving the premises in a rage have done much of the damage. This scenario is presenting new opportunities to a group dubbed the Repo-contractors.

Don Shannon is not worried about unemployment. The banks are keeping him on his toes. He is owner of a firm dealing with repossessed houses. There are not exact figures about how much the banks are spending to bring back order to this chaos. The guess is that it cannot be short of some millions. Kukis claims that contractors like him are “hooked to the system buried with work’. They are painting, laying new carpets, fixing the plumbing and electricity lines and patching up the holes. On an average a bank puts in about $9,000 for a unit. Cleaning up bills hover around $200 to $350.

Apart from contractors, dealers in appliances are also feeding off this market meltdown. Loan specialists are running to and fro tailoring government supported financing for new loans and repairs. Unlicensed contractors too have pitched in although competition is stiff and regulations tough. Kukis has his own philosophy – making hay while the sun shines. He got his experience when he jumped into the fray in 1990 when a similar situation had risen. At that time he came to know the banks and agents. Today that relationship is paying dividends.

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Worcester Anxious To Take Quick Steps Against Further Foreclosure Damage

Posted on June 27, 2008
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The city council of Worcester is anxious to take quick steps against further damages being caused by foreclosures. It has one of the highest numbers of repo homes in Massachusetts State.

Among the measures wanted is a six-month moratorium on foreclosures, protection for tenants from foreclosure related problems and channeling the foreclosure suits to a Superior or Housing Court Judge instead of to Land Courts. The councilors voted in one voice to support these three petitions that were modeled on approvals made in Boston. The city authorities will be given extra teeth to its foreclosure related actions if the state legislature remains sluggish to its response to the crisis.

Fredrick C. Rushton, the Councilor-at-Large, commented, “There’s been inaction by the Legislature. Our action is clear action that we need relief.” He is also vice chairperson of the Council. He reiterated that their stand is unambiguous and loud. The city fathers want action and if they fail then they will take up the sword themselves.

Before the start of the scheduled council meeting at 7 pm, neighbouring activists held demonstrations in front of the City Hall demanding immediate action to help borrowers and tenants caught in this foreclosure imbroglio. Michael J. Germain and Gary Rosen, two other Councilors-at-large and District II Councilor Philip Palmeieri also joined the rally. Former Green-Rainbow Party candidate for the council, Grace Ross organized the demonstration with local supporter for the cause, Cha-Cha N.Connor.

Ross bemoaned that things are turning ugly in Worcester. Not only are there borrowers facing foreclosure related eviction but it is the same story for tenants living unwittingly in foreclosed houses.

Another problem is that foreclosed units are affecting the sales prospects of neighbouring houses. Helen Beaumont is one of them stuck with her house on East Side because of being hemmed in by foreclosed units. The latter have become havens for drug addicts, thieves and vandals. No families can be seen living around anymore.

There were many other problems taken up by the council like the fate of street vendors and the like but the main focus has been on the foreclosure problem – it being the main cause for the colour and health of the city.

The sub-prime increase in mortgage rate was largely held responsible for this meltdown. But even after the rates have been corrected foreclosures continue to flood the country mainly because of the fall in the real estate market. This has become a vicious circle.

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Foreclosures Lash Cape Cod

Posted on June 27, 2008
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The arm shaped Cape Cod in Barnstable County has its own small town characteristics. The beach brings in a flood of tourists. With the opening of the Cape Cod Canal it has virtually turned into an island with three bridges connecting it with Massachusetts. Into this paradise has stalked foreclosures.

Foreclosures lashing Cape Cod reached record figures in May 2008 – the highest in 14 years. There were 54 foreclosures according to statistics released by Barnstable County deed registry office. The total for this year has touched 209. In May last year there were 209 foreclosure postings. From January to May 2007 there were 73 foreclosures. During the peak of the housing boom, through the years 2003 to 2005 Cape Cod witnessed on an average 30 foreclosures each year.

The year 2007 saw the beginnings of the foreclosure tornado. From then on the numbers began to increase. 2006 ended with 87 foreclosures in all. But in 2007 the numbers rose to 272 during the whole year.

Pam Parker of Housing Assistance Corporation, Hyannis, regretted that not only are the repo homes numbers increasing but the people are letting the situation turn from bad to worse by delaying in seeking help. Previously she had been able to help about 60% of her clients. Today that proportion has come down to 15%. Those coming in to seek help are in trouble mainly because the property value has plummeted to unforeseen depths. Equity has vanished. In such a situation it is well nigh impossible to save the foreclosed units.

From figures circulated by two real estate groups in the state it is clear that the housing market continued to flounder throughout May. The sale of single-family houses fell by 10% as compared to May of the previous year. This was as per the findings of Massachusetts Association of Realtors. The average price for such a house dropped by 9.2%. The unit that was priced at $355,000 now dropped to an asking price of $322,500.

The Boston based real estate data collecting firm, The Warren Group, reported more or less similar decreases. The sales number of single-family houses fell by 12.7% while the average price tumbled by 7.9% dragging down the price to $322,500. There was one ray of sunshine in the reporting of Warren Group – the volume of sale in Barnstable County increased by 10.4% in comparison to May 2007. But the average value dived down by 18.2%. During May 360 single-family units were sold.

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Saline County Repo Homes Numbers Increase

Posted on June 26, 2008
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Saline County repo homes numbers continue to increase but at a lesser pace than the rest of the country. This was told by Rod Broberg the County Appraiser to the commissioners of the county at an informal session. He arrived at this assessment from the findings of county appraisers. The files have passed to and fro the lenders and borrowers indicating the progress of foreclosures.

According to Broberg Saline County will witness “a year, or a year and a half worth of soft sales”. From the data collected fromthe previous two years this seems to be trend the real estate market will take. The new valuations of property are based on the market information. Broberg expects that from the data it appears that if reaction to foreclosures happenings in the rest of the country is kept muted then the real estate market here will remain relatively stable. He also referred to the process of valuation appeals. Since the first half of 1989 there have been appeals for 5,500 hearings for 22,000 plots of land. It calculates to 25% of real estate units in the county. He reiterated that working on them for the past few years has brought down the numbers. From 1,000 in 2007 it has been brought down to 963. In 2008 so far there have been 803 hearings – that is 10% of those that usually go into the next process of hearings. Broberg added “ we change about 40% - about 400 get some sort of change in their value. The owners also elucidate alteration and additions made to the property since the last recordings were made.

The question frequently asked is why a neighbour’s unit is valued less. The issue is complicated. Many units look alike but in reality they are not. Today the main culprit is foreclosure. One foreclosure brings down the property value of the adjoining properties. This is because the banks offer heavy discounts to dispose of units that are weighing down heavily on them. If the foreclosed houses are not sold then the banks have to put up with maintenance, taxes and public outcry. The vacant houses attract crime and disease. Moreover taxes go down and the government too, at all levels, gets provoked. In the tight mortgage market it being difficult to get buyers.This leads to the tumble down of prices.

Saline County may be relatively better off now, but with foreclosure figures inching up slowly the writing is on the wall.

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The Month Of May Sees A Spike In Foreclosures In Gaston County

Posted on June 26, 2008
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The last month of May 2008 has seen a spike in foreclosures in Gaston County – a record since the last six years. In May many house owners lost their property – the greatest number of losses in any single month. In May there were 110 foreclosure postings. In April there had been 64 foreclosures. Thus in one month the numbers had nearly doubled. Martin C. Eudy of Real Data released the figures. He collects them from the office of the Register of Deeds and notes when the lender actually takes over the property.

In recent years the foreclosure trend has been growing in Gaston. In 2001 there had been 321 foreclosures during the entire year. But in 2008 already the first five months has noted 394 foreclosures.

The first thing that a borrower should do is to contact the lender. The next is to carefully analyze if anything can be done to escape foreclosure. Angela Saunders of Mortgage Concepts, Gastonia opines that the most important thing is to open lines of communication with the mortgage company. In most cases they are not interested in taking over the house considering the mood of the current real estate market. So they will be amenable to negotiations. Saunders explains that mortgage payments being missed out hurt credit counts and this makes it more difficult to find a second house to live in. Even rented accommodation calls for credit history checks.

Scott Schneider of Consumer Credit Counseling Services echoes these sentiments. The lender should be called at the first signal of trouble. The earlier the lender comes to hear about it, the more options do they have for avoiding foreclosures. On the other hand if the borrower waits for the notice to come from the sheriff then by that time all the avenues will be blocked. Schneider advises that the best counseling agencies are those certified by HUD, like the one he is engaged in – a branch of Family Service Inc. The services of these agencies are free. They help families to understand the situation and accordingly take steps. Often note is made of the income and tips given regarding priority spending. With the permission of the client they start off the dialogue between lender and borrower. Schneider threw in a word of caution about fraudulent rescue agencies that take the borrower for a ride. The latter ends up in a worse situation than before.

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