A notice of default is a notification given to a borrower stating that he or she has not made their payments by the predetermined deadline. It dictates that if the money owed (plus an additional legal fee) is not paid in a given time, the lender may choose to foreclose the borrower’s property. Any other people whom may be affected by the foreclosure may also receive a copy of the notification.

Foreclosure activity has risen in the past month, taking into consideration notice of defaults, scheduled auction and repossessions.  In July action was forced on 325,229 properties, with one in every 397 housing units getting a foreclosure filing!!! Housing recovery!!?? I don’t think so…

It is important to remember the high unemployment rate, this constant increase of shadow inventory and increasingly  stringent mortgage underwriting standards will diminish any potential growth in the housing market for several years to come.  I am not pleased with the temporary fixes that they have done to “end the recession”.  I am sure that we will see another dip as these patchwork fixes don’t make for a long term solution.

A copious amount of shadow inventory from the refi boom (circa 2002-2007)will need to be flushed from the system, in addition to the numbers added from the high unemployment rate. Even if mortgage rates drop to .5% this still will not be a fix if the majority of people won’t be able to qualify for these loans.

Americans who own their own homes has dropped to an all time low since 1999.  The home ownership rate fell to 66.9% in the second quarter of 2010.  The number of vacant homes  fell in the second quarter, to 2.5%. Meanwhile, the vacancy rate in rental homes stayed steady at 10.6%.  What are your thoughts?

This is the news that many homeowners have been dreading, yet it has seemed like it was inevitable.   Altos Research states, “home prices will continue to decline through the rest of 2010 and start 2011 slightly lower than 2009.

The primary reason that we will be seeing a drop is due to shadow inventory, these are due to the homes that will be in default in the coming months.   Because we can’t estimate the number of homes that are in shadow inventory, it is difficult to say when the housing market will begin to recover.   Let’s hope to see some growth soon!

Blame the America dream for the ingenuity in this new trend that we are now seeing.  People are fixated on the fact of owning a home, even if they are currently upside down on their existing property.   Some people are trying to sell their existing homes at a loss (short sale) and purchase bigger homes at a similar cost in today’s market.

Some experts say it makes a lot of sense, since homeowners can get out of bad, old mortgages and get into fresh, larger ones, without raising their monthly payment much. That’s because home prices have dropped and interest rates have gone so low.  What are your thoughts?

There are some cases where bankruptcy can help homeowners prevent foreclosure.  The first and foremost thing a bankruptcy will do is stop the foreclosure process.  Lenders are unable to proceed with a foreclosure until permitted to do so by the courts.

When filing for bankruptcy, there are two types to decide from: Chapter 7 and Chapter 13.

A chapter 7 bankruptcy will stop foreclosure, but this will usually lead to having to liquidate your assets.  Many BK attorneys prefer this method because it gets rid of all unsecured debt, but leaves secured debt such as your mortgage, exempt.  In a case like this, borrowers will still owe their mortgage payments but they can now afford to make them because all of their other debts have been discharged.

Although many experts claim that Chapter 13 is usually more effective at helping homeowners keep their home.  This gives them time to repair their finances, lasting anywhere from 3-5 years, over this period of time the court allows an income based budget with monthly payments made to trustees.

The trustees pay the bills, first paying off the secured debt. After that, the trustee pays off unsecured debt, starting with back income taxes.  Following this  comes unsecured debt, such as credit cards and medical bills.  If borrowers keep up on their payments they can emerge from bankruptcy with their homes still in their possessions.

A mortgage loan is a loan that is secured by real property though a mortgage note.  A mortgage note proves existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan.

Assets are economic resources.   There are tangible and intangible assets that are capable of being owned or controlled to produce value and that is held to have positive economic value. To break it down even more so, assets represent ownership of value that can be converted into cash.

Debt is usually referencing assets that are owed.  In the case of assets, debt is a means of utilizing  future purchasing power in the present before the summation has been earned.