1 Million Homes Reposessed

1 Million Homes Reposessed in 2010

The number of foreclosures that we saw in 2010 was astronomical.  There were over 1 million people who lost their home! Realtytrac reported close to 2.9 million foreclosure notices.

Nevada has led the pact with foreclosures for the fourth year in a row.  One in every 11 homes received a foreclosure filing.

Overall, 2010 was a rough one for the mortgage industry. The big news was the robo-signing scandal, which erupted in the fall amid allegations that banks were foreclosing on homes without having read the documentation.

In the first quarter of 2010, eyes were still focused on Obama’s HAMP program, while many analysts were still optimistic about saving their homes.  But as time progressed it was quite obvious that the HAMP program was losing the fight against foreclosures.

Then the next shoe to drop came in June, with a report from Fitch Ratings that showed HAMP modifications re-defaulting at a high clip. The company forecast that three-quarters of all HAMP mods would ultimately fail.

The next few years are looking to be very difficult on the economy and the housing industry.   Some industry analysts, such as Laurie Goodman, head of Amherst Securities mortgage group, say that as many as 11 million mortgage borrowers are in potential danger of default.

However, Rick Sharga, RealtyTrac’s spokesman, predicted 4 million to 5 million and scoffed at quantifying the magnitude of the potential disaster, comparing it to “taking inventory of deck chairs on the Titanic.”

Only time will tell, but if you have any questions regarding your home and the position you are currently in, feel free to call us at 888-877-0078.

Disheartening News For America

Very Disheartening News for America

The more news articles I read regarding the US economy, the more I realize the average American is drowning (and tethered to a sinking house). Lets start with headlines from today like “Obama’s Mortgage Mod Plan is Still Lacking”. This article from CNN Money explains that while $30 Billion was set aside for HAMP to help struggling homeowners stay in their properties, only $4 Billion will end up being used for this purpose. Instead of saving an estimated 3 million to 4 million peoples home, they now project a total of 700,000. Why, you may ask? For the same reason these people are in this position in the first place, the benefit of Corporate America. It’s plain and simple. Wall Street greed caused this mess and its perpetual greed is keeping America here. Instead of writing down loan balances and offering REAL and sustainable plans for people to keep these properties; the executives at the top plan to foreclose on every one of them. And they are laughing all the way to the bank!

Here are a couple other headlines from CNN Money today, “Wealth Gap becomes Chasm at Christmas” and “Wall Street Bonuses May Top Last Year’s as Earnings Soar”. So basically the rich are continuing to get richer as the average Joe is slipping deeper into negative net worth with their underwater properties. The middle class is getting completely wiped out and we will be left with a very small minority of Super Rich and a large majority of Super Poor. The government could stop this but unfortunately is under Wall Street and Corporate America’s thumb.

We at Housing Assist of America have made it our business to help these homeowners that are drowning in negative equity with ridiculous mortgage payments. Our job is to fight the banks on behalf of the homeowner to allow a Short Sale. We negotiate with lenders like Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and many more to forgive these homeowners for their debts. Our clients are able to walk away and start fresh while planning a road to economic recovery. Housing Assist of America lays out a plan to repair credit and buy a home at a reasonable price. We do not charge for our services and we have a greater than 85% success rate. We are so skilled that hundreds of real estate agents contract us to negotiate on their short sales on their behalf.

Isn’t everybody FED UP with the current situation? Please contact us at Housing Assist of America to find out how we can help you. I look forward to hearing from you.

Innocent Bystanders

Innocent Bystanders

Monday November 29, 2010 at 12:00 pm PST by Joshua Anderson, Lexington Realty Correspondent

Los Angeles—We have all heard the stories, a once vibrant neighborhood goes to the dumps because every other house on the block is either bank owned or currently in foreclosure. Everyone looks around and points fingers and asks who’s to blame?  Well from the top we of course by default blame Wall Street, the banks and the government. But by taking a more in depth look at the whole scenario, we realize there were a chain of events that eventually lead us to where we are today, and the unfortunate outcome, are those who suffered because of someone else’s mistakes.

Take 60 year old Sherrilynn Palladino, a ten year homeowner in the California community of Grover beach.  A responsible borrower who never missed a payment, Palladino could only stand by and watch as the price of her home plummeted until it was too underwater to do anything about it. This scenario had been played out over a million times in thousands of communities across the nation. It’s almost like a domino effect, one block falls, and sets off a chain reaction. Palladino had dreams of selling her home and cashing out. A home with good equity would have made for a secure retirement, but instead, the values declined. Between all of the underwater mortgages and rising rates, foreclosures were inevitable. In the case of Palladino though, she never missed a payment, even after being laid off from her job as an administrative assistant. Unlike her situation, most families could not afford to salvage the basic necessities just to keep up with the mortgage payment. This is where the real trouble began. Almost everyone who had an adjustable rate mortgage was bound to default at some point or another, and just as it was predicted, they did. On top of the defaulted loan, many homeowners lost there jobs, thus creating an even deeper financial burden.

Now that we are somewhat nearing the tail end of this foreclosure mess, we need to have a better understanding of what got us here in the first place. Prices will still drop for the next couple of years and lenders are stepping up there foreclosure efforts. So before the smoke dissipates there will be even more collateral damage. Sherrilynn Palladino was just one case, but there are thousands more just like her. One of the best things you can do in a situation like this short sale. The process allows you to alleviate the negative debt and does minimal damage to your credit, pending your not severely in default. Upon completing the short sale you may be entitled to up to $3,500 from the Obama driven HAFA program. The benefits are endless; however the most significant is avoiding foreclosure. After just 18 months the homeowner can be eligible to take out a new home loan and take advantage while prices and interest rates are still historically low.

Being a victim of this housing crisis doesn’t mean you need to be a casualty, in many cases it takes risk and a small amount damage to rectify the situation, but in the end it may be worth it.

The Invisible Recession

The Invisible Recession

“An in depth look into what really happened after the economic collapse”

Joshua Anderson. Lexington Realty Correspondent.

We have all seen the apparent signs of the big recession. First there was the mortgage crisis, the failed banks, the Wall Street scandals and of course the unemployment rate. All of this began when the housing market began to collapse and continued on a downward spiral. The more homes that were foreclosed, the less equity became available. Small businesses began to take a dive and within a matter of months the entire financial infrastructure of the United States was faltering at a record rate. As the smoke began to clear, massive layoffs ensued and corporate giants began to buckle.

One of the highlights in this crisis was the big Wall Street bailout. Stronger banks acquired the weaker banks and we all believed that we, the American people, were somehow going to benefit from this. The outcome, we didn’t, not at all in fact. The only noticeable signs we saw of this bailout was that Wamu’s became Chase and Merrill Lynch became Bank of America. Aside form the obvious acquisitions in the news; we were left waiting for a savior. Homeowners who were delinquent were expecting modifications that never came to fruition, and the unemployed waiting to be hired again. In the midst of this fiasco, several large banks were compensating there executives with skyrocketing incomes & bonuses.

While the rest of the economy was struggling to keep up, Bank of America CEO Thomas Montag received a total compensation of $29,930.431. This was considered only slightly larger that that of Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf who made just over $21,000,000.  These numbers are astronomical and completely unfair to the American people who are barely able to stay in their homes. The most terrifying factor is that for those who are facing foreclosure thought they had a fighting chance. However, the Obama administration made it clear that stepping up foreclosures is the only way to stabilize the doomed housing market.

At this point in time, there are not many options available to those who are struggling. There is however some long term tips to keep in mind. Continuing education may be the best way to secure a great career and of course smart savings and investments. There may be a recession but as you can see there is a dramatic difference between those who are feeling the effects, and those who aren’t.

Foreclosures Crippling the Economic Recovery

Home prices & sales are up but foreclosures are still crippling the economic recovery.

By Joshua C Anderson, Lexington Realty correspondent. October 26, 2010

Los Angeles-It’s been more than a few weeks since the major lenders have enacted the foreclosure moratorium. “We are looking intensively at the firms’ policies, procedures, and internal controls related to foreclosures and seeking to determine whether systematic weaknesses are leading to improper foreclosures,” said Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. Many homeowners are still clinging on to the idea that they will not be foreclosed as a result of this investigation. The reality of the situation is that only ten percent of at risk homeowners will get out the situation there in.

Several key factors that are adding to the demise of the housing market include the fact that the housing recession is nowhere near over. Most of the nation’s communities have not yet bottomed out and optimistic speculation is merely opinion driven. Once the market does officially bottom out, prices will not rebound automatically. It will take quite some time for the rest of the economy to get up to speed, and even then it will be a long recovery. Another common misconception is that the worst is in the past. Rick Sharga from Realty Trac, an online foreclosure company, says he does not envision foreclosure activity stabilizing until late 2011. There are still those who will continue to believe that there loans will be modified, even though several reports from the top news and government agencies confirmed that it was a huge failure.  One of the realistic solutions in this market is to mitigate as much as loss as possible. Many of the homeowners who are facing foreclosure do have an opportunity to salvage what’s left of there credit and financial future by attempting a short sale.

Knowing that are very few positive solutions to this crises, it would behoove homeowners to seek out reputable companies, attorneys and accountants. By doing adequate research, the average homeowner can avoid fraud and even foreclosure. According to the California department of real estate, companies that are conducting modifications, loans, short sale and forensic loan audits, arte required to be registered and certified with the department. It is up to the homeowner to seek out this information and make the right decision based on there situation.

Lender

A lender is a private or public entity which loans money to borrowers.

Deficiency Judgement

A deficiency judgment is a judgment is when a lien is held against a borrowers.  This happens when the foreclosure sale does not produce enough money for the mortgage to be paid in full.  Generally, the lender may come after you for this deficiency depending on whether or not this is a non-recourse loan.

Loan Modification

WHY USE HOUSING ASSIST FOR MY LOAN MODIFICATION???

Loan Modification is a process whereby a homeowner’s mortgage is modified and both lender and homeowner are bound by the new terms. The most common modifications are lowering the interest rate, reducing the principal balance, ‘fixing’ adjustable interest rates, increasing the loan term, forgiveness of payment defaults & fees, or any combination of these.

• HousingAssist.com will assess  your ability to pay your mortgage through the analysis of wage statements, investment accounts, bank accounts and tax returns, among other data.
• Then we will make a detailed proposal to your lending institutions for restructuring of mortgage terms in a fashion that will enhance the likelihood of repayment.
• HousingAssist.com will negotiate on your behalf.
• We have built strong relationships with all lenders.
• We are also hired by these lenders to help salvage troubled loans.
• Mortgage Companies have an interest in offering concessions to troubled borrowers because of the extremely high cost of foreclosures.
• Lenders do not want to take possession of illiquid real estate, especially in falling markets.

The loan modification plan focuses on people who are behind in their payments or are at risk of default.
Federal officials clarified the definition of “at risk” as those: suffering serious hardships, declines in income or increase in expenses; facing an interest rate hike; having high mortgage debt compared to income; owing more than their house is worth, or demonstrating other reasons for being close to default.
To participate in the loan modification plan, borrowers must:

• have obtained their mortgage before Jan. 1, 2009;
• have a primary mortgage of less than $729,500;
• live in the property;
• fully document their income by providing tax returns and pay stubs;
• sign a statement of financial hardship;
• go for counseling if their total household debt – including auto loans, credit cards and alimony – totals more than 55% of their income.

The modification program will be in effect until the end of 2012, but loans can only be adjusted once.

Call HousingAssist.com Today @ 888-877-0078 for a FREE analysis of your situation.

Foreclosure

Foreclosure is when the lender issues a court ordered termination of a mortgagor’s property.  This will usually happen when the borrower defaults, and is unable to make their mortgage payments moving forward.  In the past 2 years we have seen the number of foreclosures sky rocket, due to sub-prime lending.   The bank will then repossess the property and sell in in an auction.

California Defaults Slow in Q409: Data Quick

The flow of California homes entering the foreclosure pipeline slowed in Q409, another sign that the troubles in hard-hit areas are dissipating into more expensive and previously insulated areas, according the MDA DataQuick.

The San Diego-based real estate information service reported 84,568 Notices of Default (NODs) in California in Q409, down 24.3% from 111,689 in the previous quarter. It’s still a 12.4% increase from 75,230 in Q408.

California NODs reached an all-time high in the first quarter of 2009 when MDA DataQuick reported 135,431 filings. That number was inflated because of activity put off from the previous four months. The low came in Q304 at 12,417 filings.

“Clearly, many lenders and servicers have concluded that the traditional foreclosure process isn’t necessarily the best way to process market distress, and that losses may be mitigated with so-called short sales or when loan terms are renegotiated with homeowners,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president.

Ari Afshar of Housing Assist of America, a short sale company in Los Angeles, told HousingWire that short sales are, indeed, picking up.

“We are seeing a huge increase in short sales and this is mainly due to the fact that so many potential modification candidates have been turned down. Being that they would do most anything to avoid a foreclosure, they naturally have been turning to short sales as the next best option,” Afshar said.

Most of the loans that fell into default in Q409 originated in early 2007, but the median origination month was July 2006, the same month for the previous three quarters and even the last quarter of 2008. It means the foreclosure process moved through one month of bad loans in the last year.

“Mid 2006 was clearly the worst of the ‘loans gone wild’ period and it’s taking a long time to work through them. We’re also watching foreclosure activity start to move into more established mid-level and high-end neighborhoods,” Walsh said. “Homeowners there were able to make their payments longer than homeowners in entry-level neighborhoods, but because of the recession and job losses, that’s changing. Foreclosure activity is a lagging indicator of distress.”

The foreclosure tracker RealtyTrac came to the same conclusion in its 2009 in its year-end 2009 Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report. Although the sand states California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continue to lead in foreclosure activity, cities like Seattle, Washington and others in Oregon are creeping up the list.

In California, the amount of Trustee Deeds recorded, which reflects how many homes and condos foreclosed, reached 51,060 in Q409, a 2.1% from the previous quarter, according to DataQuick. But despite the uptick in both defaults and foreclosures, foreclosure resales declined to a 40.7% share of the real-estate market, from 42.7% in the previous quarter. It peaked in the first quarter of 2008 with a 57.8% market share.

The top originators of the defaulted loans in Q409 were Countrywide with 5,588 loans; Wells Fargo (WFC: 28.43 -0.07%) at 3,482 loans; and Washington Mutual at 3,460 loans.

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