Do banks hold back REOs to keep prices up?
Do banks hold back REOs to keep prices up?
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Foreclosure aid program helps 59 homeowners
Foreclosure aid program helps 59 homeowners
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FAR announces foreclosure research project
FAR announces foreclosure research project
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Florida’s property taxes go haywire
Florida’s property taxes go haywire
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Foreclosure prevention: FAR awarded $97K
NAR awarded more than $682,000 to 25 local and state Realtor associations through its Foreclosure Prevention and Response grant program.
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Cities, states get first shot at REOs
Cities, states get first shot at REOs
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Fla. Supreme Court wants foreclosure info
Fla. Supreme Court wants foreclosure info
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Foreclosures drive nearby home prices down
A study finds that homes within 300 feet of a foreclosure lose 1.3 percent in value; those up to 500 feet drop 0.6 percent.
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1 new foreclosure every 13 seconds
1 new foreclosure every 13 seconds
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How much do foreclosures affect prices?
How much do foreclosures affect prices?
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Interest in purchasing foreclosed homes rises
More U.S. adults (55%) say they’re likely to consider a foreclosed home and most think it’s a bargain; almost half expect to pay 50% less.
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Watch for legal traps with distressed sales
Watch for legal traps with distressed sales. Short sales and REOs can grow a business today, but tread slowly: Some tasks could expose you to legal liability.
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FINDING HELP
FINDING HELP
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Artists to revitalize blighted areas
Artists to revitalize blighted areas
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‘Protecting Florida Homeowners’ roundtable discusses foreclosure prevention
‘Protecting Florida Homeowners’ roundtable discusses foreclosure prevention
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CFO Sink to hold foreclosure summit
CFO Sink to hold foreclosure summit
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How will foreclosure affect credit scores?
The amount of damage to a credit score caused by foreclosure, deed in lieu or a short sale during 2008 and 2009 may be mitigated by the slower economic times, say some credit and legal experts.
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FORECLOSURE RENTERS
Freddie Mac announced it has extended its moratorium on foreclosure-related evictions to April 1. At the same time, Freddie Mac also launched a program yesterday, announced in January, that allows owners facing eviction to remain in their homes as renters.
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MONITOR VACANT PROPERTIES
A bill to be considered by Florida lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session would create an online registry of vacant, abandoned or pre-foreclosure properties to help local governments keep track of code violations.
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IT’S A GIFT?
Hernando County Commissioner Jim Adkins has proposed a plan to give buyers of foreclosures up to $5,000 worth of gift cards. Under the proposal, the program would reward buyers of first or second homes, particularly first-time buyers – not investors. It could not be used for properties that already receive federal funding assistance.
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10 steps to negotiating an affordable loan modification
DETROIT – Feb. 12, 2009 – Ralph R. Roberts, consumer advocate and spokesperson for Federal Loan Modification Law Center, LLP, released a list of the top 10 steps homeowners can take to negotiate an affordable loan modification. The following steps apply to homeowners working directly with a lender, as well as to those teaming up with an attorney or alternative third-party representative.
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House bill aims to stabilize housing, addresses foreclosures and stimulus
WASHINGTON – Jan. 12, 2009 – A bill that embraces the need for righting the housing market – the first big step toward economic recovery – was introduced Friday in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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Is mortgage cram-down legislation inevitable?
WASHINGTON – Jan. 6, 2009 – It is growing increasingly likely that judges will get the power to rewrite mortgages for homeowners facing bankruptcy, some analysts say.
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HOUSING RECOVERY BY SPRING?
Financial mogul Sam Zell, beleaguered owner of the Tribune Co. that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy last week, told an Israeli business conference Sunday that the U.S. real estate market will be in recovery by spring 2009.
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Crist announces $11.5 million to Help Florida homeowners
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Dec. 9, 2008 – Florida received nearly $11.5 million to continue providing statewide foreclosure prevention counseling and legal assistance to homeowners in foreclosure, according to Gov. Charlie Crist. The boost will enable 77 counseling agencies and organizations across the state to provide foreclosure counseling. The funds also will allow legal services groups to counsel area homeowners at risk of foreclosure.
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NAR: New Fed plan will drive down interest rates and help stabilize housing
WASHINGTON – Nov. 26, 2008 – Calling it great news for homebuyers, home sellers and the U.S. economy, the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) praised a plan announced yesterday by the Federal Reserve. Under the plan, the Fed will purchase housing-related debts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, thus freeing up mortgage money on Main Street. The move is one of four points advocated by NAR in a recent Call-to-Action.
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NAR opposes full privatization of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
WASHINGTON – Nov. 12, 2008 – To insure that there is sufficient capital to support mortgage lending to qualified borrowers, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) has adopted principles that recommend continued government involvement in the secondary mortgage market.
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Florida CFO Sink launches ‘Florida Housing Help’ web site
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Nov. 10, 2008 – To provide immediate assistance to Florida homeowners searching for federal housing assistance, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and her Financial Action Team (FACT Team) announced the launch of “Florida Housing Help,” a new Web feature at www.MyFloridaCFO.com.
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FORECLOSURES – AN ONLINE GUIDE
Homeowners facing foreclosure need information, and the U.S. Housing and Urban Development offers a one-stop shop online that can help. “The Guide to Avoiding Foreclosure is an easy-to-use site allowing users to quickly search information specific to their needs,” says HUD Secretary Steve Preston.
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48 Florida cities to receive help from HUD
WASHINGTON – Oct. 23, 2008 – In Florida, 48 local and state governments will receive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding earmarked for foreclosure relief under the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.
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U.S. foreclosure filings surge 55 percent
WASHINGTON – Aug. 14, 2008 – The number of homeowners stung by the dramatic decline in the U.S. housing market jumped last month as foreclosure filings grew by more than 50 percent compared with the same month a year ago, according to data released Thursday.
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Florida offers free legal advice to troubled homeowners
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – July 10, 2008 – Florida homeowners facing foreclosure have access to a lawyer and free legal advice through a program offered by the Florida Bar and Florida Legal Services.
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Tax certificate sale fails to attract buyers
ORLANDO, Fla. – June 4, 2008 – For the first time ever, Central Florida governments couldn’t sell tax certificates at auction.
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Foreclosures.com: Is the end near? April foreclosures and pre-foreclosures drop
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – May 12, 2008 – The nation’s foreclosure hemorrhage slowed a bit last month, according to Foreclosures.com. Lenders repossessed 74,570 homes following foreclosure in April, down more than 5 percent from March. April pre-foreclosures dropped 7.52 percent from March too, according to California-based Foreclosures.com foreclosure information specialists.
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US House passes massive homeowner rescue plan, defying Bush veto threat
WASHINGTON – May 9, 2008 – The House on Thursday passed a massive homeowner rescue plan to provide cheaper, government-backed mortgages to half a million debt-ridden borrowers and bolster an economy crippled by the housing crisis.
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Major provisions of housing rescue package
Major provisions of housing rescue bills in the House aimed at heading off foreclosures, preventing neighborhood blight and stabilizing the market:
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Mortgage meltdown cools
DALLAS – April 2, 2008 – The pace of collapsing mortgage companies has slowed this year, suggesting that the mortgage crisis has bottomed out and banks have regained their footing, according to data from MortgageGraveyard.com, a journal of failed, ailing and acquired lenders.
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Florida HOPE Task Force seeks public comment at its second meeting
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 14, 2008 – The Florida Home Ownership Promotes the Economy (HOPE) Task Force, appointed by Governor Charlie Crist last month, began its review of Florida’s foreclosure rate and its impact on the state’s economy when it met for the first time last week in Tallahassee.
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Hop on the “Foreclosure Express”
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Feb. 28, 2008 – A lender, a title company rep, an attorney, a real estate broker and 57 motivated homebuyers are sitting on a bus.
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CRIST AND HOPE
Gov. Charlie Crist announced a new program to combat the rising problem of foreclosures, the Florida Home Ownership Promotes the Economy (HOPE) Task Force. The task force will bring together experts in the mortgage and banking industries, as well as consumer advocates and policy experts, to review Florida’s foreclosure rate and develop an action plan.
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RealtyTrac: Detroit, Stockton, Las Vegas post highest 2007 foreclosure rates
IRVINE, Calif. – Feb. 13, 2008 – Florida has a problem with foreclosures, but it’s worse in California. While Florida cities ranked near the top in RealtyTrac’s ranking of top 2007 foreclosure markets, the city with the highest number, Miami, came in only at No. 8 on the list of the top 100.
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U.S. foreclosure filings up 94% in Oct.
LOS ANGELES – Nov. 29, 2007 – U.S. foreclosure filings nearly doubled in October from the same month last year, the latest sign many homeowners are falling behind on mortgage payments and increasingly losing their homes, according to a mortgage research company.
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GIVE ‘EM A BREAK
The U.S. House Ways and Means Committee is considering legislation that would end the IRS practice of classifying mortgage debt forgiven in a foreclosure as taxable income. Panel Chairman Charles Rangel scheduled a committee vote on the legislation for tomorrow and spokesman Matthew Beck says the New York Democrat hopes to win broad bipartisan support for the bill.
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‘FHASecure’ to help homeowners facing foreclosure
WASHINGTON – Sept. 4, 2007 – On Friday, Pres. Bush announced Federal Housing Administration (FHA) changes, called “FHASecure,” to help homeowners avoid foreclosure. The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) praised the move.
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Foreclosures drop 7 percent in June
IRVINE, Calif. – July 12, 2007 – U.S. foreclosures dropped by 7 percent in June, according to RealtyTrac, though June numbers are still much higher than one year earlier in June 2006.
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CLOSING IN ON FORECLOSURES
With foreclosures rising nationwide, prices falling and inventories swelling to historic levels, investors with a discerning eye and knowledge of the foreclosure process can build a profitable portfolio of distressed properties, says James Saccacio, CEO of RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosure data. Saccacio offers this basic advice:
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NAR: Higher lending standards can curb abusive practices
WASHINGTON – May 8, 2007 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) is calling on bank regulators to adopt higher lending standards while giving lenders more flexibility in determining whether homebuyers can afford to meet their loan obligations.
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NAR commends Congress for moving to eliminate “phantom tax” on foreclosures
WASHINGTON – April 19, 2007 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR) supports legislation that would change the current law that forces individuals who went through foreclosure to then pay income tax on the portion of the loan that was forgiven.
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Prediction: Trouble ahead for subprime borrowers
NEW YORK – Jan. 24, 2007 – Expect to see foreclosures on subprime or nontraditional loans – mortgages made to consumers with impaired credit – to accelerate, according to the Center for Responsible Lending (CNL) (http://www.responsiblelending.org), a nonprofit research organization.
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Foreclosures decrease 9 percent in December according to RealtyTrac
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