Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

[KenD]

The foreclosure rate here was up nearly 30 percent over the same period a year ago. Sharga says the numbers nationally remain troubling.

"The numbers are just mind-boggling. There are 4 consecutive months with over 300,000 foreclosure notices going out - that's never happened before."

And that translates into a dark outlook for the housing market. He says, "Until we can figure out a way to slow down the inflow and start to sell off the inventory that's out there, the housing market has just about no chance to stabilize."

Nationwide, over a million and a half properties went into some stage of foreclosure in the first six months of this year and the second quarter total was the highest since RealtyTrac began following foreclosures in 2005.

There are state by state tables here for those who are interested.

[don]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

It's estimated between 22,000 and 28,000 foreclosed properties are being held off the market in California. That shadow inventory represents ONE MONTH of foreclosures for the state at the current rate.

[KenD]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

It's estimated between 22,000 and 28,000 foreclosed properties are being held off the market in California. That shadow inventory represents ONE MONTH of foreclosures for the state at the current rate.

That would assume that you are willing to accept the estimates. I'm not sure when that estimate was made but I would be willing to guess that the numbers are a lot higher than that today.

Where I live in Maryland, we have been watching the house across the street. It has a foreclosure notice on the front door which has been there for almost nine months. The previous owners moved out almost a year ago. It is not listed with a broker but a professional landscaping company comes once a week to keep the lawn trimmed.

The problem is worse that we are hearing and as long as there is a near unlimited amount of tax money, er, our money, to keep this insanity going, not much is going to change.

In a world where homes cost more than 10 years gross wages for a middle class professional, these homes are going to have to come down in price before they are perceived as having real value.

Oops, no - my bad.
Everything's fine!

Bank of America (Countrywide) Inventory

[flintlock]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I have a friend who is trying to buy a foreclosure. He had me go out to take a look at it for him. Not even a sign in the front yard! Its like they don't want to flood the market with too many foreclosures all at once.

[pescamaaan]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

The problem is worse that we are hearing and as long as there is a near unlimited amount of tax money, er, our money, to keep this insanity going, not much is going to change.

In a world where homes cost more than 10 years gross wages for a middle class professional, these homes are going to have to come down in price before they are perceived as having real value.

Oops, no - my bad.
Everything's fine!

Home prices are rising!!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-p...79590.html?x=0

[don]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

Home prices are rising!!

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Home-p...79590.html?x=0

No, just bigger ships are sinking ;)

[GRG55]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

No, just bigger ships are sinking ;)

Still a "fast growing industry"...

Eviction patrol heats up on U.S. foreclosures

Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:28pm EDT

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - It's home to Disneyland -- "the happiest place on earth" -- but deputies enforcing home evictions in Anaheim find mold, backed-up plumbing, marijuana crops, abandoned grandparents and the occasional suicide.

Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Ramona Figueroa says nothing surprises her any more but the job is getting worse, and she hopes the downward slide doesn't last too much longer.

One common task these days is serving eviction notices to people who have done nothing wrong -- who rent properties that have fallen into foreclosure, or are repossessed to recover unpaid debts.

"They are shocked and surprised," Figueroa said as she went on her rounds. "And here I am giving them a five-day notice and they explain that just five days earlier the homeowner was at the home collecting rent."...

..."When I first started enforcing court orders, I'd see one foreclosure every four or five years, and now I see a foreclosure every day," said Figueroa, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement...

...And yet, Figueroa says she loves her job. But in this last year, she has been troubled by the constant shifting of blame that came with the sharp rise in evictions. No one wants to be seen as responsible for this large scale breakdown of people's lives and dreams.

"I get the property people blaming the real estate people, the real estate people blaming the banks, the banks blaming the homeowners. It is just this vicious circle...

[jpatter666]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

Of course, it also depends on how the bank sees the "best possible use" of the property!
Wells Fargo exec used Malibu Colony home lost by Madoff-duped couple, neighbors say

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...4.story?page=1

[cjppjc]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

Still a "fast growing industry"...

Eviction patrol heats up on U.S. foreclosures

Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:28pm EDT

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - It's home to Disneyland -- "the happiest place on earth" -- but deputies enforcing home evictions in Anaheim find mold, backed-up plumbing, marijuana crops, abandoned grandparents and the occasional suicide.

Orange County Sheriff's Deputy Ramona Figueroa says nothing surprises her any more but the job is getting worse, and she hopes the downward slide doesn't last too much longer.

One common task these days is serving eviction notices to people who have done nothing wrong -- who rent properties that have fallen into foreclosure, or are repossessed to recover unpaid debts.

"They are shocked and surprised," Figueroa said as she went on her rounds. "And here I am giving them a five-day notice and they explain that just five days earlier the homeowner was at the home collecting rent."...

..."When I first started enforcing court orders, I'd see one foreclosure every four or five years, and now I see a foreclosure every day," said Figueroa, a 25-year veteran of law enforcement...

...And yet, Figueroa says she loves her job. But in this last year, she has been troubled by the constant shifting of blame that came with the sharp rise in evictions. No one wants to be seen as responsible for this large scale breakdown of people's lives and dreams.

"I get the property people blaming the real estate people, the real estate people blaming the banks, the banks blaming the homeowners. It is just this vicious circle...

In May a law was passed to stop tenants from being thrown out into the street.

http://housingissues.org/content/090...oreclosure.pdf

[nitroglycol]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I don't get why the foreclosing institutions would want to evict tenants. As long as the tenants are there, the property is producing income. When they're gone, everything starts to rot, and the place is vulnerable to vandalism and theft, so its resale value is shot to hell.

What am I missing here?

[Kadriana]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I know around here we're seeing a lot of For Sale by Owner signs which makes me think there are a lot of people that are having trouble with their house payments or in denial about selling prices. On one street that is two blocks long, I saw 1 realtor For Sale sign and 5 For Sale by Owner signs. 5 were duplexes and one was a house.

[zoog]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I don't get why the foreclosing institutions would want to evict tenants. As long as the tenants are there, the property is producing income. When they're gone, everything starts to rot, and the place is vulnerable to vandalism and theft, so its resale value is shot to hell.

What am I missing here?

Usually what is happening in this situation is the tenants are paying rent to the owner, but the owner is not sending his mortgage payment to the banks. There is a break in the income stream. Lenders are not in the rental property management business, they don't want to take on the responsibilities of a landlord in exchange for that rent payment, which in many overpriced markets does not cover the entire mortgage anyway.

The issues with vacant houses being vandalized and such are a valid concern, but at that point I think the lenders are counting on getting bailed out by the federal government / federal reserve, and hoping the city / county / state will eventually take the worthless properties and raze them at local taxpayer expense. It's all win for the banks.:mad:

[ThePythonicCow]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

Usually what is happening in this situation is the tenants are paying rent to the owner, but the owner is not sending his mortgage payment to the banks.

I don't usually say this ... but There oughta be a law!

Owners, unless otherwise agreed to by the tenant, ought to be legally responsible for paying taxes and mortgages out of rent payments, to the extent they are received.

Foreclosures for taxes or mortgages of rental property should also require ample notice (such as 90 days) by the sheriff to the tenants.

[zoog]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I don't usually say this ... but There oughta be a law!

Owners, unless otherwise agreed to by the tenant, ought to be legally responsible for paying taxes and mortgages out of rent payments, to the extent they are received.

Foreclosures for taxes or mortgages of rental property should also require ample notice (such as 90 days) by the sheriff to the tenants.

The amount of time given to tenants to vacate the property under foreclosure varies by location. In Oregon I believe it has usually been 30 days. Other places give far less time.

Also, apparently now there is the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, which includes a provision for extending the time tenants can stay.

One of the often overlooked problems in the foreclosure crisis has been the eviction of renters in good standing, through no fault of their own, from properties in foreclosure. To address the problem of these tenants being forced out of their homes with little or no notice, this legislation will require that in the event of foreclosure, existing leases for renters are honored, except in the case of month-to-month leases or owner occupants foreclosing in which cases a minimum of 90 days notice will be required. Parallel protections are put in place for Section 8 tenants.

[rabot10]

Re: Bleak picture as foreclosures soar

I don't usually say this ... but There oughta be a law!

Owners, unless otherwise agreed to by the tenant, ought to be legally responsible for paying taxes and mortgages out of rent payments, to the extent they are received.

Foreclosures for taxes or mortgages of rental property should also require ample notice (such as 90 days) by the sheriff to the tenants.

Cow U could not be more right