The Everett Mall is facing foreclosure, and if the owner of this mall fails to clear the huge debt of $8,000,000 by July 9, this property will be handed over to the bidder making the highest payment at the auction which has been scheduled at the Snohomish County Courthouse on July 20, 2012. The foreclosure default notice sent to the owner of this property was published in The Herald.

In 2007, California based housing investment management firm, Steadfast Commercial Properties bought this mall, and this March, the company defaulted on their mortgage of $98 million taken for this mall. After defaulting on their loan in the beginning of March, the representatives of this company stated that they were dealing with their lending bank for a loan modification to save the Everett Mall from foreclosure.

In an email statement, Vice President at Steadfast Commercial Management, Lisa Whitney said, “We continue in discussions with our lender towards a positive resolution, and as both parties are currently working in good faith towards a positive resolution” as a reply to the questions that arose because of the issuance of the foreclosure default notice.

According to her, this notice of default is an element of normal foreclosure processing. Although she refused to disclose anything about the discussion between the Steadfast official and their lender, she stated that they were progressing with talks about a long-term loan modification for this mall.

Till April 18, the borrower was defaulting by $5.8 million, which includes late fees, attorney’s fees and interest dues, and by July 9, the amount will move up to $8 million.

After purchasing this mall in 2004 for $50.2 million, Steadfast invested a huge amount of money to redecorate and expand the mall’s area. Finally, in 2007, this company refinanced its loan through the Royal Bank of Canada. In the next year, recession swallowed the entire economy of the country, devastating the retail and housing sectors as well.

She also added, “Everett Mall has not been immune to the proliferation of retailer downsizing, bankruptcies and the subsequent vacancies that have occurred industry wide over the past 36-plus months”

The vacancy rate in this mall was 18% this March after this shopping plaza lost two of its important occupiers – bookseller Borders and cloth merchant Steve & Barry’s. Both left the mall due to bankruptcy. However, there are still a number of important occupants like Macy’s, Old Navy, TJ Maxx, Sears, LA Fitness and Regal Cinema, and according to Whitney, “Day to day, it is business as usual at Everett Mall for both our customers and retailers.”

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According to Santa Ana based real estate research company CoreLogic, there are nearly 1.4 million US homes holding a mortgage which were struggling in some phase of foreclosure in the month of March. This number constitutes nearly 3.4% of the entire housing units in the country. This number was almost similar to February but this number is slightly lower with respect to March 2011 when it was 1.5 million.

This database shows that the total number of homes lingering in foreclosure remained steady this March. In comparison to March 2011, there was a significant drop this March, which reveals a trend contrary to the expectations of many housing experts that another foreclosure wave is coming to devastate the US housing market once again.

Last year in March, there were 85,000 completed foreclosures whereas in February 2012, there were 66,000 foreclosures. This March, the number was 69,000 foreclosures. Lenders and banks completed processing 198,000 foreclosed properties from January to March 2012, and they completed 232,000 foreclosures in this same period in 2011.

There are still many three month-and-above delinquent borrowers all across the country. According to this agency, there was no such significant change observed in these numbers in March 2012. In both the months February and March 2012, the number of delinquent borrowers stood at 7% while this rate was 7.5% a year back in March.

CEO Anand Nallathambi at CoreLogic said, “Compared to a year ago, the number of completed foreclosures has slowed. Since the foreclosure inventory is also coming down, this suggests that loan modifications, short sales, deeds-in-lieu are increasingly being used as an alternative to foreclosures to clear distressed assets in our communities.”

After the processing of foreclosures was suspended for more than one year due to various scandals this February, a 49-state settlement with the five largest banks of the country put an end to this suspension.

After this settlement, many real estate experts warned that another foreclosure wave would soon hit the housing market because lenders would begin processing their backlog foreclosure cases. However, according to many real estate data firms, there is no such prominent sign of a foreclosure wave so far.

According to the CEO, after this settlement, many lenders are trying to negotiate with homeowners to save their troubled homes from foreclosure, and this initiative is pulling down the number of foreclosures. He added, “This is what was envisioned with the recent national foreclosure settlement, and can often be a better outcome for both borrowers and investors.”

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Norman Rousseau, a resident of Newbury Park, California was found dead a week ago on Sunday. He was a foreclosure victim who had been struggling with foreclosure issues with his lender Wells Fargo.

He has left his wife and a stepson to continue with his ongoing battle with foreclosure. A day before he committed suicide, he was busy with his recreational vehicle throughout the night and on Sunday morning; he shot himself and committed suicide. His body was lying surrounded by parts of his RV’s engine.

According to CBS Los Angeles, he was standing on the verge of eviction due to foreclosure. He could not accept the fact that his family would be forced out of their home. Rousseau filed a lawsuit last year in January.

In an e-mail statement, a representative for Wells Fargo stated to The Huffington Post, “Our thoughts are with the friends and family of Mr. Rousseau at this difficult time. The eviction has been postponed and we will continue to work with Mrs. Rousseau. Despite current reports, we tried repeatedly to find affordable options for the family.”

According to this lawsuit, the problem started after the family refinanced their property to pay off their existing loan. Much later after refinancing, they found that the interest rate of their monthly installments was already high. Moreover, the attorney handling the foreclosure case of this family, Chris Gardas, also stated that his client was induced to add their credit card debt to the loan which increased the overall debt of this family. Gardas also talked to The Huffington Post where he stated that at the time, the deal appeared to be an excellent financial solution for this family.

In May 2009, the lender reported that the family had missed out a month’s payment but later this bank changed the allegation saying that there was a punctuation problem in the payment check made by the couple. Along with this allegation, this lender started making dubious payment requests along with hiked fees. Moreover, when the couple proceeded to opt for a loan modification, the lender denied the request and finally pushed the family into foreclosure.

All these problems finally compelled this man to commit suicide, and now Wells Fargo has decided to delay the repossession process by a fortnight. According to Gardas, Oriane Rousseau, wife of Norman Rousseau, does not want to live in this home anymore because this property has become the reason for her husband’s death.

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Recently, US Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, along with US Representatives David Cicilline and James Langevine, met officials of Rhode Island Housing and announced that there have been nearly 1,475 homeowners in Rhode Island since the beginning of February that have received approval to get assistance from Hardest Hit Fund Rhode Island (HHFRI).

Hardest Hit Fund Rhode Island is a foreclosure prevention scheme by Rhode Island Housing which was started in 2011. This announcement was done in a press conference.

According to the press release, Senator Reed said, “I was pleased the President responded to my request to include Rhode Island in the Hardest Hit program and provide the State with nearly $80 million in foreclosure-prevention assistance. This program is designed to offer targeted assistance to help families who’ve been hit hardest by the downturn stay in their homes. The key is to make sure this assistance is getting to those in need quickly, effectively, and responsibly and maximizing resources to help communities.”

HHFRI assisted the homeowners of this region with a fund of about $13 million so distressed homeowners standing on the verge of foreclosure could save their mortgage properties from foreclosure. This attempt by HHFRI has also contributed towards the recovery of the real estate market in Rhode Island.

Till date, every county in Rhode Island has received assistance offered by HHFRI with the maximum number of homeowners coming from Kent and Providence counties. These two counties are the worst hit areas of foreclosure in this state.

In a statement, Senator Whitehouse stated, “The economic downturn was especially deep in Rhode Island, and many of our neighborhoods are still recovering. Through the Hardest Hit Fund, Rhode Island Housing is able to draw on substantial federal resources to help keep families in their homes. I am glad Senator Reed and I were able to help secure these funds for Rhode Island, and I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress to find solutions that will help more Rhode Island homeowners avoid the stress of foreclosure.”

Most of the property owners who are seeking financial aid from this agency are unemployed and cannot pay their regular mortgage payments. Nearly 65% of the homeowners stated that unemployment has compelled them to stop making their payments.

According to Rhode Island Housing, many homeowners feel that they are ineligible for HHFRI as they are making their regular mortgage payments. But the agency states that all these owners who are making regular payments are eligible for this assistance program and this may be the perfect time for them to apply before becoming a delinquent borrower.

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According to a recent report issued by the Census Bureau, home ownership in the US has moved down to 65.4%, which is the lowest seen in the past 15 years. In 2004, the rate was at its peak during the 2nd and last quarters of the year when it moved up to 69.2%. This happened when the housing market was booming. Since 2006, this rate started falling steeply when the rate of foreclosures started increasing in the housing market.

During the first ninety days of 2012, a large number of willing buyers came up to rent properties whereas millions of homeowners were forced to opt for rented homes after losing their properties to foreclosure. After a nationwide survey, it was found that the national rate of vacant homes was 8.8% from January to March 2012 whereas a year back the rate stood at 9.7%. On the other hand, the total number of rented homes moved up by 1,400,000 during the first three months of this year and foreclosures declined by 491,000 homes.

In the present census report, the current figures for the entire region of Philadelphia are missing. According to the 2010 census report, the rates of home ownership in the 4 suburban counties in Pennsylvania were almost similar to the rates recorded in the 2000 census. In 2010, the home ownership in this city declined to 54%, which stood at 59% in 2000. However, no such comparative data was available for other counties like Burlington, Camden and Gloucester.

Last week, along with this report, the Census Bureau also stated that many construction companies are coming up with new constructions and renovations. The rate of spending in these constructions increased by 0.1% this March in comparison to February and this rate is almost 6% up from 2011. Compared to February 2012, the rate of spending in residential constructions moved up by 2.9% in March and for single-family houses, the month-to-month increase was 3.8%.

However, the rate of multi-family construction spending dropped by 3.1% with respect to February and a housing economist at IHS Global Insight, Patrick Newport stated in this context that there was “nothing to be concerned about” because the recent increase in construction licenses shows that there could be a significant increase in the number of new housing units this year and in the coming year as well.

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According to a recent report released by The Warren Group, from January 2012 till date, there was twice the number of foreclosure notices in Stoughton compared to 2011 while the rate of completed foreclosure cases has remained almost the same in both the years. Like May 2011, this May has also seen three fresh foreclosure notices issued in Stoughton and the total number of foreclosure notices issued so far in 2012 is 36, which was just 17 homes in the same period last year.

In this report, it has also been stated that in this state foreclosure default notices has been “more than doubled year over year, rising to 1,724 homes from 699 in May 2011. Petitions have surpassed the 1,000 mark every month since July.”

However, there was only one completed foreclosure case this May, while there were 3 in the same month last year. This year so far, there have been 11 completed foreclosures in this region like last year. According to this report by The Warren Group, all across the state foreclosure activities “increased more than 32 percent to 755 in May [2012] from 571 in May 2011”.

Moreover, in a newsroom conference, the editorial director at The Warren Group, Cory S. Hopkins said, “Foreclosures are expected to rise throughout this year. We’re seeing banks acting more aggressively in resuming foreclosures that were put on hold in 2011. In order to return to a healthier market, we need these distressed properties to get cleared from banks’ books. The increased activity also leads to opportunity for buyers.”

Here is a comparative study between the year-to-date foreclosure rates of 2011 and 2012 in different towns of this state.

• In Avon, there was one foreclosure petition and 3 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 6 and 5 respectively this year.
• In Brockton, there were 265 foreclosure petitions and 141 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 143 and 100 respectively this year.
• In Canton, there were 6 foreclosure petitions in 2011 which rose to 10, and from 5 completed foreclosures in 2011, the number reduced to 4 this year.
• In Dedham, there were 15 foreclosure petitions and 8 completed foreclosures in 2011 which increased to 27 and 9 respectively this year.
• In Easton, there were 10 foreclosure petitions and 4 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 43 and 5 respectively this year.
• In Foxborough, there were 7 foreclosure petitions and 4 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 14 and 29 respectively this year.
• In Mansfield, there were 9 foreclosure petitions in 2011 which moved up to 25 this year and in both the years, the total number of completed foreclosures remain fixed at 4.
• In Norton, there were 15 foreclosure petitions in 2011 which moved up to 31 and from a dozen completed foreclosures in 2011, the number reduced to only one this year.
• In Norwood, there were 17 foreclosure petitions in 2011 which moved up to 23 this year and in both the years, the total number of completed foreclosures remain fixed at 8.
• In Randolph, there were 46 foreclosure petitions and 24 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 70 and 30 respectively this year.
• In Sharon, there was only one foreclosure petition and 5 completed foreclosures in 2011 which spiked to 21 and 10 respectively this year.
• In Walpole, there were 10 foreclosure petitions and 3 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 17 and 6 respectively this year.
• In Westwood, there were 4 foreclosure petitions and no completed foreclosure in 2011 which increased to 8 and 2 respectively this year.
• In Wrentham, there were 8 foreclosure petitions and 4 completed foreclosures in 2011 which moved up to 15 and 7 respectively this year.

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In comparison to last year, very few properties were foreclosed by lenders in Bexar County till date this year. This is a positive sign for the foreclosure status of this county although there is another wave of foreclosures awaiting auction in May.

According to a foreclosure listing group in San Antonio, RexReport.com, between January and May 2012, the total number of foreclosure postings are expected to move down by 12.4% compared to the number in the same period last year.

Till date, there are 5,824 housing units in this county which are on the list of foreclosure auctions for May. But according to the database of this agency, there were only 1,168 properties listed for the May 2011 auction, so this year the number has increased by 14.7%.

The reason behind this dual database is that when the local economy is trying to improve, it is getting affected by outside forces. After the 49-state settlement, the rate of foreclosure activity has not yet returned to its usual pace, so the number is still quite low.

According to a research economist at the Real Estate Center of Texas A&M University, James Gaines, by the end of this summer, the total number of foreclosures are likely to increase because lenders will start processing their suspended foreclosure cases along with new ones at their usual speed. He added, “We’ve been expecting a pickup in the rates and foreclosures to start hitting at any time because of the settlement with the attorney generals.”

He also stated that the wave in May could be a part of this and “Texas and most of the Texas markets won’t feel that impact as much. We just haven’t had that foreclosure problem as much as other places.”

The rate of unemployment is decreasing in San Antonio which has also helped to decrease the total number of foreclosure postings. Although the total number of new foreclosures being listed is quite low; there are many foreclosure cases pending from 2004-2007. So Gaines said, “That was the peak period where you had a lot of liar loans, the no-documentation loans. We still haven’t worked through all of those problem loans. It’s true nationally. It’s true statewide.”

According to him, 2011 was a transition period when the impact of the bad loans was decreasing but those bad loans may now increase the rate of foreclosures.

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Land Contract Sales Online is an agency which provides every resource needed to sell or buy any existing property through a Land Contract. Willing homeowners who are interested in selling their properties can begin a membership with this agency and then provide four photographs of their homes along with the details of their properties, which includes the value of the property, down payment, size and monthly installment options.

After all these formalities, homeowners receive an individual private mailbox to communicate and negotiate with buyers directly.

Land Contract Sales Online has said that if any homeowner wants to sell his or her property through a Land Contract, then the homeowner will be able to avoid the risk of foreclosure and will receive a monthly income from this company throughout the contract period.

CEO of this Land Contract, Jeffrey Meade stated, “By setting the down payment and monthly payments appropriately, a delinquent seller can bring his loan current and may have additional monthly income. Loan modification programs take to long and help to few. I believe the best option to save a home from foreclosure while preserving a credit rating and providing short-term monthly income is sale via Land Contract.”

He also added, “According to the Business Insider and Mortgage Daily News, existing home sales fell another 2.6% in March 2012 while new home sales fell 7%. Despite low mortgage rates, sale by conventional means is not possible for many. Sale via Land Contract offers the opportunity for both sellers and buyers to successfully complete transactions in these difficult times.”

Moreover, willing buyers can access this website for free to find the properties they would like to buy. Like sellers, the buyers also receive individual private mailboxes after selecting the home they would like to buy.

This mailbox helps the buyer to get in touch with the property owner for further correspondence. After negotiation with the seller, the buyer contacts this agency to execute the sale. The homeowner waits until the final payment is made and after that, the homeowner hands over the entire property along with the title to the new owner.

Memberships are available at affordable prices. For sellers, it is $49.99, which is valid until the registered property is sold, and for buyers it is $9.99, which is valid for one year. Moreover, there are a number of housing attorneys, inspectors, appraisers and home remodelers with Land Contract Sales Online to help members avoid foreclosure and to materialize the American dream.

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Based in San Diego, real estate data firm DataQuick keeps track of the foreclosed properties all across the nation. According to their recent report published last week, the rate of foreclosure is gradually moving down in Los Angeles County. During the first ninety days of this year, the rate of foreclosure in this county declined by 18% in comparison to the same period in 2011.

Default notices are issued to homeowners to initiate the process of foreclosure, and in these three months, banks and lenders issued 11,443 foreclosure notices of default to the residents of this county. Last year during the same period, this number stood at 13,957 notices, so it is evident that there is a significant drop on a year-over-year basis.

A representative for this agency, Andrew LePage was unable to give any specific information about Baldwin Park but the official website of another real estate data firm, RealtyTrac shows that there are 600-plus foreclosed properties in this region.

During the period of January to March 2012, lenders issued 3,733 foreclosure notices of default to homeowners residing in Orange County. This number is 19.8% lower than the numbers seen in the same period in 2011.Last year, the total number of notices of default issued during these months was 4,652.

According to the report by DataQuick, lenders sent nearly 56,258 default notices to homeowners residing all across the state during the first three months of 2012. In comparison to the last quarter of 2011, this number is nearly 8.5% lower. During the period of October to December 2011, there were 61,517 default notices issued. During the first three months of 2011, there were 68, 239 notices of default issued which was 17.6% higher than the same period this year.

President at DataQuick, John Walsh said, “Prices peaked five years ago and then started to fall off a cliff. Foreclosure activity goes up when property values decline, and the worst of that decline was happening three years ago. Right now, property values in many areas appear flat.”

The total number of notices of default that were sent to homeowners in this state during the first three months this year is the lowest quarterly number so far.

DataQuick said that issuing a default notice does not necessarily imply that the property will move to foreclosure. After receiving default notices, many homeowners try to avoid foreclosure by paying their pending installments to be current on their payments, refinance or sometimes end up selling the property.

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After a survey all across the US, a report has been released last week by Foreclosure-Response.org which reveals that among all the worst affected areas of foreclosure in US, Palm Coast occupies third position for the highest rate of foreclosure postings. Economic gravity is one of the reasons behind this rank because when the real estate market of this country was at its boom, this region was at the top position in growth.

In the words of a real estate agent associated with Palm Coast based Exclusive Properties, Greg Kong, “It’s one of those things, what goes up must come down, and we are coming down from many years of activity and being number one in the country as far as new home sales.”

According to this latest report, the foreclosure rate in Palm Coast is 16.6% whereas Florida areas are spread all over this list with high foreclosure rates. Palm Coast is immediately followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater which has a foreclosure rate of 15.9%.

According to him, this situation will sustain for some months and there is no sign of any improvement very soon. He added, “I think that this year that trend is going to continue, that homes are going to continue to be foreclosed at an alarming rate.” As lenders are proceeding with foreclosures very fast to clear their backlog, this is creating a wide scope for willing buyers who are looking for good deals.

He stated, “There’s more and more sales every day. It’s an incredible opportunity for investors and those homebuyers that are looking to take advantage of the market prices right now.” Moreover, there is high chance for a rise in the property values and so he added, “Sure, that will happen. But that will happen once we get through this glut of foreclosures and the short sales that are on the market currently.”

A balanced economy market is emerging slowly as there is both demand and supply in the real estate market. Lenders have given a boost to their speed of foreclosure processing, and this is creating supply as well as demand in the market.

So Kong stated, “Once we get through the exorbitant supply you will start having buyers willing to pay more because there is not much inventory on the market. And hopefully you’ll have banks starting to lend. The banks are lending but obviously banks have started to tighten their lending criteria.”

But according to Barbara Revels, an executive at Flagler County Commission and also the proprietor of Flagler Beach based Coquina Real Estate and Construction – these foreclosure rates may be misleading also because many housing investors are buying foreclosures to use them as rentals till the housing market improves.

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Compared to the rate of foreclosure filings in 2011, the rate this April was lagging behind in New Hampshire. But this April was also the third consecutive month which showed an increase in the rate of foreclosure filings. New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority publishes this data every month and when they published the data of April 2012, they described this month as “the classic economist’s dilemma.”

In April, there were 384 foreclosure filings in this region, which is the fifth highest figure recorded since January 2008. Last year in the same month, there were 404 foreclosure filings, which mean compared to last year this year there was a 5% decrease in foreclosure filings. Moreover, compared to the last year’s cumulative figures, there was also a 5% annual decrease this year.

The year-to-date figures for foreclosure deeds this year is 1,347 whereas last year the figure was 1,417. So, there has been a significant decrease in foreclosure deeds in New Hampshire this year. According to this authority, although this successive monthly increase is a negative for the state, the year-over-year drop reveals that this state is gradually recovering from its foreclosure crisis.

According to NHHFA, “With slow and stable improvement in the economy as well as the housing market, it is likely that the pace of improvement in foreclosures will also be slow. During that time period, the negative influence of foreclosed and distressed property on the housing market will continue.”

In March 2012, there were 627 foreclosed properties, but in the following month the number fell to 490 homes with a 22% decrease. Compared to last year, there was a 9% decrease in foreclosed properties in April this year. This reveals that the total number of delinquent homes in this state is also decreasing.

According to the latest reports by the Mortgage Bankers Association’s National Delinquency Survey, there was a drop in the delinquency rate during the first three months of this year in the county, which includes New Hampshire and New England.

On a quarterly basis, this is the 7th consecutive time when New Hampshire has experienced a drop in its delinquency rate. The delinquency rate this quarter in the US was 6.9%, whereas in New England, the rate was 6.8%. In New Hampshire, the rate was 6.3% which was much lower than the rate seen in the last quarter of 2009, when the rate was 9% which is the highest rate seen in this state till date.

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California is one of hardest foreclosure affected areas in the country and a number of attempts have been made to ease the foreclosure woes of this region. However, these efforts are facing issues at the state Capitol, and are still far from implementation.

During this period the process of passing two important foreclosure-prevention bills has stalled, which would have helped a lot of people prevent foreclosure. After a multi-state foreclosure settlement in February, California received a share of $25 billion as compensation and Governor Jerry Brown is trying to use a part of this share to bridge gaps in the budget of this state.

For over a decade, the foreclosure crisis has been a constant problem for California homeowners and the state’s economy. Realty experts are trying hard to reduce the impact of the foreclosure crisis here to boost the housing market once more. But it is an uphill task for them because the way out is still uncertain. Along with advocacy groups, State Attorney General Kamala D. Harris has called for strict foreclosure prevention programs so homeowners can prevent the foreclosure of their properties.

According to the Director of Common Cause (a government watchdog agency) Derek Cressman, these foreclosure-prevention bills are lingering because of the political struggle between powerful lenders and a weak public. He said, “The underlying reality is that the banks and the mortgage brokers have the wherewithal to make significant campaign contributions. That puts the thumb on the scale.”

A committee of six members was formed to rescue these two bills with three members hailing from the Assembly and three from the Senate. These members have started their work by collecting testimonials from a number of witnesses, which also includes Kamala Harris.

She wants implementation of new laws for the foreclosure reforms that have been secured from the five largest US banks during the recent 49-state settlement. California could receive a high amount of $18 billion from this settlement so lenders can provide financial aid to the distressed homeowners of this state.

Harris said, “This bill of rights is simply about common sense reform and about bringing transparency for an otherwise confusing and daunting system.”

According to current statistics, the number of delinquent California homeowners is gradually decreasing, and although the foreclosure rate here is still quite high, it is the lowest rate recorded since 2008. On the basis of data provided by the Mortgage Bankers Association, there are about 354,000 delinquent homeowners present in this state.

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Throughout the United States, the foreclosure issue has devastated the economy of the country and different programs have been adopted to ease the situation over the last year. Last week, the Federal Reserve published a new set of plans which banks in the country have to follow to solve problems related to foreclosure processing and mortgage servicing.

These plans have been issued for HSBC Financial Corp, Citigroup Inc. (C), Ally Financial and its other independent consultants. HSBC Financial Corp is a sister company of HSBC Holdings PLC. Along with these new plans, the Federal Reserve also issued an agreement between Fed and Ally for foreclosure review. This contract was necessary to put an end to the bankruptcy issues of this lender.

Around a year and a half back, the Office of the Comptroller and the Federal Reserve asked the top fourteen mortgage servicing agencies of the country to appoint consultants who would help them evaluate foreclosures.

According to this strategy, many homeowners who suffered from serious financial injuries were supposed to receive financial aid after the appointed consultants of the respective lenders reviewed their foreclosure cases. This review process was taken as an important initiative to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Unfortunately, this initiative was plagued with scandals, and the situation became worse. Banks started shutting down a huge number of foreclosure cases without reviewing them and falsely declared that every case had been reviewed. The bank representatives who signed these documents used robo-signers and the robo-signing scandal burst into the open by the end of 2010.

After marathon sessions were held to put an end to this scandal, in February 2012 state and federal officials sat down for a 49-state settlement with the five largest banks of the country – Ally Financial, Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Citigroup Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC).

Along with the fourteen banks that had been enlisted in 2011, the Federal Reserve also ordered Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) to carry out an evaluation of the foreclosure documents which were processed and sold to another lender, Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN). These two lenders will also receive this new set of plans.

Homeowners will get another opportunity to apply for a review and these applications (for review) will be accepted till 31st July 2012.

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Last week, the Discovery Bay based foreclosure tracking agency, ForeclosureRadar released a database report which stated that although the rate of foreclosure activity in Bay Area has declined in June, foreclosure filings have increased in some regions.

Compared to the preceding month, the rate of repossession of foreclosed properties by lenders dropped significantly in different counties of this region last month. In Alameda County, there was a drop of 23.4% followed by 13.4% in Santa Clara County, 12.5% in San Mateo County, 10.4% in California and 10.3% in Contra Costa County.

On the other hand, some areas of this state have experienced a rise in foreclosure filings. In Santa Clara County, the delinquency rate increased by 8.6%, followed by Alameda County with 7.4%, and Contra Costa County with 3.9%. However, the statewide rate moved down by 0.9%, and in San Mateo County, the decline was 8.3%.

The founder and Chief Executive Officer of this agency, Sean O’Toole stated, “The macro trend, which began in September 2008, is for lower and lower foreclosure activity.”

So, when the rate of foreclosure filings is going up, a decrease in the overall foreclosure activity in this region does not indicate any sign of a healthy real estate market. There are many homeowners in this region who are unable to sell their mortgaged properties because they will be unable to clear their debts even after selling their properties.

He also added, “With 25 percent of homeowners in houses that are underwater on the mortgage and hundreds of thousands of Californians sitting in their house and not making a payment, it’s hard to call that a healthy market.”

In the previous year, both foreclosure deeds and default notices were very low in this region with the maximum drop in default notices seen in San Mateo County which showed a 22.1% decline. The highest decline in foreclosures was experienced by Santa Clara County which showed a 73.9% decline. This year, the foreclosure inventory has shrunk further because lenders are putting very few foreclosures up for sale.

David Walsh who is a real estate agent of San Jose based housing brokerage, Alain Pinel stated, “Our available inventory is dramatically down in Santa Clara County. This is the lowest available inventory in 10 years.” He also added that compared to previous year, this year, the inventory shriveled down by 59% with only 1,384 existing foreclosures.

Photo by Danilo Rizzuti.

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The only premier marina on the picturesque Topsail Island has been foreclosed by its lender Wells Fargo, and the property will be seized and closed in June. This Beach House Marina on North Carolina was one of most important business centers in Surf City, which had been serving a number of businesses and families for over a decade.

After the repossession of this property by Wells Fargo, businesses and families were evicted and were asked to settle down somewhere else. However, the onsite dry slips are still away from foreclosure.

Owing to foreclosure and other economic issues, the tourism market was falling in this area which was affecting the businesses on this island. The foreclosure of this marina has added a blow to this already devastated area.

This marina had been in operation from 2001, covering six acres of land at New River Drive and Roland Avenue. In 2007, the value of this property was estimated as $2.8 million. The Pender County Tax Office said that since 2007, the entire property had been divided into small sectors. In a recent auction, the lender bought the business zone of this property at a cost of $2.6 million.

This premier waterway hotspot was constructed through a joint venture between the developer, Mark Yow and a limited liability firm. After foreclosure, Yow did not comment on the issue, but two years ago, he stated that the expansion of this marina had slowed down due to economic conditions.

A year ago in February, Beach House Marina, Yow’s Motel Investment and Surf City Investments joined together to a single unit with an entire liability of $4 million to Wells Fargo. On the basis of the records filed in Wilmington based US Bankruptcy Court, among this debt, 50% of the debt was owed by Mark Yow and the remaining 50% was owned by the other two partners.

Later, they became delinquent borrowers after failing to repay the loan. Prior to the announcement of shutting down this marina, Mayor of Surf City, Zander Guy talked to the boat owners here.   Guy said, “I think it’s a shame. The reality is that payments were not made and the marina was foreclosed.”

He said that this place was not only the biggest attraction point of this island but was also an important source of income for many families. Besides all these factors, this marina has been the only destination on this island where one could refill their boat’s fuel tanks. He added, “I’m concerned that it’s taking tourism revenue out of Surf City.”

Photo by MoneyBlogNewz.

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Las Vegas is among the hardest hit by foreclosure in the country. Since 2008, Las Vegas is facing a large number of foreclosures and this region has been totally devastated by the foreclosure crisis.

According to a realty agent from Keller Williams Realty, David Brownell, since the beginning of the foreclosure crisis in this region, May 2012 has been the first month that the total number of short sales in this region exceeded the number of foreclosures.

Most of the lenders in this region are now opting for short sales instead of the long process of foreclosing delinquent mortgage properties, which is also saving them the expenses of a foreclosure.

In their database, the total number of short sales and foreclosures this May were 1,289 and 1,275 respectively. Although there is a slight difference, this gap is significant for the economic recovery of this region. While 50% of home sales were foreclosures in the last couple of years, the rate of short sales fluctuated between 20-25% then, which has now moved up to 32%.

This sudden change in the way of handling delinquent mortgages has been noticed after the robo-signing law became effective in October 2011. Brownell hopes that this trend of handling foreclosures will continue for a long time in the near future.

According to him, “The momentum for short sales has been on the increase for many months now, even before AB284. Pressures from all levels of government have strongly encouraged banks to look for solutions other than foreclosure for the disposition of these properties, and with that pressure, banks have beefed up their short sale and loss mitigation department staffs.

So both the banks’ quest for efficiency with short sales as well as AB284 have contributed to the increase in short sale successes at this time.”

Previously, the housing market was flooded with real estate occupied and bank occupied properties but after the issuance of this law, the rate of short sales has increased significantly. Compared to May 2011 when there were 3,207 properties in the listings, the total number of real estate occupied (REO) properties moved down by 25% and foreclosure listings also dropped by 85% to only 494.

Moreover, while pending sales of REO properties have moved down by 48%, the rate of short sales has moved up by 44%.

Vice President at the department of home and finance of Phoenix based Wells Fargo, Joel Sarmiento stated, “I hate to say it, but part of that is AB284. Are there more foreclosures to come? It is unfortunate that my answer is yes, there are more to come.”

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California is one of the hardest hit areas of foreclosure in the United States. Recently, Florida real estate experts have started showing their concern regarding the bulk selling plan of foreclosures. This bulk sale plan is the California counterpart of the FHFA agreement which the government officials have decided to execute, and it is a huge matter of concern for the future of many tenants in Florida.

This bulk selling program has been approved by the Federal Housing Finance Administration and many realtors from Florida Realtors and the California Association of Realtors are protesting against the execution of this new program.

These realty agents contacted representatives of the National Association of Realtors along with Florida foreclosure records. In July 2012, 775 properties in Florida, some of which were repossessed by banks and some sold to some real estate agencies, had been included in this program. Among these 775 properties, 167 were in South West Florida, 190 were in North West and Central Florida and the remaining 418 were in South East Florida.

During their meeting last Thursday with the National Association of Realtors, they requested a detailed analysis report how this new program of bulk selling will help the local real estate market of the state. Detailed information about the objection from Florida Realtors was unavailable but this group is working along with the California Association of Realtors to stop this bulk sale program.

Recently, the California group complained about five hundred foreclosed properties in Inland Empire and Los Angeles areas, all of which were owned by Fannie Mae. All these homes were sold to some institutional investors, whose identities are still unknown. There is close collaboration between Fannie Mae and the Federal Housing Finance Administration.

President of the California group, LeFrancis Arnold stated, “We are disappointed that Fannie Mae and the FHFA fail to understand that this initiative will harm the communities in which it will be implemented and are going forward with this ill-conceived plan. Moreover, not only are Fannie Mae and FHFA moving forward with the plan, they are refusing to disclose any details, such as property locations, final property count, sales price, or names of winning bidders.”

Earlier this year, the National Association of Realtors put up the issue of foreclosure sales to real estate investors with the Federal Reserve Board. Then the national board stated that the bulk selling program was good for small geographic regions where there is a need of an alternative to individual investors.

Photo by Renjith Krishnan.

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In the last five years of the foreclosure crisis, nearly 167,398 homeowners in Florida have lost their properties to foreclosure. Now, each of these homeowners is likely to receive two thousand dollars as reimbursement for the foreclosure injuries that they suffered. This is actually a division of the 49-state settlement, which is considered one of the major consumer financial protection settlements in this nation.

According to a Deerfield Beach based realty specialist, Jack McCabe, the checks will be dispatched in the beginning of next year. One third of the checks will be delivered to foreclosure-injured homeowners in Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

Homeowners are requested to apply for this compensation on a prescribed format latest by January 18, 2013. Although the estimated amount for each individual has been decided, the amount may vary depending on the number of applications received.

According to the spokesperson at the Office of the Florida Attorney General, John Lucas, Rust Consulting is an organization in Minneapolis which has already “sent out notification postcards to eligible borrowers nationwide.” In a statement through e-mail, Lucas stated, “A low percentage of those postcards were returned, and Rust is conducting further research to locate those borrowers.”

A borrower can call the toll-free number 866-430-8358 to find out whether they are eligible to get the compensation or not. The total amount allotted for all the US homeowners who have suffered foreclosure woes is nearly $3.15 billion with $334 million allotted for Florida alone.

Borrowers who can participate in this financial assistance program includes homeowners who lost their properties to foreclosure in the last four years, and those people whose mortgages were processed by Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Ally/GMAC and Citi.

On the basis of a report released by the National Mortgage Settlement Administrator, after the 49-state settlement, Florida got $1.7 billion as compensation in August which will help nearly twenty-three thousand homeowners in this state, and this reimbursement includes principal reduction, suspension of payments of mortgage installments for some time, and loan modification. In total, Florida will receive a reimbursement of $8 billion.

According to a foreclosure attorney in Weston, Roy Oppenheim, the estimated amount of two thousand dollars for each homeowner is not enough to compensate them for the foreclosure injuries that they suffered when they lost their houses due to fraudulent foreclosure processing.

He added, “They should have been given more money. Those were criminal acts.” However, as the settlement was reached on a general basis, the compensation is evenly distributed despite what each of the borrowers has gone through.

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A new foreclosure program is likely to come up to help distressed and struggling borrowers of Georgia save their homes and properties from foreclosure. The National Mortgage Settlement, which took place in February this year, sanctioned a huge amount as a relief fund for distressed homeowners in the US. This new foreclosure program is the second initiative in the 49-state foreclosure settlement where $710 million will be available to Georgians who are struggling with foreclosures.

However according to analysts, this initiative seems good but getting relief will not be easy for homeowners. Major banks in the country are taking up this initiative as their second attempt to subdue the intensity of their erroneous foreclosure processing which has hurt the nation severely.

However an attorney at the Atlanta Legal Aid Society, John Bartholomew is hopeful about this new program and he has assured everyone that this program will help struggling borrowers in the state to fight back from foreclosure. He is hopeful that this program will also help those families who are now residing in distressed properties.

Bartholomew stated, “This one, we hope, has a little more teeth to it because it’s being backed and was negotiated by the attorney generals of around 49 states. But, we’ll have to see.”

A seventy year old lady, Annettee Willingham is now working with Legal Aid. After the sudden death of her husband, she started facing a queue of difficulties which initiated the issuance of a foreclosure notice for her home. This old lady raises her two great-grandchildren and the foreclosure of her home will mean that the entire family with two kids will become homeless. So she rushed to her lending bank for a loan modification and she is still trying, but according to her, the bank does not keep track of her loan and mortgage documents.  She is quite hopeful about this new foreclosure program which can help her save her home.

Willingham said, “I called my daughter and started crying. Because I didn’t know what to do.” Bartholomew added, “They have to provide a single person, a single point of contact, to homeowners that will talk to them about their case, that will shepherd them through the application process.”

With assistance from Legal Aid, although she has saved her home twice and is now more hopeful of saving her home permanently from foreclosure due to this new program, there are many homeowners who have not yet received any foreclosure aid and some of their properties have been sold through foreclosure sales.

Photo by Photostock.

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Every week on Thursday, a foreclosure auction takes place at the Boone County Justice Center. A week ago, Master Commissioner of Boon County, Larry Dillon announced that 23 foreclosed properties had been scheduled for the auction, but five of them were cancelled. So, only 18 foreclosures were put up for foreclosure sale.

After the foreclosure auction ended, Dillon stated that they generally used to sell a maximum of a dozen foreclosures in the auction, and the number had been spinning in this range for several months. But now this number has increased and selling 18 foreclosures at a time in this auction is a rare event.

According to him, although the total number of foreclosures sold in the auction held on October 11 has increased, the number is still much lower than estimated. He added, “Particularly when we have this many sales, we normally have a good deal more people. One individual property can maybe generate a whole lot of interest.”

Recently, RealtyTrac released a report stating the overall drop in foreclosure activity this September which marks the lowest national foreclosure figures seen since 2007.

In contrast to this report, the trend in Boone County is just the reverse. Compared to 2011 foreclosure statistics, this year, the county experienced a significant rise in foreclosure numbers. This year, as of date, there were 558 foreclosures in this county compared to only 360 last year in the same period of ten months.

So Dillon said, “We were down in ’11. That’s the first year since I’ve been master commissioner that our numbers declined.” He also added that the anticipated foreclosure figure is 693 this year compared to last year’s 422.

According to him, many foreclosure sales were supposed to be held in 2011 but due to the lack of proper documentation by the lenders, sales were delayed which increased the foreclosure numbers in 2012. In this context he said, “So in other words, the pipeline sort of stopped up during ’11 and now it’s broken loose again and we’re getting the excess this year.”

Besides the high rate of unemployment in this county, there are a number of reasons which are increasing the foreclosure numbers. He added, “Every one of these cases has its own story.

There may be divorce, death, illness, whatever reason I see people file answers here after they’ve been served their paper … Every case sort of has its own set of facts and reasons why it’s here. I think in many cases, people just took on more debt than they could realistically expect to pay. As I see it, that’s the main reason.”

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