Foreclosed Homes in Hawaii Mostly Bank Owned
While foreclosed homes in other states are oftentimes concentrated in certain neighborhoods, Hawaii foreclosures are spread out. Almost always also, they are owned by out-of-state banks.
According to studies of deeds undertaken by Title Guaranty at the Bureau of Conveyanves in Hawaii, at least 334 foreclosed homes and condos in Hawaii are bank owned, with most of the foreclosure properties on Oahu and on the Big Island.
Based on Title Guaranty’s data, the bank with the most number of foreclosure properties in Hawaii is a German bank, the Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., which holds the titles of 70 foreclosed homes located mostly on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island.
The U.S. Bank has the second highest number of foreclosed homes, with 52 foreclosed properties. The third is the Bank of New York, which owns 49 foreclosed houses.
David Pietsch, president of Title Guaranty, commissioned the study to determine the number of bank owned foreclosed homes across the state. He said he expects more properties to be added to foreclosure inventories in the next several months.
According to California-based foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac, there were 537 foreclosure filings in Hawaii in February, including 102 notices of default and 364 public auction notices.
In February 2008, there were only 4 bank owned foreclosed homes. The number increased to 31 units in January 2009 and then to 71 units in February.
Based on PBN research, Countrywide Home Loans, bought by Bank of America in 2008, provided over $1 billion in home loans to borrowers in Hawaii in the first 6 months of 2008. On its list of bank owned foreclosed properties, it listed 66 properties in Hawaii, but only 8 foreclosed homes appeared on records at the Conveyance Bureau.
John Gallagher, a spokesperson for Deutsche Bank’s office in New York, said the bank holds mortgage-backed securities representing mortgage loans that were packaged and offered to investors. He said the name of Deutsche Bank appears on foreclosure filings although mortgage servicing firms, like Countrywide and IndyMac, were the ones that marketed the properties.
Additionally, Georgia Roberson, head of bank owned foreclosed homes at Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, said there are plenty of bank foreclosed properties in Hawaii. She said she has sold 13 bank owned foreclosed homes in the first quarter and is expecting to sell another 17 properties in a couple of weeks. She holds a listing of 22 properties and expects to get another listing of 47 foreclosed homes in the coming weeks.
Related Posts:
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- Underwater Mortgages Driving Rise in Bank Repo Homes
- Soaring Number of Foreclosed Properties in Hawaii
- Low Foreclosure Listing Prices Down Appraisals, Homebuilders
- Citigroup Aims to Rework Thousands of Mortgages and Foreclosures
