spc

How Sheriffs Deputies Carry Out Foreclosure Home Evictions

May 26, 2009

In Los Angeles County nowadays, sheriff’s deputies carry out about 15 to 25 foreclosure home evictions a day or about 74 to 100 evictions per week.

In the first three months this year, the number of default filings in Los Angeles County increased by 38 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

County sheriff’s deputies Robert Cohen and Anthony Munoz have been checking rooms of foreclosed properties after a police officer was attacked by a dog during an eviction and after a man was seen setting up a bomb outside his foreclosure home.

Munoz and Cohen said they are prepared to physically force out people from foreclosed properties, since it is their duty to carry out evictions, but it is easier for them if the families have left. They said that the sight of children walking out of homes, mothers crying and fathers carrying loads of personal belongings is difficult to take in.

They said however that most foreclosed houses have been abandoned before they arrive. What they are ensuring is the safety of bank representatives that are inspecting the foreclosed properties. They are meeting more house cleaners, locksmiths and bank representatives more than families leaving. They also observed that retired police officers and unemployed actors have been working temporarily for the banks as foreclosure home managers.

The deputies also discovered that more and more renters are being evicted because their landlords have been unable to pay their monthly mortgage payments. In Los Angeles, foreclosure home renters have received help after the city ordered banks to give time to renters to relocate and to provide renters with relocation fees.

But in areas outside the city, renters have no protection against evictions. Many of them have lost monthly payments and deposits after landlords no longer have the money to return their payments.

Munoz and Cohen said they try their best to help whenever they can. When they found a sick elderly woman in a foreclosure home, they called Adult Protective Services unit of the county to help her. When they arrived in a foreclosed duplex, they talked with the lender’s lawyer to give leeways to both families in the duplex to be fair.

Even Ryan Quintana, an agent for a firm that partnered with banks in foreclosure home management, said he is distressed as he carries out his job of talking with former owners of foreclosed homes. In the first foreclosure home that he visited, he patiently explained to the residents how the cash for keys scheme can work out for them.

Brokers Lost Investments to Foreclosed House for Sale Lists

May 25, 2009

The sad stories of two San Diego realtors and investors illustrate the harsh reality of losing from foreclosed house for sale lists despite years of training and experiences in the real estate sector.

Both 62-year-old John Woodbury and 45-year-old Lenska Bracknell had years of experiences in the real estate business, which could have trained them in detecting trends and exercising caution with their investments. Even so, they failed.

This year Woodbury has lost all his six homes to foreclosed house for sale listings. Bracknell meanwhile has hired a company to negotiate with her lender for the short selling of her three properties in Idaho to prevent them from being added to foreclosed house for sale listings and to preserve her credit record.

Woodbury related that he bought six properties in various locations – Los Angeles, Hemet and Escondido in California and in South Carolina, Texas and Montana. He claimed that all the homes were earning rental income in 2006.

Woodbury said his problems began when the rental income from his Los Angeles home fell to $1,600. He and his wife knew they had to sell the home because the monthly mortgage payment was $3,200 and it was wiping out their savings.

They talked with their lender, First Horizon Bank, when they found a buyer willing to advance a bigger down payment, but the deal failed when the bank refused to give Woodbury some leeway in late fees and penalties so that he can close the gap between the mortgage balance and the selling price.

Woodbury said that he tried loan modifications for all six of the houses, but not one was successful because the banks were uncooperative and unhelpful. He decries the lack of concern by banks for individual citizens while receiving bailout funds from taxpayer money.

He admits though that part of the reasons why all his houses went into foreclosed house for sale lists was his credit score which declined drastically.

Bracknell’s case is a bit better because she was able to find an investment company specializing in short sales. The company is currently negotiating with her bank.

Bracknell said she did not do anything wrong, blaming the economic downturn as the cause of her losses. She explained that she made 20-percent down payments, submitted all lending requirements and treated her renters well.

Despite her losses, Bracknell said that she still loves real estate. What happened will no doubt make her smarter to avoid losing her investments to foreclosed house for sale inventories in the future.

Investors Buying from San Diego Foreclosed Homes for Auction

May 22, 2009

Real estate investors have been returning to the San Diego and Riverside region, among the counties with the highest number of foreclosed homes for auction, as they compete to buy distressed properties from banks and other sellers, according to realtors in the region and based on home sales data.

Housing Funds to Fight Effects of Foreclosed for Sale Homes

May 21, 2009

Public housing agencies in the nation’s largest cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore and Chicago are concerned that they will not receive allocations from the $1 billion funding that Congress has been seeking to give to housing authorities to stimulate housing sector activities and to fight the devastating effects of foreclosed for sale properties on communities.

Increase in Bank Foreclosure Buying in New Hampshire

May 20, 2009

The number of bank foreclosure properties in New Hampshire is a major contributor in the decline of home prices in the state. And real estate experts hope that the rising number of buyers taking advantage of low-priced properties is a sign that the housing market is starting to stabilize.

Foreclosure Houses Affect Not Just People but Pets Too

May 20, 2009

The devastating effects of foreclosure houses has not just stopped on homeowners but spread to their pets. Most homeowners who succumbed to foreclosures and abandoned their properties leave their pets behind.

Bank Foreclosed Homes Rescue Scam Charge Against Several Firms

May 19, 2009

Harris County, Texas District Judge Patricia J. Kerrigan has frozen the assets of several Houston firms charged with operating bank forclosed homes rescue scams.

Denver Targets Unsold Foreclosed Homes for Auction

May 19, 2009

New programs to help foreclosure-battered areas in the city of Denver have been launched by the city’s Office of Economic Development. Owners of housing units in danger of foreclosed homes for auction can receive help from the program.

Philadelphia Region: Pace of Foreclosed Houses Slows Down

May 18, 2009

Unlike other housing markets, the pace of foreclosed houses in the Philadelphia region, which consists of 13 counties, has slowed down in April, based on RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data.

Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Atlanta: Median Price Falling

May 15, 2009

As inventories of foreclosed homes for sale increase, the median home price for a previously-owned single-family house in metropolitan Atlanta in the first quarter has declined by 25 percent compared to the median last year, according to a report from the National Association of Realtors.

corner