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Archive for March, 2008

Luxury Florida Homes in the Auction Blocks

Friday, March 28th, 2008

In the wake of the current housing crisis, owners with mortgage troubles are not the only ones suffering from the declining home prices and sluggish home sales. Even builders of luxury homes are now worried that they would not be able to sell these properties which could result to major investment losses. As a last resort, these builders have decided to auction off their properties at Sotheby’s.

Mega mansions with listings prices ranging from $1.5M to $15M are now being offered at auction blocks to attract more buyers. They are located in various Florida hot spots such as Fort Lauderdale, Hutchinson Island, Key Largo and Delray Beach. Some of the luxury homes have been in the market for as long as 8 years and their owners are already spending much on holding costs.

With the nation still stumbling through the real estate market crisis, investors with big bucks who are looking to enjoy the greatest deals should check out these properties. Market conditions are clearly favoring buyers over sellers and this should be enough reason to dive in and invest.

On the other hand, buyers with a tight budget can still own hot properties by considering foreclosure homes. In the past couple of years, millions of homes have already entered some stage of foreclosure and have decidedly influenced home market values. Aside from being sold at a fraction of their present market values, there are literally thousands of foreclosure homes to choose from.

The key, of course, is where to look. Although you could participate in foreclosure auctions, you will enjoy a larger inventory of repossessed houses with foreclosure listings. Reliable listings are available from brokers such as MostlyForeclosures.com. Head on over to their site and check the hot leads!

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Posted in Florida | No Comments »

Sharp Drop in Mortgage Rate This Week

Tuesday, March 25th, 2008

This week, Freddie Mac reported a sharp drop in long term mortgage rates that coincided with inflation reports, short-term interest rate cuts and poor retail sales.

Mortgage rates dropped from the previous week’s 6.13 percent to this week’s 5.87 percent. This drop is applicable to 30-year fixed rate mortgages. On the other hand, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage experienced a drop from 5.6 percent to 5.27 percent. The said decline was believed to be the result of various efforts made to improve the market’s liquidity.

These efforts included the decision of the Federal government to cut interest rate on short-term loans. Aside from this, the report from the Consumer Price Index showed weaker increases in prices compared to consensus expectations. In fact, the month of February revealed unchanged energy and food costs.

On the other hand, retail sales dropped by about 0.6 percent last month which is a far cry from the expected 0.2 increase. This could indicate that the national economy is actually weaker than most experts believe.

For buyers and investors, a low mortgage rate is actually encouraging. And with the many foreclosure properties to choose from, you will really enjoy the favorable conditions. Buyer confidence will certainly improve very soon as the federal government continues to look for ways to resolve the housing crisis.

f you are really keen on buying a foreclosed home, it will be to your best interest if you subscribe to foreclosure listings from reputable realtors such as MostlyForeclosures.com. Before doing so, you should try to get pre-approved for a mortgage first so you have an idea how much you can really afford. Make sure that your financial documents are in order when applying for a mortgage. You should also try to be realistic of your financial capacity in order to avoid over-extending.

Posted in Mortgage | No Comments »

Florida Tops 2007 Fraud List

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

For two straight years, the state of Florida led the list for having the most cases of mortgage fraud recorded. According to the industry data, more and more agencies are suspecting mortgage fraud as the housing market crashes.

Coming in second is the state of Nevada, which was ranked number six last year. The list was followed by Michigan, California, Utah, Georgia and Virginia.

The fraud list was actually released during a conference of the Mortgage Bankers Association in Chicago and did not include the state by state fraud cases. Instead, the list used the “fraud index” as basis. Aside from this, the report also cited statistics from the FBI that showed a 30 percent increase in mortgage fraud compared to 2007 and almost 200% to 2000. The sate was from the reports filed by insured lenders from all over the nation.

The high incidence of mortgage fraud is not even surprising. Experts believe that the blame can be shouldered by borrowers, real estate agents, builders, mortgage brokers and even the lenders. To curb mortgage fraud, the MBA actually called for more funding for the FBI and Justice Department. For the next 5 years, more that $31 million should be given to these agencies to shoulder the cost of new prosecutors and investigators.

Mortgage fraud has become a national concern especially when the housing market realized the major role it played. With the foreclosure crisis and bad market conditions, you can expect fraud to be quite evident.

For borrowers, it is very important to realize their financial capabilities in order to avoid mortgage troubles. If you are looking for additional mortgage tips, foreclosure news and of course, foreclosure listings, you can check out MostlyForeclosures.com. As one of the leading foreclosure brokers in the nation, you will be guaranteed of quality services.

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Posted in Florida | 1 Comment »

Recession Fears Delay Home Buying

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Although the Federal government has plans of cutting mortgage rates by three-quarters of a point, home buyers have yet to dip into their pockets and make their purchases. One of the major reasons why these buyers seem to be delaying home buying despite lower interest rates is the growing fear of a recession.

Financial experts have been fighting for the past couple of months regarding the negative effects of the foreclosure crisis on the credit industry. Some believe that recession fears have no basis while others think that the weakening dollar and skyrocketing commodity prices are sufficient proofs that the nation is heading towards one.

Whatever the real economic situation is, home buyers have decided to wait on the sidelines. They are waiting for home prices to decline further and for housing market conditions to improve. With the Federal government still looking for solutions to the foreclosure crisis, home sales might remain sluggish. They would have to come up with incentives that will attract buyers to make the plunge and invest. These incentives would probably involve fixing interest rates and protecting buyers from aggressive lending practices.

Without incentives, will buyers still balk from buying homes?

In most states, the growing number of foreclosure homes has actually attracted much buyer interest. In states where real estate properties are expensive, buyers are busy checking out foreclosed houses for sale. Aside from enjoying big savings, these foreclosed properties offer much return potential.

Foreclosure brokers like MostlyForeclosures.com usually play an important role in the buyer’s decision to buy. Offering updated foreclosure listings as well as insider tips and advice, these brokers help buyers obtain hot leads. Buyers usually search through numerous foreclosed properties before finding the perfect one. With foreclosure listings, their search is easier.

Posted in Foreclosed Properties | No Comments »

Illinois Attorney General Subpoena Mortgage Documents

Monday, March 10th, 2008

In Illinois, Attorney General Lisa Madigan is looking into reports that two of the nation’s biggest lenders knowingly convinced borrowers to take out mortgage loans that they can not afford in the first place. Both Countrywide and Wells Fargo were issued subpoenas that ask them to give information contained in a number of mortgages sold in the state.

In particular, the attorney general wants information about the borrower’s ethnicity or race, features and cost of the loan and property location. In addition to these, data on the borrowers’ credit worthiness will be checked. If the information showed that the lenders did engage in steering practices, Madigan hopes to make these lenders responsible for their actions.

Steering practices were quite rampant during the most recent housing boom. Many aggressive lenders convinced buyers to take out housing loans that will surely stretch them out once interest rates reset. Sometimes, these lenders get a hold of the borrowers’ debt to income ratio and despite the lack of credit worthiness; they still urge the borrowers to get the loan. To make the loan packages even more attractive, the lenders offer adjustable rate mortgages, interest only payments and no down payment schemes.

Such practices have lead to the dramatic increase in mortgage defaults in the last three years and have single-handedly caused the subprime market industry to collapse. In 2006 and 2007, over 2 million homes entered some stage of foreclosure and experts do not see the end of this mortgage crisis.

The only silver lining is enjoyed by buyers and investors looking to take advantage of the large selection of foreclosure properties being sold at very low prices. Foreclosure listings offered by brokers such as MostlyForeclosures.com have become very useful for these bargain hunters. If you are interested, you can check out these foreclosed houses for sale.

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Posted in Illinois | No Comments »

Lenders Urged by OTS to Collect Mortgage Debts Later

Monday, March 3rd, 2008

A newly-unveiled plan is making headlines in the nation – offering distressed owners with a way to stop foreclosure effectively. The said plan was formulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) in the hopes of providing a realistic solution to the foreclosure crisis.

According to the OTS, lenders must reduce mortgage debts and refinance the loan. Millions of homeowners actually have mortgages that have ballooned by more than 40 percent when the loan interest started re-setting. Because of this, they were unable to cope with the mortgage payments, resulting to defaults and eventually foreclosure. In addition to this, the declining home prices have also made it difficult for owners to sell off their homes and pay off their debts. In most instances, owners found themselves with bigger mortgage debt than home equity.

With the new plan, mortgage will be reduced by an amount that is based on the “difference” between the property’s old and current market value. The lender will have to issue a “negative amortization certificate” that can be used to hold the owner still liable for the “difference”. If the property is sold after it regained its market value, then the lender will have a first take on the profit. Any profit beyond the original mortgage debt will naturally go to the owner.

Whether or not there will be some money left for the owners, the important thing is owners now have a chance to stop foreclosure. At the end of 2007, more than a million homes entered some stage of foreclosure, further fueling the foreclosure crisis. Both the national government and large lenders are looking for more ways to effectively address the ongoing mortgage troubles.

Buyers, on the other hand, can take advantage of this plan and purchase foreclosure homes at unbelievably low prices. You can check out MostlyForeclosures.com for foreclosure listings of the hottest foreclosed homes in the nation.

Posted in Stop Forelosure | No Comments »