MostlyForeclosures Articles: Online Foreclosure Homes Database And Foreclosure Information

In view of the crisis in the housing industry, Senator Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, announced that he would spearhead legislation that would allow homeowners nearing foreclosures to file for bankruptcy in court. The said legal move would sop lenders from acquiring mortgaged properties.

The Senator is not really new with the program. It could be recalled that Dodd also put the same initiative last year. Despite the earlier failure, the Senator is still positive. He cited that the political environment has already shifted. He thinks that more and more lawmakers are now concerned, if not alarmed, by the growing number of foreclosure properties across the country.

As of press time, the number of foreclosure homes has grew to 936, 439. California-based firm RealtyTrac said that the month of October alone has recorded nearly 85,000 foreclosure properties. The company also said that, compared to the rates of September, the October figures showed a 5% increase.

The alarming numbers of foreclosures have gained prominence since last year. Government offices and lending companies have already made moves to solve the situation. However, Dodd and members of the Senate Banking Committee believe that the efforts were just not enough.

Dodd also said that he supports Federal Deposit Insurance Corp’s Chairman Sheila Bair in her proposal to make use of the $700 billion bailout funds to help delinquent borrowers lower their monthly mortgage payments. The Senator also said that he was “confounded” when he learned that Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson opposed Bair’s proposal.

In his opinion, the worsening foreclosure crisis is the main cause of the bigger problem in the financial industry. He said that the government might not be able to solve the alarming economic situation if it does not get to the root of the problem.

Dodd made no assurance that he will help institutionalize the proposal made by the FDIC Chair. He believes that jawboning would work to convince Secretary Paulson.

The current crisis is still continuing its massive wave of economic unrest across the nation causing more foreclosures to occur. Private homes are not the only ones affected but include rental units and apartments as well. This caused trouble to renters who are being evicted from their rented homes due to foreclosures, particularly for those who had no idea that their homes are being foreclosed.

In Illinois, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart got tired of walking into homes to carry out eviction orders only to face families who have no idea on what was going on. These renters did not know that the units they are renting have become foreclosure homes.

Faced with this predicament, Sheriff Dart closed a deal with County courts that he will not carry out eviction orders until judges had ruled that renters were provided with prior knowledge regarding notice of foreclosures given to their landlords. With this new deal, Sheriff Dart only carried out 3 evictions in October when foreclosure rates where at a high.

Congress has been dealing with the foreclosures crisis and only faced frustration as the administration rejected bids for a bail-out plan for borrowers. The Treasury Department opted to use the $700 billion bailout fund to salvage banks and financial institutions and left troubled homeowners on their own.

Hearing about the Robin Hood tales from Cook County, Capitol Hill invited Sheriff Dart for a discussion to get some inspiration in finding short term solutions for this foreclosures crisis while long term programs are still being debated on top.

Democratic legislators are putting their hopes on President-elect Barack Obama when he takes office in January. While still senator, Obama co-sponsored the bail-out bill for borrowers but was rejected by the current administration. With him in the White House, the Democrats in the House are banking on the borrower’s bill to finally see passage.

Tom Schauwecker, an assessor in Boone County for almost 20 years, and Greg Harmon, a long-time property agent, both stated that this year is the first time they have encountered a surprisingly large number of foreclosures.

According to Schauwecker, his personnel compiled a complete foreclosure property list in Boone County. It is probable that around 300 homes will be filed as foreclosed in 2008.

About 27,000 foreclosure properties in Missouri were recorded in the Secretary of State office. Boone County Recorder listed 253 repossessed houses in October and 231 last year. Over 10 foreclosure homes have been filed during the 1st week of November.

This year’s foreclosure has been surprising for Schauwecker. The banks do not lend that often anymore and property owners are obviously facing the risk of losing their homes.

Gaslight Properties broker and developer Harmon stated that there was indeed a very big change in the house market. In addition, he is currently having a hard time updating his website due to continuous foreclosure filings.

Banks in Missouri are making arrangements with the borrowers who are having difficulty paying their mortgage obligations. Marketing Director Mary Wilkerson of Boone County National Bank stated that having to go to the courthouse is not a very good experience that is why they are doing their best to avoid that kind of situation.

Eric McClure, Commissioner of Missouri Bank, said that it is necessary for the borrowers and lenders to always communicate in order to avoid this unfortunate situation.

Loan adjustments in some cases are not considered, so what banks do is accept Deed-in-lieu wherein a borrower transfers all interests in Property Law to the lender to fulfil a default loan and avoid the process of foreclosure.

Columbia’s top 5 banks reported a huge increase in the number of properties they took back from default borrowers in September this year.

Schauwecker thinks and hopes that the housing market and economy will eventually recover.

Borrowers in Florida possibly will experience a moratorium on their mortgaged properties. After a meeting with a high-ranking bank officer last Tuesday, Gov. Charlie Crist, governor of Florida, announced that he is negotiating an agreement with lending companies for a suspension on mortgaged foreclosure homes. This is to give way to the holiday season.

Crist later on met with Florida Bankers Association president Alex Sanchez and after the meeting, he is hopeful to get favorable results by next week. The bank is one of the largest and most powerful in Florida.

Borrowers are advised to get in touch with their banks as soon as possible. They could be of great help to borrowers who are lagging in payments.

Next to Nevada and Arizona, Florida ranks third in foreclosures. One in every 157 homes in the state is confiscated by creditors.

The moratorium, of course, is not without deadline. The least that the state can do is push for the suspension of foreclosures during the holiday season. After expiration, the rest is upon the discretion of lending companies.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have already been applying the moratorium for a week now. A number of Florida homeowners have already benefited from the deferment on foreclosures, and more residents will be enjoying the moratorium until January 9.

Uncertainty rests, however, on whether the moratorium on foreclosures would be adopted by lenders voluntarily or legislation would still be needed for their compliance. Nevertheless, Crist is exerting all efforts to help Florida homeowners keep their properties in the meantime.

Unfortunately for speculators, they are not covered by the moratorium as they have not been of much help to the housing situation in Florida. Only homesteads (or owners of primary homes) can rest assured that they are spared from foreclosures over the holiday season.

The increasing foreclosure cases, the weak economy and uncontrollable job losses contributed to taking home prices as it was in 2004.

The 15.1 percent drop in home price during the second quarter is currently topped by the 16.6 percent continued decline according to the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price national index. 10 main cities are down by 18.6 percent and 20 other cities fell by 17.4 percent. Thanks to foreclosure’s contribution.

Foreclosure depressed the 10-city index by 23.4 percent from its top price in June 2006. It has been falling for 26 months. The 20-city index is also 21.8 percent weak from the July 2006 high. Then, the national index has crashed by 21 percent since 2006.

The worst market is in Phoenix where loss reached 31.9 percent. Las Vegas and San Francisco lost 31.3 percent and 29.5 percent respectively. The best markets Dallas and Charlotte still showed decline of 2.7 percent and 3.5 percent.

The others in the 10-city index downed (in percent) by foreclosure are:

In cities like Las Vegas and Cleveland, sales mainly involved repossessed properties, owned by banks and were re-sold at cheaper prices.

Standard & Poor’s spokesman David Blitzer says that index prices are moderate because they cover exurban and rural areas. Karl Case, an economics professor is unsure on how much more prices can falter, but was definite that rampant lay-offs can worsen the problem.

Economist with Global Insight Pat Newport said that the economy suffered toward the end of the 3rd quarter. Starting there housing permits were infrequent, the National Association of Home Builders have few activities and purchase loan applications fell by 15 percent, foreclosure as a contributor.