Archive for the ‘California’ Category

Bleak Prospects for Homebuilders Due to Foreclosures

Wednesday, November 19th, 2008

Real estate forecasts made by industry associations, economists, homebuilders and consultants for the year 2009 point to the same realization: 2009 will still be a bleak year for the home building industry due to continued foreclosures and slow sales of home foreclosures.

The North State Building Industry Association and the California Building Industry Association both see 2009 as a bleaker year than 2008 because of the economic downturn and banks’ continued home repossessions which have been constraining sales.

Mike Davis of real estate auctioneer Zetabid also predicted that there will be more house auctions in 2009 despite loan modification and foreclosure prevention measures launched in 2008. He said that there is so much inventory of foreclosed homes that auctioneers’ operations related to foreclosed properties will continue up to two or three more years.

Building industry analyst Greg Paquin studied real estate figures and came out with the following forecasts:

  • New house prices will average only $374,000 across Sacramento and surrounding cities.
  • Homebuilders will sell only 5,300 houses in 2008 in the counties of Sacramento, Sutter, El Dorado, Placer, Yolo and Yuba counties.
  • The housing markets that will recover faster than the others will be Placer County, El Dorado Hills and Folsom.

The behavior of interest rates on mortgage is expected to remain volatile as they have been going up and down as economic news reports are released. According to Freddie Mac economists, rates fell when news reports of declining levels of consumer spending and job numbers and increased foreclosures were released. Comstock Mortgage issued its observation that rates fell by one-fourth of one percent in a span of only few hours in one particular weekday.

In the meantime, a survey by Mortgage Bankers Association in 2008 showed that borrowers have become cautious in their approach to mortgage loans. The percentage of subprime loans across the U.S. has declined to 3.8 percent, much below the 20-percent level in 2005 and in 2006.

A Guide to Buying Pre Foreclosures in Los Angeles

Thursday, October 9th, 2008

There are a number of families in Los Angeles who are going through financial problems. While some of these families are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with their mortgage payments, for some others it is getting to be impossible. There are a number of foreclosures in Los Angeles, and more facing the risk of foreclosure. With the current turmoil in the housing sector, prices of homes (especially foreclosure homes) have gone down considerably.

Certain relief is expected in the form of the government passing measures to fix the ongoing crisis. With some stability in sight, this is being regarded as a good time to buy property in the residential sector.

Buying a house associated with foreclosure often gets you discounts on the market value of the house and is therefore regarded as a better option.

A house enters the pre foreclosure stage when the home owner consistently defaults on the payment and the lender issues a default notice. This tells the home owner that if the default in question is not taken care of in a fixed period of time, the lender has the right to auction the house in order to take care of the debt that has been defaulted upon by the home owner.

The home owner can either fix the default in the given time frame or face foreclosure. The home owner can also choose to sell the home during this period. By doing this, the home owner can get enough money to pay back the lender what is owed on the mortgage, and can thereby avoid foreclosure.

The main reason for a home owner to sell the house is to pay the outstanding debt on the mortgage. Therefore, as far as the offer price can cover the amount to be repaid, there is a good chance of the offer being accepted.

In case the debt in question exceeds the market value of the house, it can be sold for lesser than the debt amount, in accordance with the lender. Lenders are known to write off considerable amounts in such scenarios, because they see it as a better option as compared with having to foreclose on the house.

Secondary liens and unpaid taxes should be checked for, as once you buy a house, their liability passes on to you.

Looking for houses for sale amongst pre foreclosures is quite easy. Banks could give you information about the pre foreclosure they have, owners could have themselves listed with real estate agents, newspapers could be referred to and the internet is also a good source.

Ideally, you should look at as many houses as possible before you make your final call. Thorough research should be put in the process of buying a pre foreclosure home (irrespective of whether you intend to buy for investment, or as a house to live in).

A Guide to HUD Foreclosures in San Diego

Wednesday, October 8th, 2008

A number of foreclosures in San Diego are put up for sale by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. These are homes that have been foreclosed upon by government bodies in order to recover money that is owed to them by the home owner in question. Alternatively, they could be homes that were backed by FHA insured loans.

These houses foreclosure are commonly referred to as HUD foreclosures and are known to sell cheaper than homes which have been foreclosed upon by banks. This write up aims to provide you with the basic knowledge about how to approach buying a HUD foreclosure home.

Buying a HUD foreclosure home does have different procedures than buying a bank foreclosure. However, the process is not at all difficult. HUD foreclosures sell through real estate agents that have been approved by the government (a large number in San Diego are).

The easiest way to find foreclosed houses in your area, or anywhere else, is going through the internet. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has its listings of homes available on the internet. Alternatively, you could approach a real estate agent who is approved to sell HUD foreclosure homes, in the neighborhood where you wish to buy the home.

HUD foreclosures sell through a bidding process where sealed bids have to be placed on the home in question through an HUD approved real estate agent. The Department of Housing and Urban Development would pay the fees of the real estate agent acting on your behalf, if it is mentioned in the contract.

You can qualify to buy an HUD foreclosure home if you have the funds to buy the home. This could be in the form of certified funds or an approved home mortgage. First preference in selling these homes is given to the bidders who intend to stay in the house that is up for sale. There generally is an initial offer period which is open to home buyers who intend to stay in the home, after which home buyers interested in using the home for investment purposes can bid on the home.

All the sealed bids that are received for a home during the initial offer period are opened together at the end of this period. The highest bidder usually gets the home. In cases where the home does not sell during the initial offer period, bids are accepted after this period and are opened immediately after they are received.

Special programs in selected neighborhoods are in place where professional such as law enforcement personnel, firefighters, teachers, etc. qualify for special reduced prices in buying HUD foreclosures.

HUD properties are known to offer great discounts. If you can spend some time and effort into the process, there is no reason why you cannot get yourself a bargain.

Irvine Foreclosure Rates Might Increase

Tuesday, August 26th, 2008

Just like in several states across the country, California is not having a great time either due to the increase in California foreclosures. Even through 2007, California was among the top 10 in as far as number of house foreclosures are concerned and even in 2008, California is still among the top 10. So nothing seems to have changed for California and some of the places that are suffering the brunt of this include San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Irvine. Irvine Foreclosures has been increasing steadily and it is not just homes that have become the victims of rising interest rates and foreclosures. An 18-storey tower called the Marquee Park Place is now listed in the types of foreclosures in Irvine.

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Huge increase in the number of Long Beach Foreclosures

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

There are several neighborhoods that are witnessing an increase in Long Beach Foreclosures with the highest contribution being made by zip code 90806, which witnessed 38 foreclosed homes in the second quarter of 2008 vis-à-vis 4 foreclosed homes in the second quarter of 2007. The median price at zip code 90806 in Long Beach was $570,000. At the end of the second quarter of 2008, Long Beach is ranked 35 among the top 100 metropolitan areas in the US foreclosure list.

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Increase in Los Angeles Foreclosures

Monday, August 11th, 2008

Are you an investor or a first time homebuyer? If you are one then your best option is Los Angeles Foreclosures. House foreclosures are basically those homes where the homeowner has not been able to make the monthly loan payments and because of which they have been sent notices of default. Actually these homes first go through the pre-foreclosure period, which is different for different states and then if the homeowner is still unable to pay the loan off then their homes go into foreclosure. California foreclosures are sold through public auctions and the highest bidder gets the home. Most of the foreclosure properties are sold at a price that is much less than the actual rate of the home. This is done by lenders in order to retrieve as much of their loan as possible.
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Irvine Foreclosures

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Irvine Foreclosures legal procedure for the bank lending institution to terminate homeowners right possession actually begins when the home is bought and a contractual promise is made. The buyer of the home pays a downpayment that is a consideration for the house. Repayment plans were negotiated by the homeowner along with various other terms and conditions. Properties can always be legally repossessed by lenders whenever buyers fail to live up to their end of the purchase agreement or anytime they become in default of the repayment terms.

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Los Angeles Foreclosures

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Hey, you can get good deals on bank owned homes in Los Angeles foreclosures. See them today. When the current residence owner does not meet the amount needed for mortgage, a bank REO occurs. Federal law is now mandating that the banks attempt to work out some alternate financing, but sometimes it is not either possible or the people continue to falter with the terms and conditions. With government-repossessed homes these same conditions exist. If a homeowner falls behind on property tax payments for his property, the government may repossess the home. Purchasing government tax foreclosures is the most inexpensive option a home buyer has because the purchase price is typically the amount of back taxes owed.

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San Diego Foreclosures

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008

Intelligent investors seek, find and buy San Diego foreclosures. Innovative real estate investors understand that the most successful way to maximize profit is to seek out premium properties at rock bottom prices and they realize that the foreclosure market will yield you the best gains and bargains. The reason for this is that banks, lenders and homeowners facing default price foreclosure homes to sell them quickly. Government sellers and banks are driven as foreclosure homes are decreasing their profits greatly because the market is overflowing with foreclosed homes. Purchasing properties when the prices are low, and then reselling them later can earn a great deal of money. Giving you both shelter and so much more secure than the stock market. A foreclosure listings is all needed to begin the process.

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The Great Rise Of The Foreclosure Rate in California

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

The issue of foreclosed homes in California has only increased over the years. Since last year, the number of foreclosures within the state has increased by more than 300%. That means, there are three times more California foreclosure homes this year than last year. It is certainly a very difficult proposition, which is giving a lot of bad credit marks to people throughout the state. Going by this figure, there are as many as five hundred foreclosures for sale arriving on the Californian land each day.

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