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What You Should Know About Your Agent

January 3, 2012 By jason Leave a Comment

When it comes to buying a home, many things come into play. One of the most important aspects of the traditional home buying process is your agent. Your agents will be doing the negotiations for you; therefore, it is essential that you trust your agent. In order to trust your agent, you should know important things about your agent before entering into the home buying process. When picking an agent, make sure you ask the right questions and do your research beforehand.

Agent Background and Expertise

As with anyone that you hire, you should take into consideration the agent’s real estate experiences. Look online to see if you can find information about the agent including reviews from previous clients. You can also ask the agent to provide you with references, which you can call to obtain detailed information from previous clients. These references can provide you with the best information about what to expect if pursuing the home-buying process with the particular agent.

When doing your research, make sure to determine which areas the agent has the most expertise. What are his or her strengths? Furthermore, ensure that the agent has specific experiences that involve the type of home you desire to purchase. For example, if the agent mainly has experience with rentals and you desire to purchase a foreclosure, then you may need to find a lender with expertise in working with foreclosure properties. It is often best to utilize an agent that does most of his or her work in the area in which you desire to purchase.

Finally, research not only the specific agent but also the company with which the agent is associated. The best way to research the company is to utilize online search engines. Simply type in the company’s name followed by “reviews.” Within seconds you should be able to find numerous reviews from previous clients that will help you to determine the reputation of the company in which your agent is associated.

Finishing Touches

After obtaining information and reviews about the agent and the company online and through references, it is time to finalize your research. Obtain detailed information from the agent about what you can expect throughout the home- buying process if you choose that agent. What is the agent’s workload? Will there be enough time to meet your individual needs or will you merely be a number? Finally, contact the real estate department within your state to ensure that the company and agent both have a great reputation within your state.

After doing your research and determining the reputation of both the agent and the company, if you feel like the agent would be a great fit for your home buying needs then it is time to hire the agent and start the search for your new dream home!

What You Should Know About Your Agent is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.


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Home Prices Headed for Triple Dip? Maybe – Which Means Triple Opportunity

November 1, 2011 By jason Leave a Comment

Fiserv, a financial analytics company, caused a stir this week when they announced that they were predicting a “triple dip” in home values for 2012. In other words, they expect another dramatic fall in home values across the country due to increased foreclosures to the tune of 3.6% by the middle of summer 2012.

That would create the third dip since 2006, after the first bottom reached in 2009. If you remember, a swarm of residential foreclosures sent prices plunging 31% below their 2006-level peak. The second dip occurred in the winter of 2010. At its lowest point, it represented a price fall of 33% from peak. If this third dip occurs as predicted, it would represent at least 35% lower prices from 2006.

That’s a pretty big number – and those interested in foreclosure investing should take note.

To put that into perspective, take a home that cost $200,000 in 2006. That represents a fairly decent “average” price that would buy you a nice home in most markets. Right now, that same home would cost $138,000. By next June, the same home would cost just $130,000.

Why the triple dip?

Foreclosures are the main drivers behind this move. The foreclosure process is up and running again in most markets, and even though banks haven’t completely opened the throttle yet, they will soon – and that means markets will be saturated with foreclosed homes for sale in just about every region.

Foreclosure auctions will be packed with homes and investors trying to find the perfect deal, which will be far easier to find than it has been. Additionally, financing for these homes will likely be easier than it will be for traditional homes simply because the amount being financed likely will be significantly lower than the already-depressed home values for unsold non-foreclosures.

Of course, not every market in the country will result in a triple dip. In some areas, believe it or not, prices are staying the same or even rising. High-end homes are still strong, and a few choice metro areas are set up for nice rebounds. Fiserv is predicting that roughly 100 out of 385 metro markets monitored will post price increases of at least 5% from the midpoint of 2012 through 2013, and a third of those markets will break the 10% barrier.

Naturally, though, if you want to make the most of the situation and fully leverage your capital, it helps to look to areas that will be hit even worse than the national average. That represents the greatest disparity between full recovery price (the price you can expect when the market levels out) and current available prices – i.e. your profit margin. Las Vegas always seems to find its way on this list and will probably tack on another 15-16% loss before it’s all over. Miami is set up for a similar 13% decline. Many California metro areas will post greater-than-average declines as well.

This prediction is just one forecast, but the reasoning is sound. More foreclosures will enter the fray and current credit is stretched paper-thin in most areas. But, as they say in any other investment vehicle, buy low and sell high. This upcoming year gives you plenty of opportunities for the first part of that money-making equation.

Home Prices Headed for Triple Dip? Maybe – Which Means Triple Opportunity is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.


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Bugs, Bulldozers, and Banknotes: The Foreclosure Crisis Continues

August 30, 2011 By jason Leave a Comment

Investors and homebuyers looking for great buying opportunities and the once-in-a-lifetime chances to buy terrific properties at significant discounts have been reveling in the market over the past few years as a record number of foreclosures have entered the market and lingered, supported by a growing backlog of foreclosed homes all across the nation.

For everyone else – sellers, homeowners, and lenders – the foreclosure crisis still represents problems that need to be solved.

Keeping the Forces of Nature at Bay

One big problem is simply maintaining the neighborhoods beset by massive numbers of foreclosures. Foreclosures can be a blight on a neighborhood simply because the ones that remain vacant have a higher chance of being stripped and ransacked, leaving a shell on the outside.

There are even health concerns with mosquitoes breeding in pools filled with stagnant water. One major duty of city authorities during the crisis has actually been to drain or treat these pools to keep down mosquito breeding, which can spread harmful diseases or, at the least, annoy nearby residents.

That’s in addition to the overgrown yards, weed-filled gardens, creeping vines, and infestations of rodents and other unwanted pests brought about by long foreclosure processes.

Bulldozing Homes Left and Right

Sometimes, a city doesn’t want to go through the trouble of maintaining hundreds of foreclosures. Instead, more and more cities have turned to bulldozing foreclosures that have been vacant for a while and neglected by both the owner and the lender.

In Cleveland, for example, a semi-government corporation, the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, struck a deal with several lenders in which the homes would be knocked down if the banks paid for the destruction. This has allowed lenders to rid themselves of dilapidated homes for an average of $5,500 per home, thereby increasing home values in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Of course, there has to be some way to make buying homes easier or at least keeping homeowners in their home to make regular payments if the foreclosure crisis is to end.

Banknotes from Lenders through the Extended EHLP

Enter the banks and the federal government.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development just announced that the application process for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program is now open once again, after ending earlier this year. Critics fired at the government for not having an application period that was long enough in the first place, so this move could make available a program that will help struggling homeowners stay in their homes for up to two years or up to $50,000.

This program won’t do anything to alleviate the backlog of foreclosures that already exists, but it should help keep more foreclosures from entering the pipeline.

The program is also free to enter, and loans can be forgiven entirely if the homeowner stays in the home for five years.

Regardless of how homeowners, lenders, and governments deal with the foreclosure crisis – be it with bugs, bulldozers, or banknotes – foreclosures remain and will continue to offer discounted buying opportunities for those in a position to take advantage of them.

Bugs, Bulldozers, and Banknotes: The Foreclosure Crisis Continues is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.


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A Tale of Two States: Washington, Massachusetts Deal With Foreclosures

August 9, 2011 By jason Leave a Comment

The foreclosure market is widespread; virtually every state in the union has been impacted by it over the past five years. From Alaska to Florida, Maine to Hawaii, and everywhere in between, foreclosures have lowered property values and cost states billions in lost property taxes – and created the best buyer’s market in decades.

Now, each state has to struggle with its individual real estate market, including handling the waves of foreclosures that have come ashore over the past few years. By looking at two in particular – Washington state and Massachusetts – we can catch a glimpse of how states are dealing with the crisis.

Washington Takes On the Big Boys, Files Lawsuit

Today, it was announced that the state of Washington filed a lawsuit against the Bank of America (or one of its subsidiaries) over thousands of illegal foreclosures stemming from 2008.

In the lawsuit, the state alleges that BoA did not act in good faith as a neutral party in the foreclosure process, involving over 10,000 foreclosures from 2008 to 2011. Additionally, the BoA subsidiary misrepresented ownership of foreclosures and engaged in deceptive practices.

Although BoA disagrees, naturally, the state may have a case – especially since the state is a non-judicial foreclosure state. That means foreclosure trustees have more leeway in pursuing foreclosures – creating an opportunity for a bank to play fast and loose with the rules.

Foreclosure Rates Spike in Massachusetts

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, Massachusetts saw its foreclosure rates spike in June from May by roughly 42%. The number of foreclosures for June came in at 931, which is the largest number since August, 2010. One ray of light is that the year-over-year numbers actually fell 29%, which suggests a long-term downward trend that may be picking up slightly.

Unfortunately for the state, this decrease is not thought to be because of the improving economy. Rather, it is likely that this is the same story as elsewhere – artificially slow foreclosure processing has resulted in a clogged pipeline that will more than likely start back up again soon.

Massachusetts has also had its legal issues with foreclosure companies and lenders. Back in January, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in a surprise ruling, actually ruled against Wells Fargo and claimed that previous lawsuits against the bank were valid because the bank could not prove it actually owned the mortgages.

Since then, banks have had an uphill legal fight to prove they owned the foreclosures they initiated, a path that could soon be traveled by Washington.

By looking at these two states, it is clear that foreclosures will continue to stick around, and as a result of legal issues, foreclosures will be delayed again – meaning the buyer’s market will continue on, stronger than ever and primed for timely investments

A Tale of Two States: Washington, Massachusetts Deal With Foreclosures is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.


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Federal Program for Houses in Foreclosure Deemed Inadequate

February 23, 2011 By admin Leave a Comment

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that last year's houses in foreclosure total in the U.S. had tied the highest number on record despite several federally-supported programs meant to prevent this scenario from occurring. A number of analysts have asserted that federal programs were ineffective and did not do much in helping homeowners keep their properties.

Some housing industry analysts have argued that federal programs meant to lower the number of foreclosures and bankruptcy homes for sale in the country have failed to do that. They also went so far as to say that people who were meant to be aided by these housing initiatives ended in worse conditions than if the programs were not implemented in the first place.

The programs meant to prevent homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosures or having their houses converted into a distressed foreclosed property on sale failed miserably, according to critics. The loan modification initiative was the one mostly criticized by a number of housing experts. The modification program was earlier projected to have the ability to assist up to 4 million homeowners in the U.S.

However, after two years of existence, only half a million Americans with houses in foreclosure were able to benefit from the initiative. The Treasury Department has reportedly argued that 500,000 is still a good number since that means half a million Americans were able to keep their homes. However, critics argued that there are even more people whose applications got rejected, with most of them ending in foreclosure even though they should not have.

Those who have criticized the loan modification program of the government have cited one primary weakness in the initiative. They stated that even though the program was a federal one, banks were still allowed to decide who will qualify for assistance. This, critics stated, resulted in more bank owned property foreclosures as lenders rejected supposedly qualified applicants, often after months of allegedly making them believe that they will get accepted.

Most analysts who criticized government initiatives stated that the fault was in the poor design of the programs and the alleged failure of the Treasury Department to effectively oversee the initiatives. They also stated that a big number of properties still ended as houses in foreclosure because compliance was not given much attention.

Federal Program for Houses in Foreclosure Deemed Inadequate is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.


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