My firm recently switched from Taza REO to Ebrokerhouse.com to manage our REO listings. While Ebrokerhouse is much less expensive and easier to use, the keycode feature alone would justify the switch. We post a link in our listings. Agents register for showing and receive instantly the keycode specifically set for each property, while I receive an email on my cell from the inquiry. Agents then register their buyers offers, attach a scanned copy and submit. When I log onto Ebrokerhouse, all of my new offers are clearly labeled that require my attention. Taza took weeks to initially setup and launch. Ebrokerhouse was setup instantly, we were up and running the first day, no training classes, no tech support issues, nothing. While Ebrokerhouse.com is a fixed monthly fee of $29.99 for unlimited use, Taza had a sliding scale starting at $150 per month for up to 50 active properties, then $300 per month from 51 - 99. Cost savings, ease of use, responsive, and the wonderful combo/keycode feature makes Ebrokerhouse a no brainer.Richard StewartREO Specialists llc914 S Burdick StKalamazoo MI 49001www.REOmamma.comRead more…
Posted by Mykel Martin on January 20, 2010 at 7:06am
Just read a Press Release from DS News that should give us all hope. California, Florida and Arizona can't be far behind!This Just Released According to DSNews - - -Bank of America Paces Release of Shadow Inventory in NevadaBank of America expects to release about 6,000 foreclosed properties into the Nevada housing market in 2010, about 500 a month, according to a local Las Vegas newspaper. The pent-up supply is part of that looming shadow inventory - a stock of distressed properties that have yet to hit the market because of banks' voluntary foreclosure moratoriums prior to the administration's Making Home Affordable program, complex modification evaluations, and lengthy short sale negotiations.
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Chase Finds 16% of Mods Are 'Permanent’?A recent article highlights that JPMorgan Chase has over 140,000 borrowers in the HAMP program currently, and that only 16% will be or have been approved for “permanent” modification as they announced in Congress. Additionally only 29% of those made all of their payments on time during their 3 month trial and so now are ineligible for permanent mods. Begging the question, so is even the 16% number accurate?This along with other examples of the fallacy of HAMP I have given in the past conjures memories of an advertisement from my youth… “Where’s the Beef”?HAMP sounds nice, People love acronyms, best intentions and all but like so many things in our society these days no one wants to look beyond the surface. We long to be placated. We want to feel better, eat our government endorsed Hostess products and watch dancing with the stars until our Ambien kicks in. All you are required to do is look at two factors to determine HAMP was NEVER going to work as it is currently configured.1. Out of control unemployment. The numbers are staggering and nowhere close to reality when one factors the numbers of people still employed but on reduced hours, or those that have fallen of the unemployment rolls entirely. You can’t qualify if you have no, or even reduced income.2. The amount of mortgages that are upside down more than 10-20% allowable. Borrowers in California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada are doomed even before they announced the program.In all actuality the servicers are making only a half hearted effort in these programs. The lenders know their hands are tied, Congress and the Administration know this as well. The only ones who don’t? John and Sally Homeowner in Eugene Oregon who actually need and think they are going to get a mod. Adding more fuel to the noxious mix of those who know, the vultures who prey on John and Sally. Telling them their lender will take too long, work with us and we will get you your mod…just give us $995. They believe this right up until me or someone like me shows up at the door with the sheriff. Julia Gordon from the Center for Responsible Lending said as much in her address to congress, saying that HAMP had the “theoretical potential” to help but servicers either would not or could not do what is asked of them.What to do? Do we as a nation bite the bullet and “bailout” the borrowers as well. Should we do a white board erase of all current mortgages and start over as some have suggested? Highly unlikely! Can you imagine the lawsuits generated by those who have previously been foreclosed on and are left to wonder “why was I not bailed out”?I am interested in this group’s insight. What would you propose? I have outlined my ideas here in prior blogs so I won’t beat that drum too loudly but these are the basics (how we create jobs is a blog post unto its own).1. Mod only those who can, and quickly. Release all other inventory on to the market regardless of how far values fall.2. Waive the 3 year restriction on all foreclosed or bankrupted borrowers and allow those that are TRULY qualified to re-enter the market.3. Lift restrictions on the amount of properties investors can purchase.What say you?
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so many concerns, conspiracy theories, questions on if the government is trying to lock up the nations economy by controlling the market..It is mind boggeling. This video does give a pretty unbiased take on one more factor in the totally murky world we seem to be navigating. Watch and absorb seems to be the method of gaining knowledge, hope this can add to your own database...
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Wow, where has this week gone? I was going to be a good REOPro member and blog daily and stick to it for two weeks at least. Hello??? I think my last blog was last weekend!I want to know why it is already the 10th of October? Do you realize what is just around the corner? Fall!! And with fall comes winterization, oh please existing inventory, SELL!!! The price is right, the homes are great and I am waiting with pen in hand!What do you mean you found a short sale down the street for less money? Yeah, they advertise it that way, but look at all the time you have to waste to get it and then there is no guarantee until you get it at the closing table! The agent guarantees it? They have a 100% success rate, let me check that out. Look at the stats, ONE short sale listing and ONE short sale sale, and look, it was their own home. OK, I guess that would constitute a 100% success rate.....I love marketing gimmicks.At least with a foreclosure you know what it is - AS IS and it is AVAILABLE NOW!! Thank goodness for the few I've sold to this week that don't know about Short Sales! Of course my short sale agent is keeping busy, so I guess that's why it is good to diversify and take care of both Short Sales and Foreclosure properties.Just had to remind you all that Fall is coming. Gear Up for those calls of frozen pipes and people trying to get inside to stay out of the cold and wet!I hope you all have a Better Than Great Day!
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The race is on to get FTHBs in contract....Negotiations continue for extension. What do you think? Will they extend this successful program?Any thoughts on why the Gov would end this type of insentive just as real estate is heading into the winter months which are slower for most areas outside the Southern states?Anticipated home sales have increased for seven straight months, the longest upward run since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) began its pending sales index series back in 2001, and now at its highest level since March 2007.NAR said Thursday that its forward-looking measurement of closed sales on existing-homes, which is based on contracts signed in August, rose 6.4 percent from July’s reading and is 12.4 percent above this time last year.Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist, cautioned though, that not all contracts are turning into closed sales within the expected timeframe. “The rise in pending home sales shows buyers are returning to the market and signing contracts, but deals are not necessarily closing because of long delays related to short sales, and issues regarding complex new appraisal rules,” Yun said.Yun agrees with many other market observers that first-time buyers are rushing to put pen to paper to beat the deadline for the $8,000 tax credit, which expires at the end of next month. This run could very easily result in inflated pending sales numbers that don’t make it to the closing desk in time.Prospective homeowners in the western region of the country are the most eager to sign the dotted line, where distressed assets and plummeting property values make for extremely attractive deals. The pending sales index for the West surged 16.0 percent in NAR’s latest study.In the northeastern states, anticipated sales jumped 8.2 percent. In the Midwest the index rose 3.1 percent, and in the southern part of the country, pending home sales increased 0.8 percent.“Perhaps the real question,” Yun said, “is how many transactions are being delayed in the pipeline, and how many are being cancelled?”Yun also noted that the data sample coverage for pending sales is smaller than the measurement for closed existing-home sales, so the two series will never match one for one.Yun said the forecast for home sales and prices depends very much on whether a tax credit is extended. “All we can say for certain is sales will decline when the tax credit expires because we are not yet on a self-sustaining recovery path. It also raises a risk of a double-dip recession,” he said. “Extending and expanding the tax credit is the best tool in our arsenal to encourage financially qualified buyers to stimulate the economy.”
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Posted by Dawn Barrier on September 30, 2009 at 8:23am
Read the whole article from RISMEDIA @ Op-Ed: 60 Million Mortgages May Have Fatal FlawsInteresting Report....RISMEDIA, September 29, 2009-The latest chapter in the mortgage meltdown is being written in court, as one by one, judges are putting a halt to foreclosures. The latest was a recent Kansas Supreme Court case. In Landmark National Bank v. Kesler, the court held that a nominee company called MERS had no standing to bring a foreclosure action.Nor was Kansas the first. In August 2008, Federal Judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada ruled MERS had no standing. "Indeed, the evidence is to the contrary, the Note has been sold, and the named nominee no longer has any interest in the Note."Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-09-28/op-ed-60-million-mortgages-may-have-fatal-flaws/#ixzz0SVrf1JSYIn each case, the reason stems from a fundamental misstep in the handling of Notes and Trust Deeds that runs contrary to established court policies which require that the real parties identify themselves to the court. Each of these cases involved MERS and, in each case, the courts' rationales were almost identical.First, a little background. Over the last 40 years, mortgage lending has evolved from a bank holding the mortgage to the mortgage being bundled and sold as part of an investment pool, usually in the form of a bond.As a registered security, the Note is a negotiable instrument, like money or a cashier's check, and under securities law that Note must be given to the investor. In this case, mortgage backed securities, (MBS) were bundled together in a pool and shipped to...well, we don't really know.One of the impediments to an MBS is the need to file assignments for the beneficiaries in each county each time the mortgage is resold. And apparently, no one holds them for very long because most have been passed around several times.In order to avoid the logistical nightmare of trying to maintain a public chain of title, the biggest lenders joined MERS, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc.MERS was created with the sole intent of evading the recording fees due to the county in which the security is located.But, as there often is with a BIG IDEA, there were also unintended consequences. Only now are they coming to light. Until MERS was challenged in a foreclosure proceeding, no one had taken a look at the law.MERS lost track of the Notes. In some cases, according to my research, they deliberately destroyed them.Every thing was fine until the economy contracted. MERS began foreclosing on delinquent home loans and then one day; someone said "show me the Note."In reviewing the judge's rulings in the above matters, several key points have been determined:• MERS is not the beneficiary of the Notes and has no skin in the game. It did not lend any money, collect any payments or do anything more than track the sale of the securities.• Judicial procedure requires that parties identify themselves and prove their standing.• Splitting the Note and Trust Deed leaves no party with standing to foreclose. The true holder of the Note, the security, paid the lender so the lender is covered. The true holder of the Note was insured by AIG so they are covered. AIG and the banks were bailed out by taxpayers. So, unless the American tax payer can produce a "blue-ink" original Note, no one has standing to foreclose.• Allowing a foreclosure to proceed without the original Note places the homeowner in double jeopardy. If the original Note were to surface, the holder of the Note would be entitled to payment, but from whom? The borrower is still on the hook.MERS currently holds 50 to 60 million loans so this is no small matter. And, just because they have lost repeatedly doesn't mean they will give up. They will keep right on foreclosing in hopes that the homeowner won't fight back and, in most cases, they won't be stopped.[Editor's Note: RISMedia has been in touch with MERS for a response, which will be running in our Wednesday edition of the e-news.]Read more: http://rismedia.com/2009-09-28/op-ed-60-million-mortgages-may-have-fatal-flaws/#ixzz0SVswwhLqRead more…
Posted by Linda Landry on September 13, 2009 at 7:28am
I am astounded at the destruction and mutilation discovered in properties abandoned after foreclosure! Where did the current mentality of homeowners/renters come from in thinking it is their prerogative/privilege to destroy/steal or damage property they vacate? Everyone is aware that renters are 'leasing' property from the owner and that owners require security/cleaning deposits. However, I have spoken to landlords who've had their property damaged or destroyed beyond the limit of the deposit to include arson! Additionally, homeowners who become thieves of destruction to the property they have lost to foreclosure abound. They apparently do not realize they are actually tenants of the bank who holds their loan. They do not yet own this property until the loan is paid in full. Their down payment was just that: a payment they put down towards the repayment of the ENTIRE loan in the amount to which they agreed to pay to purchase the property. Lest we forget, this agreement was in the form of a legally binding contract. Perhaps more defaultees should be prosecuted for default or destruction. If people keep defrauding and defacing it may result in the banks requiring we pay for a loan for thirty years PRIOR to taking possession! Wouldn't that be a kick in the you know what!Linda Landry, REALTOR ® Exit Realty 1st Choice Tucson, Arizona
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Not too long ago I posted questions about any contacts out there for the FDIC. Several folks were very generous with the information they had and I seriously followed up. I thought I would update you now with what I mostly HAVEN'T been able to find out.Prescient is a mega broker for them but they do only take written applications that should have already been mailed. I wouldn't let that stop me though. Prescient's web site leaves much to be desired. Static links and lots of 'coming soon' features. My impression is that this could take a while. I have a townhome complex I am bird dogging for a client but there is absolutely no one I can find to talk to or submit an offer. I know that the loan was bad and that the FDIC took over the lender. I can't find any deed of foreclosure though and I'm afraid that the FDIC pulled the trigger before the actual sale on the courthouse steps. That could be a problem. Anyone run into this before?I don't know what is going on with them but from my perspective they are MIA. Has anyone been accepted by Precient yet? Are they just going to bundle this stuff and sell it off blind to investors? Anybody? Anything?Thanks for your input.Chris
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"Dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price." - Vince LombardiIt is no secret that we all are working harder than ever, and the question remains: Is it Worth it?Of course, and throughout this re-invention periord to some degree, we will all learn how to plant our gardens and do more than survive, but to succede and flourish!There are many buyers that are jumping on the train, and realizing it is time to find their home before the whistle blows here in Central Florida. Albeit, not all short-sales and foreclosures are on the track, but when our buyers are educated, they grow to understand the process and the time that is expected. The end result at the closing table is an amazing purchase price and a great home to serve their family for many of their celebrations.I have been welcoming the oncoming challenges, but have equally began realizing my need to celebrate time away with my family!Needless to say, we are all counting our many blessings on a daily basis - and that is not all so bad!-Laura-Leigh Wood, GRI / ABRSpecializing in Central FL Residential Real EstateRead more…
Once again misinformation hitting the media! What this article doesn't say is that inventory in California has decreased primarily due to lack of new foreclosures coming on the market. Like most REO brokers in California I have watched my inventory shrink month after month as moratoriums from various institutions have worked themselves through fruition. In addition the banks have been holding back inventory trying to change the Mark to Market valuation system. A quick look at the mls will tell you there is just nothing to sell at this point. Watch the reported inventory numbers for August. It should be off the charts.Michael HowardXcel Reowww.xcelreo.comwww.xcelinvestments.comMay 29, 2009With almost a 50% increase in year-over-year sales, the inventory of unsold existing single-family homes for sale in California has been cut in half, from a 9.8 months' supply in April 2008 to 4.6 months' supply this April, the state's Realtors reported. However, while sales were up 49.2% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 540,360 — the eighth straight month above the 500,000 level — the median price of houses sold in the month declined by more than a third, largely because the majority of sales were at the low-end of the market. "Inventory levels for homes in the under $500,000 segment shrank to nearly three months in April, compared with almost 10 months a year ago, while unsold inventory in the more than $1 million segment rose to approximately 17 months, compared with roughly 10 months in April 2008," says California Association of Realtors President James Liptak. "The dramatic difference in inventory exemplifies how the low end of the market is attracting more first-time buyers and investors, creating a shortage of distressed properties for sale." The median price of existing homes sold in the month was $256,700, a 36.5 percent decrease from the revised $404,470 a year ago. But it was 1.4% greater than March's $253,040 median price. CAR's figures are based on data collected from more than 90 local Realtor associations statewide.
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Foreclosure starts are continuing to rise to record highs but total delinquencies fell in March to 7.88%, a month-over-month decrease of 5.8%, according to the April 2009 LPS Mortgage Monitor from Lender Processing Services, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla. The seasonal February to March decline in delinquencies in the five years from 2002 to 2007 averaged 14%, and the number of newly delinquent loans saw a greater decline in March compared to 2008. March's foreclosure rate was 2.52%, reflecting a month-over-month increase of 12.8% and a year-over-year increase of 87.8%. The percentage of loans improving in status continued to increase in March, while loans deteriorating in status declined. The report said foreclosure starts in March hit new all-time highs across every major product category. The largest 12-month increase was seen in jumbo loans at 221%, non-agency conforming loans at 158%, and agency prime loans at 144%. Foreclosure starts on portfolio loans spiked significantly during the month, the company said. GMNA was the only investor category to remain stable for the month. LPS said foreclosure sales dropped significantly in March, due in large part to the reinstatement of the FHFA moratorium in February and continuing through the end of March. The report said refinance activity remains high, with a slight increase in available liquidity to borrowers who are 30-days delinquent.
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BY KATHLEEN DOLER FOR INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY Posted 3/24/2009 Even as a few rays of hope peek out for housing, a dark cloud of unlisted and unsold foreclosed homes threatens to further delay a recovery and undermine lenders' financials. The government is riding in with new programs almost every week, including Monday, that may rescue lenders. But they also cause paralysis in the short term. Lenders are holding "between 600,000 and 700,000 residential properties that are not on the multiple listing service (MLS) ," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing firm in Irvine, Calif. This shadow supply isn't counted as part of the housing inventory. There were 3.8 million existing homes on the market in February, equal to 9.7 months' worth at the current sales pace. Add in the shadow supply and selling all the available homes will take even longer, and that suggests prices have even further to fall. There has been some good news on the home front. February existing-home sales rose 5.1%, the best monthly gain in years. Housing starts shot up 22.2% from a record low. Low mortgage rates and falling prices have made homes more affordable — though that doesn't help if you can't get a loan or you've lost your job. Meanwhile, foreclosure activity has been artificially suppressed. Mortgage delinquency rates have continued to soar in the last several months even as the new foreclosure rate has held steady. That's due to government moratoriums or voluntary lender halts. But most experts say eventually most of those homes will be foreclosed. Lenders also may be understating the impact foreclosures will have on their balance sheets. And the shadow is likely to grow as more homeowners default. Window Dressing? Specialists who handle loan modifications for borrowers say that despite a flurry of new programs, few mortgages are being reworked. "Lenders aren't doing anything," said Jim Richman, president and founder of Richman & Associates, a real estate and debt restructuring firm in Glendale, Calif. "They're waiting to see if the government will bail them out." "Everybody is stalled 100%; the lenders aren't doing anything" with modifications, said Moe Bedard, president of Loan Safe Solutions, a Corona, Calif.-based firm that does mortgage auditing for attorneys. Richman is a former banker and former Housing and Urban Development commissioner. He also believes lenders "are illegally operating under current federal rules," by not writing down their foreclosures adequately. "Lenders are doing everything they can to stay in business, but it's against all the rules," said Richman. "(Regulators) are afraid to enforce the rules because if they do the banks will fail, and the feds will have to bail them out." Sharga says he's spoken "directly with foreclosure attorneys in several states (including Texas, Michigan and California) to find out if any of their firms were reappraising properties" during the foreclosure process for their clients. "None did formal appraisals," he said. Sharga says lenders have taken huge write-downs. But if they have not reappraised their foreclosures, are the write-downs adequate? "What the banks can buy with time (holding foreclosures and not listing them for sale) is the tooth fairy," said Thomas Barrack Jr., founder, chairman and CEO of Colony Capital, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm specializing in real estate. "The government has shown that if you wait long enough, it will come out with a new program to modify the obligations of the bank and borrower. Pixie dust comes every week." The Treasury on Monday laid out its plan to partner with private funds to buy up to $1 trillion in so-called "toxic assets." It's as-yet unclear if these purchases will include actual foreclosed properties — these programs tend to morph as they get rolled out. "Why take a loss today if there's any chance that loss could be less (due to changes in government programs)?" said Terry McEvoy, a banking analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. in New York. Some shadow inventory may not be listed publicly because some lenders sell foreclosures via in-house divisions, says Bedard. Or, lenders may be selling the defaulted paper to investors. But these gray market sales can't account for all unlisted foreclosed properties. And the stalling is getting worse. "What we're seeing is slowdowns in the processing of properties throughout the foreclosure cycle . . . it's taking longer to file (default) notices, taking longer to actually foreclose and taking longer to get the properties on the market," said Sharga. "The lenders ease their way into the losses," said Jeff Davis, senior vice president and director of research at Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett Inc., Chicago. "If the economy would pick up, a lot of the issues wouldn't be as problematic. But that's not happening and these issues are just compounding." If banks dump their properties at once, it could cause dramatic price erosion in already hard-hit areas. Home prices, which have fallen 30% or more in some areas, still have more to go, many experts say. In some areas they need to drop "another 30% to get down to 1998 normalized levels," Barrack says. Lenders have argued before Capitol Hill to relax or suspend mark-to-market rules for valuing mortgage-backed securities. Lawmakers, in turn, have leaned heavily on the private-sector Financial Accounting Standards Board to make changes. FASB has signaled it'll modify the rule in cases where markets are illiquid. It met Tuesday to discuss the issue. Barrack, who opposes changing the mark-to-market rules, said: "When real estate and securities were booming, the lenders were booking unbelievable earnings. Now the market is going the other way. "They can't have it both ways," Barrack said. Other analysts disagree. "When you mark to the market and there is no market, you're recognizing an economic loss and a loss of liquidity," instead of an actual loss, said Davis. But he said if the underlying assets —the homes — "are collapsing in value, then there's a problem."
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