Its been about 5 years since I started in this REO indurstry. Progressively, the game has changed and things have become harder and harder to deal with on a small level. I have 18 employees and 20 sales agents, so we get it all done here. But now, during the same time every year, we have these 2-3 weeks of nothingness. What I don't understand is why there is a moratorium? Listen, I have a heart, and I understand people do fall onto bad times, but c'mon. You took out a mortgage a few years ago, that you, your wife, your children, you parents, friends, etc all knew you couldn't afford. But, it was the "american Dream" so you did it and never looked back, until you couldn't make a payment anymore! IF you are a tenant of a foreclosed property, I truly feel for you, and I will do anything I can to help you out during these times. I have tenants all the time who tell me they have been making their payments for 2 years and they cant understand how this happened. You DESERVE CASH FOR KEYS.
So now what, the banks out the 300k they gave you, your living in a house that you don't pay for, the bank is paying your taxes and utilities, and you cant even leave the house in good shape when you leave! Show some pride and be amicable and get out when you stop paying! There is no reason a bank should have to pay you a Cash for Keys of even a dollar! You should just leave! Lets think about this logically, I buy a car for 50,000. I pay 5,000 up front and i'm left with a payment of about 1,000 a month. If I stop paying for the car, does the car company come to my house and offer to give me THOUSANDS of dollars to give them the car back? No, they hire a tow truck company, and come take the thing off my driveway!!
On top of all the ridiculousness of people living in houses that they cant afford, I am a born and bred New Yorker. In this lovely state, we are referred to as an "Attorney State" and a "Landlord State". So, on average, it takes about TWO YEARS, yes TWO YEARS, to get a foreclosure completed here. So thats TWO YEARS of not making a payment to the bank, before they can even have the DEED for the property!!! Then if I still don't want to leave, guess what? I can usually stay another 1-3 years while the LANDLORD (The foreclosing bank) tried to EVICT me!!! So in essence, I can live in a house, with NO EXPENSE, for 3-5 years! Why on EARTH does it take this long? And then, to top it all off, the banks are nice enough to stop "evicting" people during Thanksgiving, and this year between December 20th-January 3rd. Now, although it seems like the "right thing to do", if the eviction of a homeowner happens to fall during that time, let them go live back home with their parents until they can afford to move out, OR use the past 3-5 years of mortgage, tax, utility payments that you have NOT made, and go rent a place you can ACTUALLY AFFORD!!!
I guess I would really just like to see the 7.5 million houses that are in the backlog (The gloomy shadow inventory) come to market. Maybe we can actually stabalize the housing prices if we sell off the homes we need to in order for the market to correct itself. :)
