Posts Tagged ‘Foreclosed Homes’
Homes lost to foreclosure up 6% from last year
The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure surged in July, another sign lenders are moving quicker to take back properties from homeowners behind in payments. Lenders repossessed 92,858 properties last month, up 9 percent from June and an increase of 6 percent from July 2009, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said Thursday. Banks have stepped up repossessions this year to clear out the backlog of bad loans. July makes the eighth month in a row that the pace of homes lost to foreclosure has increased on an annual basis. Meanwhile, homeowners who are falling behind on their payments are being allowed to stay in their homes longer because lenders are reluctant to add to the glut of foreclosed homes on the market. The number of properties receiving an initial default notice – the first step in the foreclosure process – rose 1 percent last month from June, but tumbled 28 percent versus July last year, RealtyTrac said. Initial defaults have fallen on an annual basis the past six months. The latest data reflect a foreclosure crisis that continues to drag on as many homeowners struggle to make their monthly payments amid high unemployment, slow job growth and an uneven rebound in home prices. Economic woes, such as unemployment or reduced income, are now the main catalysts for foreclosures. Initially, lax lending standards were the culprit, but homeowners with good credit who took out conventional, fixed-rate loans are now the fastest growing group of foreclosures. Lenders are offering a variety of programs to help homeowners modify their loans, but their success rates vary. Hundreds of thousands of homeowners can’t qualify or fall back into default. The Obama administration has rolled out numerous attempts to tackle the foreclosure crisis but has made only a small dent in the problem. More than 40 percent, or about 530,000 homeowners, have fallen out of the administration’s main effort to assist those facing foreclosure. That program, known as Making Home Affordable, has provided permanent help to about 390,000 homeowners, or 30 percent of the 1.3 million who have enrolled since March 2009. Still, RealtyTrac estimates more than 1 million American households are likely to lose their homes to foreclosure this year. In all, 325,229 properties received a foreclosure-related warning in July, up 4 percent from June, but down 10 percent from the same month last year, RealtyTrac said. That translates to one in 397 U.S. homes. The firm tracks notices for defaults, scheduled home auctions and home repossessions - warnings that can lead up to a home eventually being lost to foreclosure. Among states, Nevada posted the highest foreclosure rate in July, with one in every 82 households receiving a foreclosure notice. The number of properties in Nevada receiving a foreclosure warning last month rose nearly 7 percent from June, but fell nearly 30 percent from the same month last year. Rounding out the top 10 states with the highest foreclosure rate last month were: Arizona, Florida, California, Idaho, Michigan, Utah, Illinois, Georgia and Maryland. Las Vegas continued to be the city with the highest foreclosure rate in the U.S., with one in every 71 homes receiving a foreclosure notice in July – more than five times the national average. Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press, Alex Veiga, AP real estate writer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Related Topics: Foreclosures
A Beginner’s Guide to Investing in Distressed Homes
People often invest their money in the stock market, cars, gadgets, business and alike. But lately, probably due to the housing crash, most people have stopped thinking about investing in real estate. Buying and selling/holding properties, especially distressed homes such as foreclosures and short sales is one of the best investment methods in today's market ... for the exact same reason that most people are shying away from buying homes -- the market has tanked. Real Estate is without a doubt one of the best ways to invest your money when you properly research the market. Buying properties that are in need of rehabbing will most likely, be listed below market value and repairing the home can earn substantial equity. Then relist the newly repaired home back on the market and pull that equity back out. For real estate investors looking to rent out properties, the home does not need to be in bad shape, merely finding a home in a good location under market value will reap monetary rewards for years to come. Foreclosed homes are properties that have been turned over to lender because of the homeowners' failure to pay the mortgage. These "bank owned" homes are now put on the market by sellers that have only seen the home in pictures and are looking to sell the property in less then 180 days. This truly creates a motivated seller situation and a saavy investor who is an expert in identifying these properties has the potential to bring in more profit then during the real estate boom. When considering which distressed home to buy as an investment, it is important to remember location is a huge factor. Check into your area's unemployment rate, crime rates and economic conditions before choosing a designated area to start investing. The local housing markets' status is also an important point to consider in this business. Foreclosed homes for sale in markets that have not suffered sudden surges in price during the housing boom will be the most immune to drastic drops in real estate values and will offer the best chances of steady price increases. Look into the population rate of a particular city or state. Those areas that are highly populated like Florida, Texas, South Carolina, Indiana and Oklahoma bring in high chances of real estate success. Doing these things alone won't guarantee success to your real estate business. It will still depend on your skills and determination to triumph, but you these tips as a guide.
Why Purchase Homes Foreclosed by Banks?
Mostly you can purchase homes foreclosed by banks through an auction or through a bank-appointed real estate broker or agent. Banks attempt to sell off homes they foreclosed on at auctions but most of these homes do not actually get sold there. When no buyer is successful enough to purchase homes foreclosed by banks in this manner, the home reverts to the bank to become a real estate owned property, which they will then try to sell in the open market through an appointed broker If you wish to purchase homes foreclosed by banks through an auction know that there are many processes you need to be aware of. Needless to say, you need to know where the property is located and when it will be auctioned off. The best way to do this is to check out local newspapers, especially the weekend editions. This information will likewise be available on the bank's website. It is always prudent to conduct an earnest research on the property and its title because they are sold in their current condition at all times. Purchase Homes Foreclosed By Banks in the Open Market If you do not feel comfortable joining an auction to purchase homes foreclosed by banks you can also find them on the open market through a broker or through a good online foreclosure listing provider. When repossessed homes fail to sell at auctions they officially become the property of the bank. Since banks are not really in the housing business, they will be very keen on selling their inventory of foreclosed homes. They would normally release a list of foreclosed properties to the market through a broker or in the Internet, but they would most likely be open to directly dealing with individuals or their agents. These homes are sold at marked down prices with additional discounts and incentives to make the package more attractive to buyers. These houses really come cheap because banks only aim to recover enough from the sale to cover the unpaid portion of the debt owed by the previous owner. There really are a lot of good reasons to purchase homes foreclosed by banks but one needs to know the inner workings of this manner of investing to be successful in it. Joseph B. Smith has been educating buyers on the finer points of purchase homes foreclosed at ForeclosureDeals.com for over ten years. Contact Joseph B. Smith through ForeclosureDeals.com if you need help finding information about purchase homes foreclosed.
