Posts Tagged ‘foreclosure’

Bank of America Settles Largest Data Theft Lawsuit

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Photo of Bank of America ATM Machine by Brian ...

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A now former employee of Countrywide had downloaded millions of files of consumers and sold that private information to the employees of other lenders to be used as sales leads.

The alleged thief was caught back in 2008 and his trial begins on Oct 19th of this year, and he is currently free on bond while waiting for his trial.

There were possibly 15-17 million consumers that were at risk from this crime and Bank of America, which bought Countrywide back in 2008, is now offering free credit monitoring for two years to all those consumers that had provided personal and private  information to Countrywide before July 1, 2008, or who had a mortgage loan service by Countrywide before that date as well.

I don’t know what affect this settlement will have on the current real estate market, but Bank of America has been more quickly to respond to a couple of my Short Sales of homes for sale in Stockton and Lodi, CA recently.  Perhaps they realized they’d make more money on the short sale rather than letting the home go into foreclosure.

If you’d like to get more information on this and even file a claim for the free credit monitoring you can call (866) 940-3612, or visit their website at www.CWdataClaims.com.

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200,000 Renters Sent Packing

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According to DSNews.com as published in the August issue of California Real Estate magazine, there was a study released by a group called Tenants Together.

The group focuses on renter’s rights and th

STOCKTON, CA - APRIL 29:  (FILE PHOTO) A forec...

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eir study states 37 percent of California’s foreclosed residential properties involved renters and effected an estimated 200,000 residents, many of whom were displaced, which is a nice way of saying they were given their walking papers, which is a nice way of saying they were evicted from their homes.

Unfortunately I have seen this first-hand while working with Short Sales in Stockton, Lodi and the surrounding areas.  It’s never a good day when families are being asked to leave (evicted) from their homes even though they may have been paying their rent on time, but perhaps the owner of their home wasn’t paying the mortgage.

Once the owner stops paying their mortgage, soon after they have to decide whether to let the home be foreclosed on by the bank or to try and do a Short Sale, but either way the renter loses out and has to find another place to live.

At Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties, we try to be advocates for all parties involved in any situation if we can.  If you have questions, then most likely we have answers.  We highly recommend that anyone facing foreclosure or a short sale of their home to always seek the advice of a CPA as well as a real estate attorney.

Don’t just “wait and see what happens”.  Be sure to seek professional assistance to get a fully informed as you can.

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Be Careful Exercising Your Independence

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I hope you all had a fun and safe 4th of July weekend!  Yesterday was our country’s celebration of independence.  But what about our financial independence?

When the banks have ‘bad debt’, they write it off.  When a business or corporation has a ‘bad debt’, write it off.  BUT when a homeowner has a ‘bad debt’, just writing it off ain’t gonna happen.

Mortgage debt
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A lot of people who can afford to stay in their homes are just saying good-bye to them  and their mortgages by exercising their freedom of choice and just walking away from their financial responsibilities.  This is commonly referred to as Strategic Foreclosure or Strategic Default.

So, what’s a honest homeowner to do when they’re home is now worth much less than they paid for it only a few short years ago?  Well, before you just get up and walk away you should definitely consult with a real estate attorney, a good Realtor, and also a CPA to find out what options and legal consequences you’ll have depending on your choices and situation.

You could let the bank foreclose, or you could Short Sale your home.  REOs and Short Sales in Stockton and surrounding areas are the bulk of what’s on the market these days.  Just look around and I’m sure you’ll see For Sale signs up and down many streets in your own neighborhood.

Walking away from your home that’s “under water” (worth less than you owe) instead of trying to work with your bank(s) or having a Realtor short sale it for you, could actually leave you in deep water.

Here is some more specific information about this…CLICK HERE.

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Chase Short Sale in Lodi CA Day 13

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Friday – Day 9 – I called Chase for a less than 2 min call with a Steve. Since I was not an authorized caller, he told me he could not talk to me. Short but not helpful!

Monday - Day 12 – I received a call from Chase’s Justin ask me if we were doing a short sale on the property. Duh! He wanted to know if we had a buyer already. Duh. Then he proceeded to tell me all the paperwork that I would need to send in – the paperwork that I had sent in almost 2 weeks ago. He gave me the special short sale fax line – 866-220-4130. The one that I had already sent all the forms into 13 days ago.

Justin said that when I got all the forms into him he could order the BPO. This is different from what Elizabeth in New York had told me on Day 2. Elizabeth had said that they would order the BPO and it would take 7-10 days. We are on day 13 and Justin says they have not ordered it yet.

Prices in Lodi are still falling. The longer it takes to complete this short sale, the lower the value of the home. Banks like Chase (WaMu) started this real estate mess and they seem to be doing all they can to continue it.

Hopefully we will have some good news – and some quicker response soon. Don’t hold your breath.

Distressed Sales Gain Greater Market Share

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LAS VEGAS - MARCH 21:  Prospective buyers look...
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First American CoreLogic reports that distressed properties accounted for 29% of all U.S. home sales in January. Also, real estate-owned sales rose to 22% of homes sales from 19% in December, and short sales rose to 8% from 7%.

National average sale prices in January were $161,600 for distressed homes, compared to the average non-distressed sale price of $247,700, $141,900 for REO properties, and $215,300 for short sales.

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Are the Banks Pushing Short Sales Through?

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For several months last year I heard a lot that banks were not too willing to jump on   the Short Sale wagon due to they were making more money on a home once they foreclosed on it and then sold it as an REO.

COMMERCE CITY, CO - SEPTEMBER 03:  Local resid...

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I’ve been hearing a lot more lately that banks are actually starting to work more easily with Sellers and Realtors® in order to get the process to go more smoothly with the short sale of the home

because it’s less costly to the banks than a foreclosure and they are starting to learn how to streamline the process a little better.

Here is a great that I came across that explains just that…CLICK HERE

I am beginning to see more and more Short Sales listed and being SOLD in the Lodi and Stockton, CA areas.  Here at Realty World-Davis Homes & Properties, we are taking the necessary steps to help homeowners that may be facing the decision to have to do a Short Sale on their home and assist in this process to help make it as less stressful as possible.

READ THIS ARTICLE, then contact us to get your questions answered and see if a Short Sale is right for you.

Randy

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New Round of Foreclosures Threatens Housing Market

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Recent home sales, by the numbers
Image by JAWspeak via Flickr

We all know that the Lodi, CA and Stockton, CA area property values have been affected by the current real estate market due to all the foreclosures and short sales.  How the upcoming wave of foreclosures and short sales will impact home prices in our area is something that is being reported on daily basis now.

The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.

For the rest of this interesting article… CLICK HERE

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Home Sales Statistics for San Joaquin County, CA

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Sales activity for the Lodi and Stockton CA area have been down the last couple of months.  Was it due to the bad weather?  No, it wasn’t that bad.  Was it due to no incentives to purchase?  No, we still have the extended $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers.

So, what’s the real reason for the lack of sales going on right now in the San Joaquin Valley?  Are people still afraid of falling home prices?  Could it be the inventory of homes that the banks are holding on to after foreclosure?

I’d like to hear from you out there…the public.  What are YOUR thoughts on this and what do you think it will look like in th upcoming months?

Here are the stats for the San Joaquin County, CA…

Single Family Residence
 Time Period Number of Sales Median Sale Price 
 Jan 2010 691 $179,000 
 Jan 2009 1,032 $165,750 
 Dec 2009 890 $182,500 
 Dec 2008 1,231 $177,500 
 2010 YTD 1,144 $171,750 
 2009 11,706 $170,000 
 Condominium
 Time Period Number of Sales Median Sale Price 
 Jan 2010 23 $61,000 
 Jan 2009 33 $61,000 
 Dec 2009 29 $125,000 
 Dec 2008 34 $89,000 
 2010 YTD 32 $60,000 
 2009 369 $65,000 
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The Protections Florida Homeowners have vs us in California

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I read a very interesting article about the Bankers wanting to change Florida to a Non-judicial Foreclosure state. When bankers want to make a change they are looking out for their own paycheck – not for the homeowner.

Click Here for the article. It will give you some insight to the way bankers think and the protections that we do not have here in California.

Steve Davis, Broker

Foreclose, Short Sale, or Loan Modification…What To Do?

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If you’re faced with the decision of which direction to go, you might want to watch the video down below because you may not even have a choice.  The bank may be makng the choice for you without fair warning.

This video shares some insight as to why homeowners are having such a hard time trying to get their lenders to do a loan modification on their current mortgage.

Feel free to post any comments that you may have on this subject.

CLICK HERE to view the video

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