California, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, is bracing for even more bad news on the home foreclosures front. According to Wall Street Journal article, Foreclosures Set to Soar in California, there is another wave about to hit. This analysis is based on pre-foreclosure notices sent out in the first quarter of this year. The article states:

Pre-foreclosure notices in the state jumped by 80% in the first quarter of 2009 from the previous quarter, . . . a sign that foreclosures in California will rise sharply in the coming months.

Home Foreclosures on the Rise in CA

What is Preforeclosure?

In short, pre-foreclosure is akin to a grace period. The homeowner in question is notified that they are in default and that they need to take action to bring their mortgage current. However, the lender is either unable or unwilling — at this time — to proceed with formal foreclosure (eg, eviction).

Pre-foreclosure puts homeowners on notice that they are in the beginning stages of formal foreclosure. However, the time period from when formal foreclosure takes place varies from state to state. Some states allow have a grace period of 30 days; others take as long as six months.

Following is a state-by-state list of approximately how long it takes a lender to foreclose on a homeowner.

State-by-State Timetable of How Long It Takes to Begin Formal Foreclosure Procedures

Alabama: 90 days

Alaska: 120 days

Arkansas: 90 days

Arizona: 90 days

California: 120 days

Colorado: 5 months

Connecticut: 6 months

Delaware: 7 months

District of Columbia (DC): 120 days

Florida: 6 months

Georgia: 90 days

Hawaii: 7 months

Idaho: 8 months

Illinois: 7 months

Indiana: 7 months

Iowa: 7 months

Kansas: 120 days

Kentucky: 7 months

Louisiana: 6 months

Maine: 8 months

Maryland: 5 months

Massachusetts: 5 months

Michigan: 90 days

Minnesota: 120 days

Mississippi: 120 days

Missouri: 90 days

Montana: 6 months

Nebraska: 120 days

Nevada: 120 days

New Hampshire: 90 days

New Jersey: 9 months

New Mexico: 5 months

New York: 10 months

North Carolina: 120 days

North Dakota: 120 days

Ohio: 8 months

Oklahoma: 7 months

Oregon: 5 months

Pennsylvania: 8 months

Rhode Island: : 90 days

South Carolina: 6 months

South Dakota: : 120 days

Tennessee: 90 days

Texas: 60 days

Utah: 5 months

Vermont: 9 months

Virginia: : 120 days

Washington: 5 months

West Virginia: 4 months

Wisconsin: 9 months

Wyoming: 90 days

Following are two things to keep in mind regarding these time frames: (i) in this foreclosure crisis, it’s taking lenders longer to foreclosure in most instances; and (ii) the NOD (formal Notice of Default) is commonly filed 3-4 months after a mortgage holder is delinquent. What this means, in essence, is that you add this time to the timeframes listed above.

Final note: There is a teensy, weensy bright spot in this debacle. While home foreclosures may be set to rise, in the majority of cases it takes at least 90 days for formal foreclosure proceedings to begin. This gives homoewners time to get their financial act together or seek help (eg, modifications, refinancing) where possible.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

An interesting phenomenon is happening with foreclosure homes in Cleveland, and perhaps a few more cities around the country. What is it? According to the article, In Cleveland The Homeless Are Cleaning Foreclosed Homes, on the blog Moments In Time:

Foreclosure Homes Provide an "Illegal Hand Up" to Some

A group in Cleveland, Ohio is quietly cleaning up the properties and sneaking families into the homes. . . . a group of tradesmen are doing something productive during the recession by cleaning the yards and gutters of foreclosed homes. They are covering up exposed wiring and unbarring windows. Then the group silently helps families that were in shelters learn the squatters life.

The article goes on to note that this kind of “nontraditional help” has helped some families to get back on their feet, eg, save enough to find a legal home.

Foreclosure Homes in Cleveland: A Unique Situation?

Cleveland other manufacturing cities like it are perhaps more unique than many cities hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. Many jobs that are disappearing in these factory cities are gone forever, so there will be no “housing recovery”. At least not in the foreseeable future according to some economic experts.

At least by having inhabitants — even “foreclosure squatters” — a property is lived in and in at lease these cases cared for. As previously mentioned, a group of tradesmen pitch in to do many of the tasks that cause a foreclosed property to fall into disrepair.

Foreclosure Homes Occupied by “Squatters”: The Effect on Neighboring Home Values

No one knows how this shakes out and affects neighboringhome values. As it’s done “on the down low,” and is a relatively new phenomen, it remains to be seen.

Read the entire article on this newest wrinkle caused by the foreclosure crisis.

Read more on this subject in When squatters rule the roost.

P.S.: Find Foreclosure Jobs! Did you know that you can find a foreclosure job with a simple click of your mouse? YOu can using Foreclosure Business News’ new job search portal. It’s just to the right here. You can search by job title, category, keyword, city and/or state. Find your dream job in this exciting real estate niche today!

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

Yesterday, RealtyTrac.com released its Metropolitan Foreclosure Market Report for the first quarter of this year. Cities in California and Nevada continue to top the list. The list is rounded out by cities in Florida, which continues to be hammered by the  foreclosure crisis. 

CA Tops Foreclosure List

Learn more about the Top 25 Foreclosure Cities in the site’s press release annoucing the foreclosure market report.

Find Foreclosure Jobs! Did you know that you can find a foreclosure job with a simple click of your mouse? YOu can using Foreclosure Business News’ new job search portal. It’s just to the right here. You can search by job title, category, keyword, city and/or state. Find your dream job in this exciting real estate niche today!

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

Foreclosure Business News now has a job search portal! You can find foreclosure jobs in any state. We make it easy for you to search by title, category and/or keyword also. This way, you don’t overlook opportunities you may be qualified for and/or interested in.

Simply go to the “Jobs” section in the right-hand column of any page on this site and start your search.

Start a new career in the foreclosure industry!

Start an Exciting Career in the Real Estate/Foreclosure Industry Today!

Real estate is an exciting field. And, now there are many types of opportunities in the foreclosure industry. Following are some of the exciting opportunities in this field:

Foreclosure Cleaning Jobs
Foreclosure Appraisal Jobs
Foreclosure Title Examiner Jobs
Foreclosure Realtor Jobs
Foreclosure Mortgage Specialist Jobs
Foreclosure Attorney Jobs
And so many more!

Start your search for a foreclosure job today!

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

The foreclosure crisis is continuing and according to some experts — and a bit of hard evidence — there’s no end in sight; at least not yet. This runs contrary to what you may be reading in the newspapers every day, ie, the spate of good economic news coming from Wall Street. According to the 4/20 CNN.com article, Recession is easing - Fed vice chairman, “The deep U.S. economic recession is showing signs of letting up and of ending later this year . . . ”

Foreclosure Auctions Signal Crisis Is Nowhere Near the End

But, Wall Street recovers miuch faster than the rest of the economy. And if the foreclosure auctions that are taking place around the country are any indication, the foreclosure crisis is in a self-perpetuating cycle, as explained in The New York Times article, For Housing Crisis, the End Probably Isn’t Near, ie:

The glut of foreclosed homes creates a self-reinforcing cycle. Falling prices lead to more foreclosures. Foreclosures lead to an excess supply of homes for sale. The excess supply then leads to further price declines. Jan Hatzius, the chief economist at Goldman Sachs, says that the “massive amount of excess supply” means that home prices nationwide will probably fall an additional 15 percent.

When Will the Foreclosure Crisis End?

As discussed in the article here, An End to the Foreclosure Crisis? 4 Key Indicators That Signal It’s Over we have a ways to go before the foreclosure crisis ends simply because job losses are stilll mounting, banks have tightened lending practices and consumers are hoarding money.

Until these factors turn around, the foreclosure crisis may continue in the “dog chasing its tail” spin cycle.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

If you put down less than 20% on your home, you probably have private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Private mortgage insurance protects lenders in case a homeowner defaults on a loan. It can add hundreds of dollars a month to a mortgage, and can only be gotten rid of when the balance on the loan falls below the 80% level (ie, when the homeowner owes less than 80% of the balance of the loan).

PMI Causing More Foreclosures?

 Ironically, PMI could be leading to a lot more foreclosures. How? The RealtyTimes.com article, Mortgage Insurance Contributing to Foreclosure Epidemic?, explains it best, ie:

If a loan is FHA- or VA-secured or the owners are paying PMI . . ., the lender stands to lose much less from foreclosure, because the insurance will make up a portion of the difference. In other words, the lender’s motivation to work out a reasonable deal with the homeowner/borrower is undermined by mortgage insurance – often mortgage insurance that the homeowner is paying for!

Foreclosure Homes for Sale: Should PMI Be Eliminated?

This situation has caused some real estate industry insiders to question the need for private mortgage insurance. As the aforementioned article points out, it could lower the monthly mortgage payment, making homes more affordable for many — perhaps the same ones who are losing their homes today.

Oftentimes, the difference between keeping a home and losing it is only a few hundred dollars a month, or the cost of PMI. Just something to think about.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

Baltimore is suing Wells Fargo bank, contending that their lending practices during the height of the real estate boom has led to what is now a wave of foreclosures in communities throughout their cities. The New York Times article, Baltimore Is Suing Bank Over Foreclosure Crisis, states the case this way:

Baltimore’s mayor and City Council are suing Wells Fargo Bank, contending that its lending practices discriminated against black borrowers and led to a wave of foreclosures that has reduced city tax revenues and increased its costs.

Foreclosure Crisis: Banks Being Sued by Cities

As the foreclosure crisis continues and more and more cities grapple with declining tax revenues, the most obvious question is will other cities follow suit (pun fully intended)? And, if they do, who will pay? Banks are failing and/or being bailed out by the government every day. Will taxpayers once again be on the hook as cities struggle to stabilize neighborhoods racked by foreclosures?

What do you think?

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

According to an expert quoted in the CNN story, Experts: Some foreclosed homes too damaged to sell, up to one-third of foreclosed homes on the market now are too damaged to sell. The piece states:

About a third of all of the foreclosed properties nationwide have been so damaged, either by the previous owners or by criminal gangs coming in after the foreclosure, that they no longer qualify for standard mortgage financing.

Damaged Foreclosed Home

While the Mortgage Bankers Association says it has no hard evidence of this, if even half of that number is true, that’s a lot of houses on the market — and coming on the market — that will require a lot of work. According to recent estimates, up to 4,000,000 foreclosures will come on the market in the next three to five years. If a third of them will be damaged to the extent that they can’t be sold, that’s over 1.3 million homes.

Foreclosure cleanup company owners — are you ready for this onslaught of work?

Read the entire story of damage to foreclosured properties.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

The foreclosure crisis is still deepening, despite good news on several economic fronts recently. According to the US News & World Report article,

. . . [foreclosure] filings spiked by 17 percent from February to March, making levels 46 percent higher in March than one year ago. For the first quarter of 2009, they increased by 9 percent, with 1 in 159 housing units receiving at least one foreclosure notice.

Foreclosures Rising; Opportunities Also

While people losing their homes is never news to celebrate, this means opportunity for those in a position to take advantage of it, eg:

Short Sales: A short sale is when a bank agrees to accept less on a property than is owed on it. There are a lot of these opportunities out there if you’re an investor looking to pick up rental properties and/or a homeowner looking for a good deal. You have to have the credit though. The days of getting 100% financing or having less-than-stellar credit are over.

Real-estate Services Companies: Own a foreclosure cleaning business, a property management business, a general contracting business? Sooner or later, these properties will have to be gotten into “market ready” shape. THis means cleaning up, clearing out and maintaining them until they are resold or rented. If you own a company that provides this type of service — expect business to boom for some time to come.

Foreclosure Realtors: If you’ve never handled foreclosure before, now is the time to retool your career to focus on handling these types of deals. For, they’ll probaby part of the housing inventory in your area. Learn more about how to list bank-owned properties.

Read the full article, Jump in Foreclosures Dims Obama’s ‘Glimmers of Hope’ for Economy.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

Desperate homeowners in some states may soon be able to get relief from bankruptcy judges to help stop foreclosure. How?

Bankruptcy Legislation May Help Stop Foreclosure

If you are under water on your house (ie, owe more on it that it will sell for), bankruptcy judges will be able to use legislation [the Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy Act of 2009] specifically devised to stop foreclousres to write down mortgage debit. The Miami Herald article, Miami Judge Supports Bankruptcy Legislation Helping Homeowners, explains it this way:

A key component of President Barack Obama’s plan to curb the rising tide of foreclosures is to give bankruptcy judges the power to write down mortgage debt for people in bankruptcy court. It’s known in bankruptcy as a “cram down.”

Stop foreclosure through bankruptcy? To read an Q and A with a bankrupcty judge on how the process would work if the legislation passes, read Miami Judge Supports Bankruptcy Legislation Helping Homeowners.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News