As alluded to in the last post here on home foreclosures, everyone is having a hard time paying their mortgage. It’s not just subprime mortgage holders or real estate investors. Prime mortgage holders — eg, those with good credit and low-interest-rate, fixed, 30-year mortgages are falling behind too.

In fact, prime mortgage holders made up 19% of foreclosed mortgages in the first quarter of this year.

More and more homeowners are falling behind on their mortgage payments.

According to the article More prime, fixed-rate mortgages heading into foreclosure in the San Jose Mercury News:

. . . 12 percent of mortgages nationally were in trouble in the first quarter, either in foreclosure or past due by at least one payment. That is the highest level ever recorded.

Why are so many falling behind? Blame the lagging economy. Even though consumer confidence and the stock market are ticking upward, the reality is, many homeowners are still struggling.

P.S.: Learn how to easily modify your home mortgage and put the stress of possible foreclosure behind you.

P.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

Even as consumer confidence is rising, many economists see a third wave of home foreclosures on the way.

The Players in the First and Second Wave of Home Foreclosures

The first wave of home foreclosures were brought on by real estate investors who couldn’t pay the “exotic mortgages” (ie, ARMs) as they started to reset. Many of these investors were into flipping. And, once the bottom started to fall out of the market, making prices dip, they were caught with high-interest loans that they just couldn’t pay.

Prime Mortgage Holders Make up the Third Wave of Home Foreclosure Victims According to Experts

The second wave of home foreclosures stem from the subprime mortgage mess. Homeowners who took out ARMs (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) figured they could refinance before their ARMs reset. But the housing market took a dip, unemployment started to rise and voila — a perfect storm that drove many into foreclosure.

The fact that many of these homeowners should never have qualified for mortgages in the first place is sad, side point in the home foreclosure saga.

Now, the third wave.

The Third Wave of Home Foreclosures: Who’s in This Category?

Actually, this can be called the “creme de la creme” of the bunch. For, they are the homeowners who had traditional mortgages and good credit scores. So, why are they in trouble now? A couple of things can be the cause. First, many refinanced at the height of the real estate craze; taking out money to pay off other debt, remodel, take vacations, invest in the high-flying (at the time) stock market, etc.

Second, rising unemployment. Now those HELOC (home equity line of credit) payments can’t be made. “Oh,” many may opine now, “if only I’d left my nice little 30-year fixed mortgage — and the equity in my home — alone.”

How bad is it going to get? According to the New York Times article, Job Losses Push Safer Mortgages to Foreclosure:

From November to February, the number of prime mortgages that were delinquent at least 90 days, were in foreclosure or had deteriorated to the point that the lender took possession of the home increased more than 473,000, exceeding 1.5 million . . . Economy.com expects that 60 percent of the mortgage defaults this year will be set off primarily by unemployment, up from 29 percent last year. . . .

What does all of this mean?

The home foreclosure crisis is far from over.

P.S.: Learn now to buy foreclosures cheap — as cheap as $45/month — really!

P.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 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

In the Epoch Times article, First Home Buyers Out in Droves, Foreclosures Snapped Up, Peter Flint, the founder and CEO of multi-listing site Trulia.com states:

Foreclosures are at the heart of the housing crisis . . . Consumers are more interested than ever in buying foreclosures . . . First time home buyers have some money, have stable jobs, they have been sitting on the sidelines waiting. This is a way for them to get on the first rung of the housing ladder.

First-time Homebuyers Snapping Up Foreclosure Homes for Sale

The Effect of the Obama Administration’s $8,000 Credit for First-Time Homebuyers

Truer words have never been spoken than those by Mr. Flint. And, the government is incentivizing this mindset, offering an $8,000 credit to first-time homebuyers. This credit can be used in a number of ways, eg, as a down payment.

Housing experts say this is definitely contributing to the red-hot interest in foreclosure homes for sale.

Does This Mean that the Foreclosure Crisis is Getting Better?

While interest in foreclosure homes for  is up, the market is still being flooded with them — and will be for some time to come – as discussed in the post, Bank-Owned Foreclosures Mounting: 600,000 to 700,000 Still Not on the Market.

Foreclosures are Selling: What This Means for Foreclosure Clean Up Companies

Many enterprising entrepreneurs are have started foreclosure cleaning business, or are thinking about starting them. What this means for foreclosure cleaning companies is quite simply, more business. Why/how?

Many foreclosures are sold “as is”, which means they still have to be cleaned, cleared, repaired, painted, etc. And, new homeowners are overwhelmed enough. The vast majority are neither equipped to tackle these jobs themselves and/or don’t want to. So, they hire full-service foreclosure cleaning companies to do the work.

And, even if a foreclosure home for sale is not sold “as is,” it is the seller (ie, bank/lender) who will have the property cleaned and readied for its new owners. Again, they pay full-service foreclosure cleaning companies to do the work.

Foreclosure Cleaning: Why It’s An Evergreen Business

And, this is why real estate services companies (which is what a foreclosure clean up comapny is ) is such a good business. No matter what the economy at large is doing, homes are bought and sold every day. And, when it needs work, real estate clean up companies are needed.

It just so happens that foreclosures dominate the news now, so this is why so many focus on “foreclosure cleaning.” But, a property is real estate. And, real estate needs are consistent and ongoing — things get broken, yards need to be cut, walls need to be painted, floors need to be repaired, properties need to be winterized, locks need to be changed, pools need to be drained, etc.

All of these are real estate services — services that just happen to be provided by the red-hot “foreclosure cleaning companies” now. So go ahead, get in while the sector is sizzling, knowing that you have a business that can withstand good and bad economic times.

P.S.: Learn now to buy foreclosures cheap — as cheap as $45/month — really!

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

The foreclosure crisis is deepening on several layers, with the worse yet to come if you start digging deeper into the numbers. This may come as a shock to many who think that all of the help coming out of Washington is stemming the tide of home foreclosures.

It’s not. And following is one reason why.

Did you know? 600,000-700,000 Bank-Owned Foreclosures are Still Not Listed

600,000 to 700,000 Bank-Owned Foreclosures Have Yet to Hit the Market

What exactly does this mean? These are homes that are owned by lenders that haven’t been resold or listed with an agent.

According to the April 8, 2009 San Francisco Chronicle article, Banks aren’t reselling many foreclosed homes,

Lenders nationwide are sitting on hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes that they have not resold or listed for sale,… We believe there are in the neighborhood of 600,000 properties nationwide that banks have repossessed but not put on the market …

Rick Sharga, the executive VPat RealtyTrac told Bloomberg that he believes the country’s biggest lenders have yet to list over 700,000 bank-owned homes.

That’s a lot of inventory sitting unaccounted for. For the worst part of this, read on.

Why Are So Many Bank-Owned Foreclosures Not Listed

Market Bloat: Some experts speculate that lenders are hesitant to add more inventory to an already bloated market. Why? Because it will depress home values even further.

Overburdened REO Departments: While the above explanation is feasible, a more likely cause for so many bank-owned foreclosures sitting around is that banks are simply overloaded. After all, they’re not set up to be property managers or real estate sellers. They’re set up to service loans. And, the rapid rise in foreclosures has made them fall way behind in dealing with foreclosed properties.

One thing these numbers make patently clear is that the foreclosure crisis is nowhere near an end. One industry expert says he doesn’t expect to see some relief until 2012. If you’re a foreclosure cleaning business owner, wannabe owner, or foreclosure investor, there’s a lot of opportunity out there right now.

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. 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 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reproduced or reprinted — in any manner whatsoever — without the express, written consent of the author.

According to the CNN.com article, Foreclosures: ‘April was a shocker’:

. . . [foreclosure filings ]rose 32% compared with April 2008. . . . There were 63,900 bank repossessions, the last stop in the foreclosure process. More than 1.3 million homes have now been lost to foreclosure since the market meltdown began in August 2007.

And, it seems that it’s only going to get worse. Why?

4 Reasons Home Foreclosure Numbers Are Only Going to Get Worse

1. Many Homeowners Are Under Water: Home values continue to drop; foreclosures, in part, contribute to this. How? When a home goes into foreclosure, it affects the value of the surrounding homes because many times the property is sold for below market value.

In case you don’t know, being under water means that a homeowner owes more on the property than it’s worth, which brings us to the next reason the foreclosure crisis is only liken to deepen before it gets better, ie:

2. Many Homeowners Are Walking Away: More and more homeowners are doing the “jingle mail” walk, ie, mailing the keys back to lenders and walking away from their homes  rather than continue to dig themselves deeper in debt. And, they’re not the only ones. Banks are walking away from some foreclosed properties as well.

3. Unemployment Remains High: Job losses are a major contributing factor to many losing their home to foreclosure. After all, the mortgage is usually the biggest expense many have. Until the economy turns around, more foreclosures are on the horizon.

4. No Financial Safety Net: Finally, many homeowners live from paycheck to paycheck. They have no financial safety net. For many, the home was usually it. Eg, they could use the equity in their homes for emergencies, home repairs or car repairs. But, as mentioned above, with so many homes having no equity at all, this financial safety net is non-existent.

One housing expert was quoted as saying that he thinks the foreclosure crisis won’t peak until 2012. He may be right. In our next post, we’ll discuss how/why as many as 700,000 home foreclosures have yet to hit the market. This makes the crisis deeper than it appears even now.

P.S.: Learn now to buy foreclosures cheap — as cheap as $45/month — really!

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

The foreclosure crisis caused many enterprising entrepreneurs to open foreclosure cleaning businesses. It’s a smart idea that has led to success for many. While this type of business will be profitable for years to come, it’s never too early to start positioning your business for success beyond foreclosures. Why? We’ll explain.

The foreclosure crisis is going to come to an end. But, the beauty of starting a business cleaning foreclosures is that what you have on your hands is a multi-faceted real estate business.

You can focus on real estate cleanup in general, lawn maintenance, minor home repairs and/or property preservation and upkeep. The types of jobs you bring in will depend on how you position yourself in the market.

Following is a concrete plant to bring in jobs that have nothing to do with foreclosures. And, you don’t have to change a thing in your business — only how you market it.

A Two-Pronged Marketing Attack to Bring in Jobs Beyond Foreclosure Cleaning

Web Marketing: If you have a website for your foreclosure cleaning business, get a mirror one done for real estate cleaning. This way, you can send prospects who are looking for “real estate cleaning services” to this website. The contact info should be the same. In fact, link the two sites together.

Tell prospects that you are a real estate services firm with a “division” that focuses specifically on foreclosures. This will not only make you seem more professional, it’ll let potential clients know that you are aware of their needs.

This kind of attention to detail will blow most of your competition out of the water as well, as most of them don’t give this type of detail to their marketing efforts.

Car Signs: Foreclosure cleaning is a niche where car signs work wonders. If you don’t have them on your vehicle, you should get them — for both sides of your car. Be sure to get signs for “both” of your businesses as well, ie, one advertising your foreclosure services, and one advertising your real estate cleaning services.

Which sign you will use on a given day will depend on your target audience. For example, if you’re going out to give an estimate on a foreclosure cleaning job, then of course, you’d stick that car sign on the side of your car. But, if you’ve been invited to speak in front of a bunch of realtors about handling cleanup jobs when prospects, buy, sell and/or move, then you’d put the real estate service sign on your vehicle.

Smart business owners adapt to changing times. The type of marketing advice dispensed here can turn your “foreclosure cleaning business” into a “real estate services firm” that will be profitable for years to come.

May be reprinted on your website, blog, newsletter, etc. with the following, in full (ncluding live links): To learn everything you need to know about how to market a foreclosure cleanup business and land more jobs, log on to ForeclosureBusinessNews.com. You’ll also find info on new career options for real estate professionals, free articles for your website, newsletter or blog — and a lot more.

P.S.: Learn now to buy foreclosures cheap — as cheap as $45/month — really!

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

As mentioned in this post on home foreclosures, it looks like some officials in some parts of the country are finally coming to their senses when it comes to helping struggling homeowners stop foreclosure.

Like California, Boston is approaching the problem in a unique way. Nonprofits in the city are helping occupants buy back their homes, according to The Boston Globe article Nonprofits help occupants buy back homes.

Foreclosure Help: Spotlight on Boston

Following is essentially how it’s working in Boston. The bank/loan holder sells the property to the charity for its current market value. The charity then turns around and sells it back to the original homeowner. Because property values have declined steeply in the last couple of years, homeowners are often able ot buy their properties back at a fraction of the original cost, saving them hundreds — and in some cases — over a thousand dollars a month on new, fixed-rate mortgages.

Foreclosure Help: What’s the Catch in Boston’s Programs to Help Homeowners Save Their Homes

Actually, there are no “catches,” which implies that it’s too good to be true. However, there are guidelines that must be adhered to, ie:

(i) Financial Guidelines: They must meet certain financial guidelines. These are not traditional guidelines however. For example, excellent credit. Many times, the homeowner doesn’t have good credit. But, as long as they can prove that they can afford the new mortgage, these charities are willing to work with homeowners.

Their goal is to keep existing homeowners in their homes and prevent neighborhood blight. This is why they are willing to overlook bad credit in many cases.

(ii) Selling Restrictions: To ensure that homeowners who purchase their homes back from nonprofits at discounts don’t profit unfairly when they sell, the nonprofits require that homeowners share any equity appreciation.

Foreclosure Help Is Not for Everyone

This foreclosure crisis has caused many institutions to think creatively about how to solve this problem. It’s the ones who take forward-thinking actions like this who seem to be making the most progress.

In spite of creative financial finagling like this, not everyone can be helped. BUT, at least some communities seem to be getting smarter about solving the crisis — which in the end helps everybody. Now, if only more banks would get on board!

What do you think? 

P.S.: Learn how to easily modify your home mortgage and put the stress of possible foreclosure behind you.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News

Do you have an extra $45 per month?

Do you have an extra $1.50 per day?

If so, you can buy foreclosures cheap, pay them off quickly, retire early and live off rental income. Sound too good to be true? It’s not — and here’s why.

The foreclosure crisis has led to thousands of homes on the market priced under 10K. If you have an extra $45 per month to throw towards a mortgage payment (just an extra $1.50 per day!) you can snap these up and start your real estate investment empire.

3 Reasons to Buy Cheap Foreclosed Houses — NOW!

Less Risk: The lower the cost of the property, the lower the risk. If you’re a first-time investor, this is an excellent time to start with practically no risk.

Market Supply & Demand: As mentioned above, the mortgage meltdown and ensuing foreclosure crisis has caused the market to be flooded with cheap HUD homes, reo properties, short sales and a host of other kinds of cheap foreclosures.

Banks are not in the real estate business; they’re in the lending business. But, they have so many foreclosed properties on their hands now though that they’re being forced to be in the real estate (ie, property management business). Hence, they’re doing everything they can to sell as many of these properties as they can. This spells opportunity for those who are savvy enough to take advantage of this information.

No Bank Loan Required: If you have “latte money,” you can scrimp, scrape, borrow, beg and steal to come up with enough to outright purchase a property for 10K or less. That way, you don’t have to worry about getting a bank loan.

Even if you have to sit on the property for a while and not do anything to it until you saved up enough money to start repairs and renovation, 9 times out of 10, the land the house is sitting on is more than what you paid for it — so you’re already a profitable real estate investor.

Get Firsthand Advice for a Real Estate Investor, Landlord and RE Cleaning Company Owner

In the newly released ebook, How to Invest in a Home for Under 10K & Have a $45/Mo Mortgage!, the author explains everything you need to know about investing in what she terms these “dusty muffins.”

You’ll learn:

How to find properties for under 10K to invest in;

How to run the “investing numbers” and what they mean;

How to research the best areas in which to buy cheap foreclosures;

Why you should pay cash (if you can) for cheap foreclosures;

What Section 8 is and why it can be profitable when you buy cheap foreclosures;

Prepare for unexpected repairs (ie, how to plan for them so they don’t blow your budget);

Pitfalls to avoid when buying cheap foreclosures; and most importantly

How to buy cheap foreclosures and start creating wealth (you’ll be amazed at how the numbers add up AND how quickly they add up!)

AND SO MUCH MORE!

Cheap Bank-Owned Properties: A Once in a Lifetime Opportunity

The sheer numbers of these types of houses on the market make it an excellent time to invest in foreclosures and set yourself up to retire early and be secure financially – forever.

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

Many entrepreneurs who have started foreclosure clean up businesses are new to entrepreneurship business. And, even if they’re not, giving an estimate may still stump many. Following are some tips for preparing to give an estimate that will not only make you appear more professional in front of clients, it will help you land more foreclosure cleaning jobs as well.

Foreclosure Cleaning Estimate Checklist

Gather the following before you go out to give an estimate.

Be Professional When You Go Out to Give an Estimate on a Foreclosure Clean up Job

Clipboard: This is a small detail that makes a big difference. The reason is, when you’re giving an estimate on a foreclosure cleanup job, you’re usually doing a walk-through of the property. Hence, you need something to write on and take notes on so that you can remember everything when you sit down to prepare the final estimate. This brings us to the next seemingly unimportant thing, ie:

Note Pad: Those legal yellow pads that are used by attorneys work great. Even a spiral bound notebook that you can tether to your clipboard works great.

Note Pad Tip: Try to use the same note pad all the time. Why? Because this way it’ll be easy to track the kinds of things you are asked to do on each job. This note pad will serve as kind of a log for future reference. You can use this log to adjust your service offerings based on what potential clients have asked for.

“But,” you may be thinking, “I can use my formally submitted estimate for this.” This is true. HOWEVER, not everything you’ve discussed with your client and taken notes on as you walked through a property will make it into your formalized estimate. BUT, it will be in your notes.

So, keep all of your notepads – and try to do more than scribble. Make your notes make sense so that when you look back at them six months from now, you’ll know what the heck you’re reading.

Contract: Assume that you’re going to get the job and always have copies of contracts on hand. That way, if the client hires you on the spot, you’ll be prepared to have them sign on the dotted line – on the spot.

Service Checklist: Having a service checklist handy will allow you to check off the particular foreclosure clean up services the job requires quickly. The aforementioned note pad allows you to fill in the details.

Foreclosure cleaning checklist tip: If the client is present when you’re doing the walk through to prepare an estimate, give them one of these checklists. Do this for two reasons: (i) to upsell; and (ii) to impress.

About Upselling: By having all of the services you offer in front of them, many times clients will say something like, “I didn’t know you offered this service. We actually need that done. Add it to the job.” This is classic, easy upselling.

About Impressing: Overtly and subliminally, you impress the heck out of potential clients when you are so organized as to have a service checklist to offer them. Many times, clients will hang on to it to remind themselves of all the foreclosure clean up services you offer.

Business Cards: Staple this to your service checklist. Never, ever let a prospect leave your presence without giving them a few business cards.

Oh, just think how professional your foreclosure clean up business will look when you operate this way. You’ll be landing foreclosure cleaning contracts in no time.

May be reprinted on your site, blog, newsletter, newspaper, etc., with the following attribution, in full: To learn everything you need to know to start a foreclosure cleaning business, log on to ForeclosureBusinessNews.com for 200 pages of first-hand information from the owner of a leading foreclosure cleanup company in Atlanta, GA.

Copyright © 2009 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News

Looks like  some offiicials in some parts of the country are finally coming to their senses when it comes to helping struggling homeowners stop foreclosure. A foreclosure prevention program in California is targeting those who are 90 days late or more. According to the article, New Menlo Park idea to cut foreclosures:

The Foreclosure Prevention Program targets owner-occupied homes with mortgages more than 90 days past due. [The way it works is] Program administrators would approach the bank that holds the defaulting mortgage and ask it to sell the mortgage at the home’s current fair market value - the same amount the bank would receive if the home went through foreclosure . . . A local community bank would then refinance the mortgage for about 70 percent of the home’s fair market value.  . . The homeowner’s monthly housing costs potentially could be halved. . .

What a common-sense idea! “Duh,  it’s about time someone is thinking right in this foreclosure mess!”

P.S.: Learn how to easily modify your home mortgage and put the stress of possible foreclosure behind you.

Copyright © 2009: Foreclosure Business News