According to the AP news article posted on ABCNews.com, Mortgage Study Says Recent Modifications Work Best, the home loan modification process has been a rocky road for homeowner. Proof?

Thirty percent of modifications made in 2009 were seriously delinquent or in the foreclosure process, according to a second-quarter study released by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Office of Thrift Supervision.

In 2008, this figure was 45%;

This year so far, only 10% of who received a home loan were  behind.

While it seems that things are slowly getting better, the argument could be made that home foreclosure statistics are just a reflection of  the overall economy. According to a recent USAToday-Gallup poll, over 80% of Americans think that we are still in a recession, even though “experts” say that the recession is over — and has been since last year.

But as the average Joe who’s facing foreclosure will tell you, it’s hard to believe that the recession is over when she’s been hunting for a job for the last year or more, the bills are piling up, unemployment benefits have expired (or are about to expire) and there’s no relief in site.

Oy vey . . . perception is reality for lots of folks!

What This Means for the Home Foreclosure Market

When the economy is sluggish and people can’t find jobs, they fall futher behind. This means they are less eligible for help to stop foreclosure, which leads to even more losing their homes.

This also means that existing homes sit on the market longer, because they take longer to sell.

Furthermore, banks have tightened purse strings, so even those who may have jobs and want to buy a home can’t because they can’t qualify for home loans.

It’s a vicious cycle . . . that we all just have to bear with until the economy turns around.

Helpful Posts on Stopping Foreclosure & Getting a Mortgage (If You’re in the Market to Buy

Stop Foreclosure Help: What Happens When You Stop Paying Your Mortgage

Stop Foreclosure: 1 Really Easy Thing You Can Do to Buy More Time to Save Your Home

Stop Foreclosure: The Secret Your Lender Won’t Tell You That Can Help Save Your Home

Stopping Foreclosure: Obama Administration to Launch 2 New Programs to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosure (One is for Unemployed Homeowners) 

Want a Mortgage? Why It’s Tougher to Qualify Now & Why That’s a Good Thing

More money from HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) will be flowing into communities soon to help communities around the country recover from the foreclosure crisis.

As the statement below from the DSNews.com article, HUD Doles out Another $1B to Stabilize Hard-Hit Neighborhoods, highlights, all 50 states will receive funds, which means city, state and local municipalities will be flush with cash — cash that can flow directly into the pockets of foreclosure cleanup companies.

The grants represent the third round of Neighborhood Stabilization Program [which we've discussed on this blog several times over the last year and a half; see links below] funding, earmarked for acquiring, redeveloping, or demolishing foreclosed properties. All 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have been designated to receive allocations.

How Your Foreclosure Cleaning Company Can Get Its Hands on Some of This Cash

As these funds will be used, in part, to ”demolish or rehabilitate abandoned homes; and to . . . temporarily manage and dispose of vacant properties,” it offers a prime opportunity for foreclosure cleanup companies to be awarded contracts and ongoing work. But, you must be positioned to do so first.

As we discuss in this post on what happens when governments allocate funds for things like cleaning up foreclosed properties:

When the government has work to be done, they use contractors, who often use subcontractors. And, you have to be licensed. If you’re a mom and pop shop with no official documentation, eg, insurance, official business license, etc., then you won’t be able to vie for these contracts. You must “get official” first.

So get licensed, get insured and position your foreclosure business to get it’s hands on some of this cash from HUD for cleaning up foreclosed properties.

ATTN Commerical Cleaners, Junk Haulers, Electricians, Painting Contractors, Plumbers, General Contractors, Lawn Maintenance & Other Real-Estate Related Service Businesses

If you own businesses like the ones listed above, you can be perfectly positioned to bring in some extra business as well. Foreclosed properties need a host of services — it’s not just trashouts and clean ups. Other services are often needed as well, ie:

Doors and windows need to be fixed (general contractors);

Walls need to be painted (painters);

Lawns, shrubs and trees need to be cut/trimmed (lawn maintenance);

Properties need to be winterized (plumbers);

etc.

If you’re struggling for business in this difficult economy, this can be just the thing to bring in those extra jobs. But again, make sure you have the right licenses and the right insurance to take advantage of these opportunities.

As this REO realtor who handles a lot of foreclosure properties stated:

So then i ask for a list of what they offer with any associated prices, again they are not prepared and lastly i ask are you insured (emphasis added), by then most of them are on their way out.

Related Links on the Neighborhood Stabilization Program & More

Foreclosure Cleaning Contracts on the Way? When Will Gov’t Stimulus Money be Allocated?

HUD Funds Make Foreclosure Cleaning a Hot Business Opportunity

Foreclosure Homes for Sale: $2 Billion Allocated by Gov’t to Buy Spells Opportunity for Foreclosure Cleaning Companies

Foreclosure Money Flowing into City Coffers, But Is It Helping Homeowners?

Foreclosure Cleaning: What You Should Know About HUD Pricing Guidelines

I don’t even want to type this anymore because we’ve done it so many times here on this blog, but it bears repeating — until the economy gets better, more and more Americans are in danger of succumbing to foreclosure. Recent numbers from the Mortgage Bankers Association bears this out.

In The New York Times articles, Foreclosures Fall, but Early Delinquencies Rise, the following stats tell the story, ie:

The share of loans one payment behind, which peaked at 3.77 percent in early 2009, then fell to 3.31 percent at the end of the year, rose in the second quarter [of this year] to 3.51 percent.

. . .  the percentage of loans entering foreclosure increased in July to 1.33 percent of all loans outstanding, from 1.01 percent in June.

Eight months ago, the number of households behind on their payments, whether by one month or several years, exceeded eight million.

In spite of these number, the home foreclosure crisis is easing. But it needs the economy to pick up to make it a sustainable.

It’s the electoral season, and we all know what that means — jack (as in, nothing) gets done to help the average American citizen. The latest pain point for the Average Joe to be caught in “political cross-hairs” is the possibility of home foreclosure help. An article in The Citizen entitled Obama running out of options to aid housing market, got it right, stating:

At this stage in the game, there does not exist the political wherewithal to do anything that would meaningfully change the pace or the ultimate magnitude of the foreclosure crisis . . .

So what does this mean for the Average Jane/Joe who needs help to stop foreclosure?

Wait, wait and wait some more. There are two ways to look at this:

(i) it buys you more time to work with your lender to perhaps stave off foreclosure; or

(ii) it gives you some time to save up some money and get the hell out of dodge (eg, undergo voluntary foreclosure) so you can start to rebuild your life.

What are you leaning towards?

Latest Home Foreclosure Statistics: The Crisis Rages On

. . . the gross number of mortgages that are either 90 or more days past due or in foreclosure increased 31.5% from the same period a year ago. [Source: HousingWire.com]

P.S.: Start a Business Cleaning Foreclosed Properties. While the foreclosure crisis has been a nightmare for many, it has presented a perfect small business opportunity for others. Learn how to start a foreclosure clean up business. Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner rakes in $40,000/wk (not a typo).

P.P.S.: Like this post? Follow Foreclosure Business News on Twitter. 

Copyright © 2010 Yuwanda Black for Foreclosure Business News. Article may not be reprinted or reproduced in any manner without the express, written consent of the author.

Tiger Woods is obviously not affected by the home foreclosure crisis in the Sunshine State of Florida like so many are. According to the MSN.FoxSports.com article, Tiger takes out $54.5M mortgage, the golf legend has taken out a $54.5 million mortgage on a home in the exclusive enclave of Jupiter, FL.

Seems like divorce from former wife Elin agrees with the golf phenom.

And, the juicy part of the story is not that the mortgage is $54.5 million, but that the golf great plans to pay it off in just over 5 years! Most homeowners across the country are struggling to pay off $150,000 mortgages in 30 years — and he’s going to pay off a $54.5 million mortgage in a bit more than 60 months (63 months if you figure it from 9/2010 to 1/2016).

That’s a monthly mortgage payment approaching a million dollars a month — $865,079.36 to be exact.

How much is your mortgage payment per month?

Man, I knew I should have taken up golf as an extra-curricular activity in college!

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