It appears that homeowners facing foreclosure now have more than regular thieves to worry about. Now, say some, the very banks that hold their mortgages are in essence acting like burglars and thieves.

In the MSNBC.com article, Banks accused of illegally looting homes, one property owner facing foreclosure came home to find her dead husband’s ashes taken, as well as china, furniture and other family goods.

The bank had illegally foreclosed on the home, during a time the owner thought that she was working out a modification with them. When they foreclosed, the crews they sent out cleaned out the house and changed the locks.

Apparently, this is not an isolated incident. Many homeowners facing foreclosure across the country point to stories like this to underscore how disorganized one one hand, and outright illegal on the other hand, the foreclosure process has become in America.

Facing foreclosure? Has your property been “looted” by your bank? Tell us in the comments section below.
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Post Con’t Below: Start a Business Cleaning Foreclosed Properties –Get a Foreclosure Cleaning “Business in a Box” at one low price. While the foreclosure crisis has been a nightmare for many, it has presented a perfect small business opportunity for others. Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner rakes in $40,000/wk (not a typo).

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Home Foreclosure News: 9 Million Homeowners Could Go Into Foreclosure Between 2009 & 2012

Home Loan Modifications: 30% of Those Made in 2009 Were Seriously Delinquent or in Foreclosure Process — Lessons Learned?

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

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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.

A 3-bedroom, 1 bath home for $49,000.

With deals like this onthe market, it’s it’s easy to see why so many are interetsed in buying foreclosed properties. And, according to a recent survey by real estate authority sites Harris Interactive for Trulia and RealtyTrac, more deals like this will be available. The survey noted that:

2010 will be another record year for foreclosures [with more than] 3 million homes . . . likely [to] be listed in a foreclosure filing . . . up from 2.8 million last year. RealtyTrac data shows that banks would repossess 1.2 million properties this year [with] less than 1 million foreclosed properties . . . being absorbed annually in the market now.

What this means is that good deals will continue to be available for those looking to buy and sell foreclosed properties — as primary residences, or as investment vehicles.

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Post Con’t Below: Start a Business Cleaning Foreclosed Properties –Get a Foreclosure Cleaning “Business in a Box” at one low price. While the foreclosure crisis has been a nightmare for many, it has presented a perfect small business opportunity for others. Read how one foreclosure cleaning business owner rakes in $40,000/wk (not a typo).

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But, many are still afraid to take the jump, according to the article, Foreclosures intrigue homebuyers, but risks may prevent a deal.

Concerns Potential Buyers Face When Investing in Foreclosed Properties

Some of the main concerns prospects cited according to the above-referenced article are loss of value, hidden costs, the uncertainty of the process itself, etc.

Related Posts

Foreclosures for Sale: The Difference Between an REO and a Regular Foreclosure

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Buy Foreclosures Cheap: Just What the Housing Market Needs to Get Moving Again

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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.

If you’re facing foreclosure and trying to sell your home during the holidays, there are some unique challenges you may face this time of year. Following are some house selling tips for how to make your home attractive to buyers so that it sells quickly.

House Selling Tips on Holiday Décor – Should You Remove Religious Themes?

Christmas is a religious holiday. But, there are many religions. So the question for those trying to sell their home this time of year becomes, “Should I remove religious-themed décor, or leave it up?”

There are two schools of thought on this.

Some realtors say that as long as it’s tasteful and not over the top, it shouldn’t turn off potential buyers and is fine to leave it up. But, what is “tasteful” to one person may be offensive to someone else. There is no one standard by which to judge this idea of tastefulness.

And, this is exactly why other realtors may tell you to remove all religious-themed décor altogether. After all, they argue, if you’re trying to stop foreclosure by selling your home, you need to do everything you can and if there’s even the remote possibility that someone could be turned off by your décor, then you should remove it.

The bottom line is, it’s up to you.

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Post Con’t Below: Get the Foreclosure Cleaning “Business in a Box” at one low price.

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House Selling Tips on Ethnic Holiday Décor – Should You Remove It, or Not?

Similar to religious themed holiday décor, there is no one race. And, many homeowners decorate their homes for the holidays that reflect their race and their culture.

Is this a turn-off, or a non-issue for potential buyers?

On one side you have those who say as long as it’s not “over the top,” it can be left up. On the other hand you have those who say your holiday décor should be as “neutral” as possible. But again, who defines what is “over the top” or “neutral”?

Best bet – keep décor simple.

2 Holiday House Selling Tips You Probably Haven’t Thought Of

Smells Sell: Buying a home is as much an emotional as a financial decision. And when emotions are involved, all of our senses are affected. Smell is one of the most powerful, for we associate it with feelings. Nothing “feels” like home more than familiar smells of fresh-baked cookies or a home-made pie, for example.

Cinnamon apple, peach, blueberry, pumpkin – these are all familiar holiday smells of baked goods that can “attach” a potential buyer to a house. So when you know you have a showing, fire up that oven and get the good smells going.

Be Open to Appointments: While it may be an inconvenience, be open to showing your home on a moment’s notice. Remember, if you’re trying to stop foreclosure and sell quickly, there are many out of towners who may be in town and interested. So, their schedules may be limited. Hence, help your realtor by being flexible with showing time.

Holiday House Selling Tips: Conclusion

If you do these things, along with keeping your home clean (even though it may be trying especially this time of year with family and friends in and out), you’ll have a better chance of selling your home and avoiding foreclosure.

Get a state by state breakdown of how long the foreclosure process takes.

Related Posts

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Banks are dragging out the foreclosure process for their own selfish reasons

Email from a reader, on not being foreclosed on

Home Foreclosure News: 1.2 Million Homes Lost to Recession (Foreclosures a Big Factor as Many Squeeze in w/Relatives & Friends)

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.

It used to be that if you couldn’t pay your bills, it was something to be embarrassed about. But, it seems that in the last two decades or so (since the “consumptuous 80s”), this has changed.

Home Foreclosure: How the “Greed Is Good Culture” Led Us to This Mess

One of the biggest movies from this time period was Wall Street, the 1987 movie starring Michael Douglas. And, the biggest line from that movie?

Greed is good.

Well, as Malcolm X once said, the chickens have come home to roost, and it’s time to pay the piper. We bought homes that were too big, got mortgages we never should have qualified for, leased and bought gas-guzzling cars, and took out HELOCs to pay for furniture we didn’t need. And now . . 

. . . We can’t pay for any of it.

And a very good argument can be made that all of this consumption blinded us to the reality that past generations took for granted; namely that if you can’t pay for it with cash, you can’t afford it.

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Post Con’t Below: Get the Foreclosure Cleaning “Business in a Box” at one low price.

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The Home Foreclosure Threat: Why Our Grandparents Had It Right

In what many of us are realizing was the good old, financially sound days, to get a mortgage it was common to:

Put down anywhere from 20%-50%;

Get a 15 year mortgage;

Never borrow against your house (eg, take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC)) to buy things you didn’t need; and

Work like crazy to pay off your modest abode.

The Shame of Home Foreclosure Is No Longer There

All of this brings us to today — the shame of foreclosure is no longer a “shame.” It’s a financial/business decision; one to put on your P&L (profit and loss statement). If the numbers don’t work, then give the house back to the bank and move on. That’s the way many are assessing home ownership these days, and one reason it’s no longer this big, embarrassing thing it used to be.

According to a new survey by online real estate listing platform Trulia.com, and the leading online foreclosure marketplace, RealtyTrac.com:

. . . the societal stigma of shame and embarrassment surrounding foreclosure is melting away among Americans — and it’s being replaced with a whole new outlook. . . . More well-off people are realistically considering strategic defaults and equally there’s been a decrease in the sentiment around foreclosures . . . the stigma is definitely gone and could be very much perceived as a smart financial decision by people. [Source -- Foreclosure: A Sound Financial Option for U.S. Homeowners?]

Who can blame homeowners when Wall Street sheds bad debt at the blink of an eye and leaves American taxpayers to pick up the bill.

There’s something underneath though that should bug all of us more.

Forget blame for a minute about how/why we got into this mess. What about individual responsibility?

From mortgage brokers who pushed through loans that never should have gone through, to people who can well afford their mortgages walking away simply because their home is no longer a “sound investment,” who is looking in the mirror and saying, “I own my part in this and I’m going to do what I can to hold up my part of the bargain.”

If the social core of responsibilty is shedded, where does that leave us as a nation? If we shed values as quickly as homes are shedding equity these days, what does it mean for our future as a country?

And while it may seem like an empty ethical question, really, what can we teach our kids when we’re all acting like a bunch of spoiled brats who whine, stamp our feet and shed our debts (bankruptcy, foreclosure) when times get tough?

Maybe greed is good for capitalism . . . but what is good for our souls?

Mr. Stone, can you make a movie that answers that? 

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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

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

Home Foreclosure News: 9 Million Homeowners Could Go Into Foreclosure Between 2009 & 2012

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.

If you’re like many wannabe business owners, you’ve probably been thinking about starting a business for quite some time. This is true for most. They’ll look into a plethora of opportunities until the stumble upon one that makes them want to take the plunge. This is where many get stuck.

You see, hesitation can turn into procrastination quick, fast and in a hurry. If this sounds at all familiar it you, and you’ve been wanting to start a foreclosure clean up business, following is why the holidays are an ideal time to finally take the plunge.

The Holidays: Why It’s One of the Best Time to Start a Foreclosure Clean Up Business

During the holidays, most people are focused on anything but business. They’re too busy thinking about the next party or hanging out with friends and family, or simply enjoying some down time.

If you’re serious about owning a business, however, one of the things you’ll learn early on is that you have to work while others are playing. For, it is exactly this type of mental fortitude that will ensure your success as a business owner – allowing you to surpass your competition easily.

So while it’s definitely important to spend time with friends and family this joyous time of year; it’s equally imperative that you carve out some time to put towards your dream of running your own foreclosure cleanup business.

And, one train of thought that’ll get you itching to start is thinking about how great it would feel to get call, go out, give an estimate and then land a foreclosure cleaning job where you earn $1,500, $3,000 or $5,000 or more – which is totally possible in this type of business, even for newbies.

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Post Con’t Below: Get the Foreclosure Cleaning “Business in a Box” at one low price.

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Start a Foreclosure Cleaning Business: The Holiday Plan of Action

Now that you know why the holidays are an ideal time to start planning to own a foreclosure cleaning business, following are three things you can do to make it a reality that much sooner.

Decide on Which Services You’ll Offer

When you operate a business cleaning foreclosed properties, you can offer a lot of services, eg, lawn maintenance, painting, lock changing, winterizing, etc. Therefore, it’s important to know how big or small you want to start.

During the holidays is an ideal to sit down and research the service offerings of other foreclosure cleaning businesses – especially those in your area – to see which services you want to start with.

Check Into Foreclosure Cleaning Business Insurance

What type of insurance to get is one of the most often-asked questions by new foreclosure cleanup business owners. This depends, to a large degree, on which services your company will offer. And, that’s why we recommend starting with this first.

Register Your Business

In order to get foreclosure cleaning jobs from realtors, bankers and property preservation companies — sources from whom you’ll receive a lot of work – you will need to be a formally registered business (with insurance).

So you’ll have to register your business, then get insured before you start pitching these companies for work.

Of course, there are a few more things that you need to do to start a foreclosure clean up business, but these are three of the biggies. Once you complete these steps, you’re practically ready to go. Good luck.

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