Entries Tagged 'Mortgage rates' ↓

Short sale fraud is a rising crime that begins to gain its momentum. Analytics firm CoreLogic stated that 1.9% of all U.S. short sales, or 1 out of every 53 deals, over the past two years (approximately 15,000nationwide) are fraudulent. Short sale scams have a great impact on the society; victims that end up homeless, cheated lenders, damage to values of neighborhood properties. Since there is minimal enforcement against short sale and prosecution to suspects is difficult, many criminally minded people take the risk and fraud short sales.

Not all short sales are bad, though. A short sale may be the solution to your home foreclosure problem when you do the time to scrutinize your agency or real estate agent that suggests a short sale to help you get out of a mortgage situation. Keep in mind that despite the faster pace and less expense of a short sale compared to a foreclosure, it doesn’t necessarily absolve the remaining balance.

A growth of Wells Fargo & Co.’s portfolio of active and completed mortgage modifications was seen, from 733,180 at the end of January to 740,359 in late February.

The figures stated take account of all active and completed modifications stated at the bank within the time period of January 2009 to February 2012. Wells stated that 84% or 623,737 of those modification efforts were completed through the bank’s proprietary programs, while 116,622 were settled through the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) of the government.

Wells Fargo succeeded in encouraging 80% of its seriously delinquent customers to ask for assistance. According to the bank’s report, approximately 7 out of 10 seriously delinquent customers avoided foreclosure.

Furthermore, Wells Fargo & Co. helped 5.6 million customers that have obtained low-rate loans for purchases and refinancing over the previous three years.

Wells Fargo wrote in a statement, “As a result of that success and the fact that more than 92% of Wells Fargo’s home loan customers remained current on their mortgage payments as of the fourth quarter of 2011, fewer than 2% of the loans on owner-occupied properties in its mortgage servicing portfolio have resulted in a foreclosure sale over the past 12 months… Wells Fargo also has helped nearly 5.6 million customers secure new low-rate loans for home purchases or to refinance existing mortgages between January 2009 and February 2012.”

As compared with the first quarter last year, Missouri and Kansas anticipate a dramatic decline in the number of foreclosures for the same period this year as per the report released on April 12, 2012.

RealtyTrac Inc. presented data reflecting 25.6 percent drop in Kansas’ home foreclosure actions for the quarter, while dropping 22.4 percent in Missouri.

There were 2,677 homes in Kansas drawn in foreclosures, approximately one in every 461 households, making the state 32^nd in the country’s overall foreclosure filings, as reported by RealtyTrac Inc. On the other hand, 6,813 homes in foreclosure were reported in Missouri in the first three months of 2012, approximately 1 in every 298 households, making it to rank 23 in the country’s overall foreclosure filing.

Drops in foreclosure actions in Kansas and Missouri were also seen on the one-month data for March.

According to RealtyTrac Inc., although there was a drop in the number of foreclosures in Kansas since 2011’s fourth quarter, Missouri’s activity in the first quarter showed 11.6 percent higher than last year’s final quarter.

The national foreclosure activity dropped 2 percent for the first three months of the current year in contrast with 2011’s last quarter. From the first quarter of 2011, foreclosure activity fell 16 percent.

More homes were drawn into the foreclosure process nationwide in March, possibly giving chance to increases in properties repossessed by lenders in 2012.

In March, there was a 7 percent increase in the number of homes that received foreclosure notices the first time from the previous month, as per RealtyTrac Inc. report, marking the third consecutive monthly surge in 2012. It also shows the banks’ stepped-up efforts in taking action against homeowners who failed to sustain with mortgage payments.

Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac Inc. commented, “We’re not out of the woods yet with foreclosures… There are more batches of foreclosures coming through the pipeline.”

As measured by the number of properties receiving notices of default, scheduled for auction or repossessed by lenders, the overall foreclosure activity dramatically dropped in March to an all time low since July 2007. There are a total of 198,853 homes that received a foreclosure notice in the month of March, down 4 percent from the month of February, and down 17 percent from March 2011.

A Berkshire Hathaway affiliate, HomeServices of America, Inc., has made public the acquisition of Prudential Connecticut Reality, which is one of Connecticut’s biggest and most respected residential real estate brokerage firms.
Prudential Connecticut, headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut, serves the whole state, with no less than 1,400 sales associates in not less than 50 offices situated in major markets across the state. Prudential Rhode Island Realty, which is a division of Prudential Connecticut Realty, has its two offices that serve the Westerly and Watch Hill communities.

Prudential Connecticut Reality had $2.5 billion in sales in the year 2011. Prudential Connecticut Reality, under its new structure, preserves its name and retains a flagship franchisee of Prudential Real Estate’s U.S. network.

Peter Helie, the chairman of the institution, is known for his excellent professional contributions and far-reaching philanthropic activities within his community. Helie will pursue in his function as chairman and CEO, and Candace Adams will go on as president, managing the day-to-day operations along with sales management and executive leadership teams.

HomeServices is considered as the second-biggest, full-service independent residential real estate brokerage firm, and the biggest brokerage-owned settlement services provider in the United States. The acquisition embodies the initial entry of HomeServices into Connecticut and the Northeast region. With this deal, HomeServices has 26 brands, and no less than 16,000 real estate professionals that operate in 20 states. HomeServices’ growth strategy centers on pointing out market-leading companies that have founded deep and lasting reputations within their community and old traditions for excellence.

Ron Peltier, chairman and CEO od HomeServices said, “Prudential Connecticut is among the leading real estate companies in the U.S. and closely aligns with our corporate vision, our culture of integrity, and our emphasis on customer value and results… Peter and Candace are highly regarded for their leadership skills, real estate experience and acumen, and unwavering commitment to delivering an exceptional customer experience.”

Helie added, “This transaction makes one of the premier firms in Connecticut an even stronger organization… By joining forces with HomeServices, we will b unmatched in our ability to serve the real estate and corporate relocation needs of new and existing clients throughout Connecticut and Rhode Island.”

Adams commented, “We are proud to be a part of HomeServices of America… We are joining an organization known for its strength and stability; one that is consistent with our high standards of service and integrity, making this a win/win for our customers and our brokers.”

Peltier said, “I am delighted that HomeServices is establishing a presence in Connecticut… I look forward to having Peter, Candace and their teams join the HomeServices network of companies.”

The housing market seems to need some help in boosting up its growth, since it is still burdened with a huge overhang of distressed properties and monotonous demand.

The Latino buyers seems to be bringing this needed help, according to a study released this month, as they are anticipated to provide a huge amount of interest on housing, such as condos, starter homes, and trade-up homes, over the next decade.

Gray Acosta, co-founder and acting executive director of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals said, “The demographic trends all line up for Hispanics to be a prime demographic for homeownership… We’re seeing very strong indicators that Hispanics are going to be 40 to 50 percent of all new homebuyers for the foreseeable future.”

Acosta and other industry experts’ insights were based on some factors. One of which is the fact that Hispanics have been providing the most population growth over the past decade, and over the next decade they’re projected to comprise the 40 percent of the approximated 12 million net new U.S. households, a huge predictor of future housing demand.

Also, the report attested that Hispanics have the highest rate of labor force participation in the nation, with almost two thirds of all Latinos in the working-age employed.

A cruise can be tough when you have kids with you. Below are tips to enjoy your cruise with your children, based on a Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas experience. Bear in mind that cruises differ with each other so make sure to research on them before you go and set sail.

• Instead of two adjoining staterooms try booking a family suite. Suites come with expedited boarding (and disembark); special menus; reserved pool-deck and theater seating; and other promos to be able to make your travel with kids painless.
• Sign up your kids in at least one children activity offered by the cruise to give them chances on making friends that they have as company all throughout the trip. This will also give you some adult time while they indulge in these activities.
• Discuss briefly the safety precautions of the ship and basic stranger danger precautions on the first day.
• Setting limits and ground rules should be given in advance.
• Consider the formal nights to be spent on the ship, and plan for their overalls. Also, discuss briefly some dining etiquette. Exposing your kids with this can give them introduction on fine dining and dress ups.
• Pack books, games, and DVDs for your kids to give them some calm and quiet time at night after the long day of fun and activities in the cruise. Although some cruises have libraries, there may not be a lot of books for children so bring your own.
• Do not forget your sunscreen and bug spray to keep the children’s comfort.
• Consider bringing a white board for directions and meeting times for the family, especially the kids since you’ll be going to different parts of the ship.
• Expose your kids to tours around the ship if one is offered to let your kids explore. They may even grow interest in navigation, the hospitality industry or travel in general.
• Arrange for a parent’s night out to indulge in and discuss them with your kids. Older kids can be left independent for a cruise ship is relatively safe, while baby-sitting or kids’ clubs are offered for the younger kids.

Currently, many agents work for the worst deals in the record of the history of the real estate line. In addition to this insult, the agents take each other’s leg for almost nothing.

With most traditional marketing that produce enough transactions for the average agent’s survival failure, a number of agents have been forced to switch to traditional companies and have enough business. Those traditional companies though, have been glad to provide leads for relocation at despicable prices.

Speaking under anonymit, one major Atlanta broker-owner confessed that in his eight offices, agents have become more and more dependent on his company in looking for opportunity for sales. He further explained that the relocation department provided pays a 40% referral fee just for having rental leads. That’s on top of their 8% payment (of the gross commission) to their home office franchise.

Adding up those enormous expens3es leaves only about 25% to be divided between the company and the agent who sells. The company’s part provided business is 50/50 in traditional companies, having only 26% of the gross commission left for the selling agent. This excludes the gas expenses, client meals, advertising, or other operating expenses.

Agents take this kind of deal because they have to. Agents today feel the hardship of making enough business for their living. Traditional estate marketing let them down. Most agents have been experimenting in online marketing, wasting their limited budgets.

Mortgage Lenders across the country are experiencing a hard battle getting to increase the so tangled foreclosure scheme as many judges are pointing out uncategorized loan documentation.

Florida is intervening with a court ruling that today forces lawyers to protect fees charges to borrowers by law firms. Maryland’s state appeals court informed judges that they can contract field experts to study paperwork filed in foreclosure actions and create lawyers swear that the records are precise.

New York has endangered to utilize “penalties of perjury” against lawyers wedged filing bad documents even if they did not recognize about the problems when the foreclosure process started.

Moves by dozens of state courts across the country might add up to the delays brought about by foreclosure-document dilemma. Sales of foreclosed properties have sluggish and mortgage servicers face recent expenses as they scramble to support their functions.

In the long run, borrowers are expected to pay hundreds of money in additional fees or slightly elevated interest rates many experts anticipates.

The new barricades being inflicted by judges come just as many mortgage companies claim they are beginning to see the end of the foreclosure clutter that broke out six weeks ago. J.P Morgan Chase and Company stated in a securities filing Tuesday that it anticipates beginning foreclosure again “quickly”.