In La Quinta and across the state of California, Bank of America has announced that for a limited time, they are offering enhanced relocation assistance payments to qualified California homeowners who initiate a short sale without an offer. Those who qualify could be eligible to receive anywhere from $2,500 – $30,000 in relocation assistance and owe no more on their mortgage with the short sale of their property.
Many distressed homeowners are not aware of options available to them for avoiding foreclosure. It’s best to be proactive and call your lender before missing a payment. Then the embarassment and credit problems brought on by foreclosing on your home can be avoided. To not call your lender to discuss your options will only hurt your case.
Providing this enhanced Relocation Assistance Payment to distressed homeowners helps them with relocation costs and can also be used to help pay escrow items, such as past due HOA fees (a fee the banks will not pay for in a short sale situation). Banks are now more willing than ever to work with their borrowers to come up with a solution that works for all parties involved.
Remember that the Listing Agent in a Short Sale is your key to success, both for the Short Sale seller as well as the new Short Sale buyer. If you need help with your underwater mortgage, or simply doing your investigative work, give me a call at 760-285-3578. I am
experienced and short sale certified and consultations are FREE! I would be Happy to talk to you.
Today, Embassy Suites in Palm Desert is the location for a two-day foreclosure seminar (was held yesterday too) that the bank is putting on for it’s customers to discuss home loan modifications and other foreclosure alternatives. 10,846 BofA customers in a 175 mile radius of Palm Desert were invited, all 60 days or more behind on their mortgage payments.
Maybe Bank of America is finally putting its proverbial money where its mouth is and started truly reaching out to thousands of homeowners who are behind on their mortgages and facing foreclosure.
Many of those attending from the Coachella Valley are getting information on loan refinancing that could significantly reduce their monthly payments and principal so that they could stay in their homes. After all, Riverside County has the highest foreclosure rate in the state of California. There are knowledgable mortgage specialists, underwriters, HUD counselors and other experts ready and waiting to provide assistance.
Bank of America is providing one-on-one counseling service to its homeowner customers who are facing possible foreclosure or who want to explore other loan mods, etc. The event is free today from 8am to 8pm at Embassy Suites Palm Desert, 700 Highway 111. You can register by calling 855-201-7426 or go to bankofamerica.com/homeownerevent
If you are interested in exploring the possibility of Short Saling your home, please consider contacting Palm Springs Valley’s Short Sale Expert – Kimberley Joy Kelly. She has extensive knowledge,experience and Success in Short Sales and will be happy to give a free consultation. Call her at 760-285-3578.
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Even though the number of foreclosure filings dropped last month in California, a real estate tracking firm has reported that Riverside County had the highest foreclosure rate in the state. Countywide, 1 in every 208 households was found to be in some stage of foreclosure – REOs, auction sale notices or mortgage default notices – for a total of 3,850.
Even so, the number of filings was still 12% lower than in March – an approx. 28% less than the foreclosure rate in Riverside a year ago. Nationally, there was a 5% decline in April when compared to March… and 14% less than a year ago. The tracking firm found that this is the lowest foreclosure rate recorded since July of 2007, before the bubble burst.
Last month, California ranked second in the nation in number of foreclosures – with 39,008 filings. This was 14% less than the number in March and 30% lower than last year – when 1 in 351 homes were in default in the state.
The highest foreclosure rate nationwide last month was in Nevada, with 1 in 300 homes in default. California was second, with Florida right behind it with 1 in 364. Number 4 was Arizona with 1 in 377 and follow that with Georgia at Number 5 with 1 in 398 homes in foreclosure.
Looks like we’re not out of the the foreclosure woods yet . . . could this rise in the foreclosure rate be from banks and mortgage lenders processing the foreclosures faster and more efficiently??
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Homeowners in La Quinta and across California will be getting help soon, as approx. half of the $410 million coming to the state from the overall settlement with the nation’s five biggest banks (due to accusations that they improperly or fraudently foreclosed on homewoners) has flowed into its coffers.
State Atty. General Kamala D. Harris disclosed on Friday that this money will be put into funding the state’s housing counselors and legal service agencies that help struggling homeowners. She also plans to spend the rest of the money on reaching out to and educating homeowners stuck in the hardest-hit parts of the state, on further investigations and oversight of the settlement funds and on helping borrowers who aren’t able to stay in their homes.
Over half a million California households are currently in the foreclosure pipeline. State authorities say they realize the importance of getting funding into those communities where they are needed and assisting the homeowners who were most affected by the crisis.
Community organizers have voiced that the money needs to go towards helping homeowners and not to help lower the state’s budget deficit, as has happened in other states. They state that the settlement was intending for homeowners who are dealing with the foreclosure crisis. Many housing counseling agencies across the country are struggling as the demand for their services has gone up. This financial boost could be the shot in the arm that is needed to bring homeowners back into good stead in California.
My question is, what about all the homeowners who have already lost their homes, how does this help them? Couldn’t anything be done to help them to get back into home ownership again? I know people in La Quinta and elsewhere… I’m sure you do too… who were caught in the timing of this foreclosure crisis such that they lost their homes, are now having to rent and have ruined credit. What is being done to help them to get back into the home ownership saddle, so to speak???
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Yes, you heard it straight !!! California is continuing to push to prevent foreclosures. . . and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac borrowers may see their mortgages shrink through principal reduction.
A significant change is being made by state officials to the Keep Your Home California program. They are dropping a requirement that banks match taxpayers’ funds when homeowners receive mortgage reductions through the program. Previously, the program was facing lackluster participation and lender resistance, but now that the requirement that banks provide matching funds, well . . . let’s just say that now the banks are more willing to participate. Hmmmm . . ..
Hopefully, increased participation by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will provide a major boost to the Keep Your Home California program. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac own about 62% of outstanding mortgages in California, but neither institution has elected to participate in principal reduction due to concerns about adding additional costs to taxpayers.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the Feds in 2008 when bordering on bankruptcy – we, the taxpayers, have provided $188 billion to keep them afloat. These two institutions last year made it their policy to participate in state-run principal reduction programs such as Keep Your Home California – as long as they or the mortgage companies that work for them didn’t have to contribute funds.
Housing advocates have argued that reducing mortgages of underwater borrowers would boost the housing market by giving incentive to homeowners to keep paying off their loans – And would reduce foreclosures by lowering the monthly payments for underwater homeowners, giving them hope that one day they would again have equity in their homes.
Other requirements of financial institutions will be to make other modifications to loans such as reducing the interest rate or changing the terms of the loan. The changes to the Keep Your Home California program will roll out in early June . . . so Hang In There, underwater borrowers . . . sounds like help is on the way !!!
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The number of La Quinta homes and homes across the country that received first-time foreclosure notices rose 7% in March from the previous month, marking the third consecutive monthly increase this year. This increase reflects the heightened efforts of banks in taking action against homeowners who are behind with their mortgage payments.
Some real estate experts are pointing out that we have not seen the last of rising foreclosures and that there will be many more to come down the pipeline. Foreclosure activity slowed down markedly in the fall of 2010 – that’s when claims began to surface regarding banks and mortgage servicers processing foreclosures without properly verifying documents. Since then, a $25 billion settlement was reached in February between the largest U.S. mortgage lenders and state officials. This paved the way for banks to now take action on unpaid mortgages, some of which have been hanging in limbo for months and years. These are the homes that may be looking at being foreclosed and eventually ending up back on the market.
Typically, foreclosures sell at a discounted price compared to other homes and these sales can drag down the value of neighboring properties . . . meaning that it could now take even longer for home prices in certain markets to gain value.
Some experts are saying that it’s likely that the new crop of foreclosures will arrive in smaller waves throughout the year rather than all at one time. The sad part is that even more Americans will be losing their homes, never good.
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Not More Foreclosures!!
Delinquent Mortgage numbers are on the rise here in California. This should not surprise anyone based on the Lenders giving a Christmas Holiday to their Eviction departments. Remember also that the Robo-signing scandal slowed the Foreclosure pipeline down to a crawl. In La Quinta, we could actually use some more Foreclsures! What I mean by that is there are many Buyers waiting in the wing for distressed properties..whether they be Foreclosures or Short Sales, so bring them on! I hate that people are losing their homes. I like that Buyers are snapping them up in the Palm Sprins Valley. We cannot get to the bottom of this Foreclosure Trend if we do not have Buyers ready to buy.
This is from the California Association of Realtors…
“The number of delinquent mortgages in November rose to 8.15 percent from 7.93 percent in October, according to a report from Lender Processing Services.
That delinquency rate as a percentage of the LPS database of 40 million mortgages declined nearly 10 percent from a year earlier. About 4.14 million homes were 30 or more days past due in November, with about 1.81 million properties more than 90 days past due.
LPS considers a mortgage delinquent when it’s at least 30 days in arrears but not in foreclosure. The company recorded 6.26 million homes either delinquent or in foreclosure last month.”
Keep in mind that this is the entire State of California. Buyers must stay focused on particular areas they are interested in. Better yet..stay focused on a development within that area. Look at the SOLD comps, the PENDING, and also the EXPIRED comps as those will tell you the true story of that development. These reports are very general..very similar to the Median Sales Price, which is virtually worthless.
There is always some truth to these Statistics however, so I’m sure we’ll have more Foreclosures in La Quinta and the Palm Springs Valley throughout 2012.
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In La Quinta and across the state of California, Bank of America has announced that for a limited time, they are offering enhanced relocation assistance payments to qualified California homeowners who initiate a short sale without an offer. Those who qualify could be eligible to receive anywhere from $2,500 – $30,000 in relocation assistance and owe no more on their mortgage with the short sale of their property.
