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Matt’s Take on the News

January 31, 2012

REO’s

G.U. Krueger brings us his commentary on the increasing number of bank owned properties that are being purchased by consumers. People are looking for bargains and they perceive that bank owned properties are bargains. While this can be the case, it’s all in the numbers and in the chain of title. While the “bargains” may be there, the low prices will have an effect on values for comparable homes in neighboring areas. In English, if you drop low priced homes on the market, the surrounding homes will also decrease in value. This may lead to additional foreclosures due to these new valuations.

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 26, 2012

Deep Discounts on Foreclosed Homes

Carrie Bay writes an interesting article regarding the sales price of Short Sale properties compared to Bank Owned.

Based on recent nationwide statistics supplied by RealtyTrac (3rd quarter of 2011), it appears that Bank Owned properties were sold to third party buyers at an average discount of 34% less than the average price of a non-distressed home. Pre-foreclosure homes sold at an average discount of 24% when compared to homes not in foreclosure.

It is clear that a Short Sale provides a better solution for both the homeowner and their lender. Aside from the fact that the banks receive more income for the property, the seller does not end up with a foreclosure notation on their credit report. The time frame to complete a Short Sale is less than compared to the entire foreclosure process plus the additional time it takes to secure and eventually sell a Bank Owned property. This also benefits local neighborhoods and their property value, Real Estate agents and the economy.

As I’ve always stated: A Short Sale is the way to go.

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 24, 2012

Loan Mods are on the Decline!

Take the time to read this article. The number of loan modifications that are being approved is going down. According to the article, this is a result of lenders/servicing companies doing more short sales and deed in lieu’s. While this fact is not a real shocker to me, the rate of “re-defaults” is alarming.

A re-default is defined as when an individual obtains a loan modification and then re-defaults on the loan modification. Typically the cause of this is the unsavory terms and conditions the lenders/servicing companies offer the consumer. The consumer can hang in there for a period of time, but are susceptible to re-defaulting once the “teaser period” expires.

I would suggest that another reason the lenders/servicing companies are approving less loan modifications is due to the re-default rate (this exceeds 50% with some servicing companies). They may not see the value in spending the time and money to approve and manage a loan modification, if owners are going to default on the modification.

The message is..buyer beware. If a loan modification allows you to restructure for the long term, then it may be worthwhile pursuing. If it is simply delaying the inevitable, you may consider a different tactic.

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 19, 2012

Buy Back!

Sean Maher from the Contra Costa Times brings us an article that describes how an investor group is offering some hope to families that have been foreclosed on. Waypoint Homes in California purchases 30 homes per month at auction according to their founder Doug Brien. While this in itself is not unique, the unique program revolves around a rent to own program for the PREVIOUS owners.

Simply put, Waypoint approaches the previous owners with a rent to own model. A portion of their rent is applied to a reduced (as compared to what the owners previously paid) purchase price. It helps the previous owners by keeping them in the home, lowering their monthly payments and it also gives them an opportunity to own the property.

What remains to be seen is whether this will turn out to be a wide spread success. According to Mr O’Brien only 1 individual has been able to purchase their house after being foreclosed on. Only 10% of Waypoints renters are in this program.

Time will tell

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 17, 2011

Time May Be Running Out

Fred Hiera from Ocala.com brings us another reminder about the tax forgiveness act. Read the article below and pass this on to those that may be affected

Careful planning is in order!

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 10, 2012

The Government Selleth

Diana Olick from CNBC brings us an article that discusses a new government pilot program. It’s not designed to help out consumers … it’s designed to enrich the wealthy (go figure)!

Our government plans to sell large blocks of foreclosed properties. It seems like a provision will be that the buyers will have to rent these properties out. When there are these types of projected constraints lopped on top of high volume purchases, my expectation is that either the discounts will be staggering or the government will provide massive tax credits at our expense.

Either way, the program could have a devastating effect on our economy and housing markets.

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 5, 2012

Forgiveness is scheduled to End

Business Wire reports that the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Act is scheduled to end at the end of 2012. This act provided forgiveness on tax “gains” that result from discounts on primary mortgages on primary homes (this does not apply to home equity lines on homes). According to Brian Gubernick of Scottsdale-based Home-helper Consultants, “If you owe a debt to someone and that debt is forgiven, the amount they forgive can be taxed,” said Gubernick. “Right now, many borrowers are able to avoid tax liabilities resulting from the debt cancellation, but when the debt relief act expires in 2012, many will face a substantial tax burden that could have potentially been avoided.”

We will see if this act is extended before it expires.

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Matt’s Take on the News

January 3, 2012

FHA Does Front Flips!

Inman News reports on a very important extension issued by the Federal Housing Administration. According to the article, “For the second year in a row, the Federal Housing Administration is extending a temporary waiver of its “anti-flipping” rule, meaning homeboys relying on FHA-insured financing will continue to be able to buy homes that have changed hands in the last 90 days.” Why this is so important is that it flys in the face of the Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae addendum’s which prohibit the resale of a short sale within 90 days of purchase. You have competing opinions from 2 government entities!

According to the article, “In February 2010, the Obama administration waived the waiting period for resales — including homes purchased and rehabbed by private investors — in the hopes of stabilizing home prices and revitalizing communities hit by foreclosures. It often takes less than 90 days to acquire, rehabilitate and sell properties, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said at the time. Some sellers of rehabbed properties had been reluctant to enter into contracts with FHA buyers because of the cost of holding a property for 90 days, HUD said.

In extending the waiver through 2011, FHA said it insured 21,000 90-day property flip loans worth more than $3.6 billion in 2010 that would otherwise not have qualified for financing.
That number has since grown to nearly 42,000 mortgages worth more than $7 billion on properties resold within 90 days of acquisition.

That said, I recently saw an email approval from Fannie Mae that was sent to their servicing company (in this case IndyMac). The email approval from Fannie Mae had no resale restrictions, yet the IndyMac approval had a 120 day resale restriction. This makes no sense whatsoever!

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Matt’s Take on the News

December 27, 2011

Taking some time to spend with the family; Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

News Rewind:: Triple Dip?

No we are not talking about ice cream! As the article below states, Barclays expects a continuation of the recession with a corresponding drop in home prices. While this may be old news to everyone, the most interesting part of the article touches on the effect of REO’s and the shadow inventory which is lurking…..you guessed it …..In the shadows!

Some very telling quotes from the article include, “Barclay’s notes that delays associated with foreclosures have, for the moment, prevented an overcorrection in home prices by limiting the amount of REO inventory on the market…….As foreclosure to REO roll rates improve, the number of distressed homes placed on the market will increase. Barclays says although REO supply and demand are currently evenly matched, the glut of foreclosed homes in the pipeline should eventually cause REO supply to far exceed REO demand.

This supply-demand imbalance could remain well into 2013 and 2014, according to the research firm.

Barclays says price gains will be constrained by the amount of REO supply that will be placed on the market in the next few years.”

Read between the lines.

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Matt’s Take on the News

December 20, 2011

The Power of the Short Sale

Mark Puente from the St. Petersburg Times brings us an article that highlights the prevalence of short sales. While the article speaks to the Tampa Bay area, I would suggest that the same message can be conveyed about most metropolitan areas around the United States.

According to Mr. Puente, “A spike in the number of homes sold through short sales in the Tampa Bay area is driving down prices — and that may be good news. Short sales — when a bank takes less than what is owed on a home — have climbed nearly 25 percent in the last five months when compared to the same period in 2010. Median prices on those deals fell 24 percent.”

The good news is that the areas inventory of distressed homes is slowly being purged at prices that ARE GREATER than bank owned prices (On average banks are saving 20% when they agree to settle debt as a short sale versus when they sell the property as a bank owned transaction (also known as a REO).

In the short term, the volume of short sales can be bad for the housing market because they depress prices. The reality, however, is that things aren’t going to get better until they get worse. Think of it as tough love. The properties will either get shorted or they will go into foreclosure (for the most part) and sell at even lower prices. When they sell at lower prices (i.e. as a REO sale), the housing market will continue to be depressed. The banks are also exposing themselves to title issues when they sell a REO.

Take the time to read the entire article. It’s a worthwhile read.