Home Prices Headed Down

Home Prices Headed Down


The situation is really sad and infuriating at the same time. I think we can all agree that artificially cheap and easy money (i.e. excessive lending) is what got us into this housing bubble (really a debt/lending bubble) mess to begin with. Therefore, it is incredibly foolish and irresponsible that the federal government (and some states such as CA) is trying to "solve" the problem by artificially propping up demand for homes by pushing the banks to lend more, bailing out banks, guaranteeing the trillions (yes TRILLIONS) in losses that will ultimately come from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, artificially keeping interest rates low by buying over $1.25 trillion in mortgage securities in order to encourage more borrowing, expanding FHA lending dramatically, giving out $8,000 tax credits to first time home buyers, etc. Homes are still overpriced when compared to incomes (see my personal research below). Keeping homes overpriced by artificially allowing more home buyers into the market and encouraging other home buyers to purchase more expensive homes (because the "money is so cheap") is completely irresponsible. Why should Americans be happy about being forced to overpay for homes (due to having to compete with home buyers who should not be home buyers, but only are do to the "government housing stimulus" described above) - that only leaves less money available for saving, investment, non-debt spending, etc. In short, it makes it harder and harder to get by on their current incomes. The American Dream is being killed by excessively high home prices and our all knowing and caring government is causing this!. Let me say this clearly: YOU CANNOT SOLVE A PROBLEM CAUSED BY TOO MUCH DEBT BY TAKING ON MORE DEBT. It is impossible. Instead, the government should just let home prices fall to where they should naturally be given the current economic situation (i.e. a lot lower than they are right now). The housing market is headed down as soon as the foolish government market propping ends.

There is 0% chance that any market is actually "stabilizing" since that implies an actual free market. "Temporarily Artificially Propped" is a more accurate description of our current real estate market. See my blog post from November 2009 (I correctly detailed the current state of the real estate market and accurately predicted what would happen after the tax credit and other government market propping expired): Our Phony Real Estate Market. Also, see my personal research below.

There is no way that home prices have reached a bottom. I analyzed the data in the NAR Home Affordability Index (HAI) from 1/1989 through 6/2010 and found that the Median of the Ratio of Median Home Price to Family Income is 2.92 and the Average of the Ratio of Median Home Price to Family Income is 3.07. Over this same period, the lowest reading occurred in 12/1990 at 2.654. Therefore, it is safe to say that from an historical perspective the typical price of a median home should be about 3 times the median family income. The 6/2010 reading was over 3 at 3.045 (i.e. over 4% higher than the historical median and about the same as the historical average). The problem is that we are not in a “typical” economic environment – we have record foreclosures that seem to persist and 10% unemployment. Given that the lowest reading of 2.654 occurred in 12/1990 and that our current economic conditions are far worse than 12/1990, it is logical to conclude that the Median Home Price to Family Income Ratio should be below 2.654. If the ratio declines to 2.5, home prices will decline by nearly 22%. If the ratio declines to 2.5 and family incomes decline by 5%, home prices will decline by over 28%. Given that personal incomes are declining and that a 2.5 ratio is probably a bit optimistic, I believe it is very feasible that home prices will decline by an additional 30%. As a result, there will be more short sales and foreclosures. See the graph below for a representation of the Ratio of Median Home Price to Family Income Over Time and how it compares to the Average and Median of that same Ratio.




Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Homeowners and Property Owners in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a loan modification and a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/home). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR, Expert and Real Estate Investor. I primarily help sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Robertson County TN, Maury County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Spring Hill TN, Gallatin TN, Springfield TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor.

Homeowners Spending Their Mortgage Payments?

According to this Diana Olick article on CNBC.com, Mortgage Defaults May Be Driving Consumer Spending, recent studies show that "Americans are now far more likely to pay their other bills first before their mortgage (which is a big turnaround historically speaking)." As a result, the thought is that many of the nearly 7.4 million homeowners who are not paying their mortgage payments (defined as the total number of delinquent first mortgages plus REO properties - see the most recent mortgage performance data current as of March 31, 2010 in the LPS Mortgage Monitor: April 2010 Mortgage Performance Observations published by Lender Processing Services, a provider of mortgage processing services, settlement services, mortgage performance analytics and default solutions) may actually be spending money that would normally go toward making the monthly mortgage payment on consumer goods and services (i.e. food, clothing, car payments, medical expenses, entertainment, travel, etc.). The article mentions that Paul Jackson, publisher of Housingwire.com, wrote an article, For Consumers, Time to Shop (Until the Mortgage Drops), in which "he describes a case study of someone who applied for the government's Home Affordable Modification Program. The person had an $1,880.00 monthly mortgage payment on which they'd defaulted, but said person's monthly bank statement showed payments to a tanning salon, nail spa, liquor stores, DirecTV bill with premium charges, and $1,700.00 in retail purchases from The Gap, Old Navy, Home Depot, Sears, etc." Jackson goes on to say "Even if you assume that just half of the current 7.4 million currently delinquent mortgages fit this sort of ’spending profile’ (that is, they are spending their mortgage) and you assume a $1,000 median monthly mortgage payment for most U.S. homeowners — you get a $3.7 billion boost per month to consumer spending. It’s certainly enough spending to matter in the overall scheme of things." I find this truly scary, but I do believe that this is happening. In fact, I think this behavioral trend will become even more common as housing prices continue decline leaving more and more homeowners (I use that term loosely since until you have more equity than you have debt on your home the bank "owns" more of the home than you do) in position where they owe more than their homes are worth (i.e. underwater or negative equity). Frankly, I think this behavior is the result of a rather logical decision making process. If you were an underwater homeowner who owned a home and you had a choice between paying your mortgage (when you know you will never see that money again) and buying goods and services that you can enjoy now, what would you do? This is all a matter of economics and mathematics and in that vane paying for a declining asset (i.e. the home) makes no sense. As a result of this you can bet that foreclosures and short sales will continue to occur at high levels for the next several years.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Homeowners and Property Owners in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a loan modification and a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/home). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Robertson County TN, Maury County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Spring Hill TN, Gallatin TN, Springfield TN and Mt. Juliet TN).  If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor.

Foreclosures Continue to Increase

Foreclosures Continue to Increase

According to this Diana Olick article on CNBC.com, Foreclosures Are Rising, foreclosures continue to increase (i.e. more properties are going to foreclosure auctions) due to the failure of the various loan modification programs (many borrowers do not end up qualifying for permanent modifications and many borrowers default on modifications even if they are granted) and the huge backlog of seriously delinquent loans (over 5 million), which are now making their way toward becoming foreclosures. Basically, foreclosures are going to remain extremely high for the next few years, and, as a result, seriously stress the banks' asset managers. Therefore, the banks are going to need to liquidate their excess non-performing assets via short sales.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Real Estate Investors, Home Builders and Developers in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee real estate investor, home builder, condo developer or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Springfield TN, Gallatin TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor.

Short Sales Will Increase

Short Sales Will Increase

According to this Diana Olick CNBC article, Let the Short Sales Begin, the Obama Administration's Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives Plan (aka HAFA) (effective April 5, 2010), which is offering financial "incentives to borrowers, servicers, investors and second lien holders" to encourage short sales, plus the coming wave of foreclosures (shadow foreclosures, Option ARM and related foreclosures) will result in a substantial increase in the number of short sales. I absolutely agree. The question is whether the increase will be enough. The article goes on to state that the "Administration increased the incentives such as "doubling the amount of cash to $3000 offered as borrower "relocation expenses" and juicing the payoffs to the others as well. Of course they want to push short sales because of course they know that their modification program isn't working as planned." That is no surprise. Very few people I talk to are granted loan modifications and even the ones that are know that the loan modification it is a band-aid, not a solution.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Real Estate Investors, Home Builders and Developers in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee real estate investor, home builder, condo developer or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Springfield TN, Gallatin TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert and Real Estate Investor.

Housing Headed For Trouble

Housing Headed For Trouble

As a short sale specialist, my listings usually sell very quickly. However, since March 2010 began my short sale listings are selling more slowly than they did previously. I attribute this to the first-time home buyer tax credit since those buyers were the primary buyer pool in my market Middle Tennessee. I think this is particularly true for most markets in the US where the tax credit had a substantial short term impact (particularly in lower priced markets where the $8,000 tax credit is a fairly substantial percentage of the sale prices). Now that the first time home buyer tax credit is nearing expiration, those tax credit buyers are, apparently, not willing to buy new short sale listings (they will still buy pre-approved short sales that can be closed in 30-45 days with a reasonable degree of certainty) since there is no guarantee that they will be able to close by 6/30/2010 (the expiration of the tax credit). Therefore, the only way to sell these short sale listings is to lower the price. These increasingly lower priced short sale and pre-foreclosure listings will put downward pressure on new construction and other retail priced listings.

The next phase of the great real estate meltdown is beginning to unfold as I predicted it would over 1 year ago (see my blog post from 11/2009 for a detailed breakdown of the drivers of the real estate market: Our Phony Real Estate Market). Unfortunately, the tax credit was nothing more than a temporary band-aid solution (really a gimmick) that will ultimately result in the tax credit buyers ending up in foreclosure at a very high rate since they are underwater the moment of closing (most put little to nothing down and have very little cash reserves) and will be even more so as the market declines. The buyers who purchased short sales and foreclosures as substantial discounts will likely be fine. That is why I only sell those types of properties. Unfortunately, home buyers who purchased new construction or other retail priced listings will be in trouble in the next few years. The main problem is that the entire US economy was built on debt. Consumer spending, which was 70%+/- of the entire US economy, was built largely on consumer debt (think credit cards, home equity loans, HELOC's, personal loans, etc.). Without this debt there can be little to no growth in consumer spending, and by extension, little to no growth in the US economy, until personal incomes increase at least enough to pay down current debt and still leave enough to spend more. Given that unemployment still hovers near 10% (the real number is about 16%) this will not happen anytime soon. It is just a matter of simple accounting. In addition to the end of the tax credit buyer ear there is the Option ARM foreclosure wave coming. As a result, there will lots of foreclosures and short sales over the next 5-10 years.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Real Estate Investors, Home Builders and Developers in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee real estate investor, home builder, condo developer or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Springfield TN, Gallatin TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

Housing Prices Declining Again

Housing Prices Declining Again

According to this Real Estate Economy Watch article, Fear Seen Driving Prices Lower than Last 20 Years, the housing markets in most US cities "will see prices fall below the lowest levels of the last 20 years" according to the House Price Forecast from University Financial Associates (UFA) in Ann Arbor Michigan.

The article quotes Dennis Capozza, the Dykema Professor of Business Administration in the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, and a founding principal of UFA, as saying the "Detroit metro was the canary in the coal mine this cycle, with falling house prices arriving earlier than in other metros. Other metros that have already or will soon converge to pre-bubble real prices include Las Vegas, Phoenix, the inland California metros and many south Florida metros."

Overall, the UFA's forecast "would take the national median price of a home in most markets below $101,000, the national median in 1990, according to the Census Bureau." This prediction comes after other recent data which shows that housing prices are headed downward again. This will result in more short sales and foreclosures as underwater homeowners and real estate investors walk away from their upside down (i.e. negative equity) homes and properties.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Real Estate Investors, Home Builders and Developers in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee real estate investor, home builder, condo developer or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Springfield TN, Gallatin TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

White House Admits Housing Will Not Recover Anytime Soon

White House Admits Housing Will Not Recover Anytime Soon

I read this Economy Watch article about the March 2010 US Unemployment Rate in which the White House basically admits (at least in a round about way) that the US housing market cannot rebound to anywhere near peak 2005-2007 (depending on the market) price levels until at least 2017. The article doesn't actually say this, but it states "The White House does not expect the rate to return to its healthy-economy level of 5 percent until at least 2017." Based on the fact that a healthy (i.e. low) unemployment rate is required to drive housing (employment has long been one of the major drivers of housing), one can only logically conclude that housing prices cannot improve to peak levels until unemployment also does the same. Therefore, the White House's 2017 "healthy-economy" unemployment rate prediction is also basically a prediction for the housing market as well. Given that political predictions usually appear to be "spun" for political gain I a guessing that 2017 is an optimistic estimate.

There are those like myself that remain "bearish" on the economy for the next several years. However, despite this many people are still "bullish" on the US economy due to the "economy always having bounced back." Unfortunately, I believe that this time is different (in a bad way) due to the following:

• Absurdly high levels of private and public debt that is near peak levels.
• Ill advised government deficit spending that is only adding to the already enormous debt. Think healthcare (aka Obamacare), Cap and Trade (aka Cap and Tax), etc.
• The US's rapid movement toward socialism.
• Unlike previous recessions, US manufacturing is basically dead and not likely to come back.

The issues above (i.e. combination of the huge debt, accelerated deficit spending and movement to socialism) will result in the US government having to hike taxes significantly, which will in turn reduce the incentive and ability to earn a profit so businesses will hire less workers, fewer business will be started, fewer businesses will be expanded and more businesses will close or merge resulting in less jobs.

I think many people will be "surprised" and "shocked" when all of this ends badly. They will then be "uncertain" about the future, etc. However, my view is that the near future (unforseen natural disasters, etc. aside) is little more than a small extension of the past and present, and, as a result is already set to a large degree based on the events and actions in the past and recent past. Given that I am reasonably sure that the short term future is very dim for the US economy, housing and more. As a result there will be many more foreclosures and short sales over the next 5-10 years.

Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance for Real Estate Investors, Home Builders and Developers in Nashville TN and Middle TN. If you are a Nashville Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, or Middle Tennessee real estate investor, home builder, condo developer or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Springfield TN, Gallatin TN and Mt. Juliet TN). If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

7.2 Million Delinquent Mortgages As Of December 2009

7.2 Million Delinquent Mortgages
7.2 Million Mortgage Loans In Default With An Estimated 1.0 Million REO's

According to this LPS Mortgage Monitor (a mortgage industry performance report provided by LPS Applied Analytics), LPS Mortgage Monitor: January 2010 Mortgage Performance Observations: Data as of December 31, 2009 Month-end and the Executive Summary, in December 2009 mortgage loan delinquencies and defaults increased significantly and foreclosures (REO's or bank owned properties) reached the one million mark.  The Executive Summary noted the following:

• Delinquency rates have surpassed the 10% level; factoring in foreclosures, the total non-current rate sits at 13.3%.
• Industry extrapolations indicate that over 7.2 million loans are currently behind on payments with an estimated nearly 1 million properties in REO status.
• Average number of days delinquent for loans in foreclosure has increased 63 percent from January 2008 to December 2009, rising from 249 to 406 days delinquent.
• Prime loans have experienced a worse pace of deterioration on a relative basis than subprime, FHA and all loans as a whole. Within prime loans, those with current unpaid principal balances between $417,000 and $600,000 have performed the worst.
• The percent of “new” serious delinquencies (from the population of loans that were current as of year-end 2008) sits at 4.64%, higher than any other year analyzed for the same period. Extrapolated counts result in approximately 2.3 million “new” 60-day delinquent loans from December 2008 to year-end 2009.
• Roll rates show the largest percentage increase in loans improving since the same period in 2008.
• 2009 marks the only time during the last five years that the six-month deterioration ratio has dropped from September to December.
• Foreclosure starts increased slightly in December – still the second lowest month in 2009 based on volume. Foreclosure sales were stable month over month and remain at relatively low levels.
• 2009 vintage loans are performing better than loans from any of the prior five years and have been steadily improving as more origination months are added to the loan pool. However, more restrictive underwriting is driving this behavior rather than actual improved consumer behavior. Liquidity is still not available where it is needed most.

My opinion of the above information is as follows:

• Most of the information above shows that mortgage loan delinquencies, and therefore, foreclosures, are getting much worse.  For example, the total percentage of delinquencies at 13.3%, the average number of days per delinquent loan, the continued deterioration of prime loans and the new mortgage loans serious delinquent rate of 4.64% are reasons to believe that things are getting much worse.
• The information which shows a positive trend is, for the most part, artificially and temporarily skewed.  For example, the improved roll rates, the 6 month deterioration ratio showing improvement and the 2009 vintage loans performing better are all skewed by the fact that most of these new loans are made to buyers/borrowers who perceive that their home or real estate purchase was a "good deal".  Since most of these buyers/borrowers used FHA/VA/USDA Rural Housing loan programs (see my blog post Our Phony Real Estate Market) they have little to no initial equity.  Due to the continued housing market decline, huge numbers of these buyers/borrowers will soon be in negative equity positions, which will result in increasing mortgage loan default rates among these buyers/borrowers in the near future.  In addition to that the relatively low foreclosure starts in December 2009 were artificially held down by government mandated loan modification and foreclosure moratoria, which will go end soon with the result of foreclosures increasing again.

If you are a Middle TN homeowner, property owner, condo owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a loan modification and a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/home). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Robertson County TN, Maury County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Spring Hill TN, Gallatin TN, Springfield TN and Mt. Juliet TN).  If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

Stop Foreclosure in Nashville TN - Short Sale and Foreclosure Help In The Nashville Tennessee Metro Area

Stop Foreclosure in Nashville TN - Short Sale and Foreclosure Help In The Nashville Tennessee Metro Area


Attention Middle Tennessee Homeowners, Property Owners, Condo Owners, Real Estate Investors, Commercial Real Estate Owners, Home Builders and Real Estate Developers - Get Expert Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Distressed Real Estate, Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert & Real Estate Professional - Get Middle TN Short Sale and Loan Modification Help and Assistance


This Middle Tennessee real estate blog is focused on helping homeowners (single homes, high end homes, luxury homes, executive homes & estate homes), condo owners, property owners, real estate investors, commercial real estate owners, home builders and real estate developers in Middle Tennessee who have defaulted in their mortgage payments, know they cannot pay their mortgages, are in foreclosure, and/or who need expert help and assistance with a real estate short sale (i.e. where the property value is worth less than the mortgage debt). My website is designed to provide assistance to and help, inform and educate financially distressed real estate sellers, short sale sellers and pre-foreclosure sellers and consumers on how to best solve their Middle Tennessee real estate problems in the quickest time possible. The articles and tools throughout this website are FREE, with zero strings attached.


My name is James W. McCormack (people call me Jim McCormack). I am a Middle Tennessee Distressed Real Estate, Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert. I am a 10+ year real estate sales veteran and full-time real estate professional who specializes in helping people and businesses solve their real estate problems. I focus on distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and investment properties in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Robertson County TN, Maury County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Spring Hill TN, Gallatin TN, Springfield TN and Mt. Juliet TN). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert. I primarily help sellers (homeowners, property owners, condo owners, owners of high end homes and properties (estate homes, luxury homes and executive homes), real estate investors, commercial real estate owners, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in and around Middle Tennessee. Reasons why you would need to do a real estate short sale include losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.


This website helps you to search for and find houses, homes and real estate in Middle Tennessee including distressed homes and listings, short sale homes and listings, pre-foreclosure homes and listings and foreclosure homes and listings in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County Tennessee, Williamson County Tennessee, Davidson County Tennessee, Robertson County Tennessee, Maury County Tennessee, Murfreesboro Tennessee, Smyrna Tennessee, La Vergne Tennessee, Eagleville Tennessee, Lascassas Tennessee, Rockvale Tennessee, Christiana Tennessee, Brentwood Tennessee, Franklin Tennessee, Nashville Tennessee, Belle Meade Tennessee, Nolensville Tennessee, Spring Hill Tennessee, Gallatin Tennessee, Springfield Tennessee and Mt. Juliet Tennessee).
I am a Middle Tennessee REALTOR and real estate expert who is here to help you out of your financially stressful situation. Please contact Jim to discuss your particular real estate situation or problems. Jim almost always return phone calls and emails within 1 business day.


I provide the following real estate services:

Specialty and Challenging Real Estate (Sales, Consulting & Leasing):
     1. Physically Distressed Properties (i.e. fixer uppers, rehab properties, handyman specials, etc.).
     2. Foreclosures.
     3. Pre-foreclosures (i.e. Notice of Default, etc.).
     4. Short Sales (i.e. where the sale price is not enough to pay off the mortgage(s) and other liens.).
     5. Bank Owned Real Estate (i.e. REO's).
     6. Divorce Sales.
     7. Estate Sales.
     8. Abandoned and Vacant Properties.
     9. Rental Homes and Properties (Leasing and Consulting).
    10. Lease Option/Lease Purchase Homes (Sales, Leasing & Consulting).
    11. Other Difficult Situations.


Commercial and Investment Real Estate (Sales & Leasing):
     1. Small Multifamily Properties (2-4 units).
     2. Apartment Buildings (5+ units).

I am a Tennessee Licensed Real Estate Broker, REALTOR and Real Estate Expert who will help guide you out of your difficult financial and real estate situation. Be wary of so-called "angel investors" who promise to help you by buying your home, etc. Some even promise to rent your home back to you, which is not permitted according to the terms of most lender short sale approval documents and letters. Even if you can rent your home back from the investor/buyer the terms of the lease frequently make it very difficult for you to abide by the lease terms resulting in the investor throwing you out of your home. These investors are not licensed and are not bound by any ethical rules. Their goal is to buy your home (cash or terms) for as little as possible and get the best deal they can without any regard for your situation. They do not care about what happens to you. You can avoid this by contacing me to help solve your Middle Tennessee real estate problems. See these links below for some things to watch out for with these so called "angel investors":

• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/371800/mortgage_rescue_companies_a_foreclosure.html
• http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/10/21/2007-10-21_angels_hit_desperate_homeowners_with_for.html
• http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/housing/2007-11-08-foreclosure-scams_N.htm

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You can find great local real estate information about homes, condos, investment properties, short sales and foreclosures in Middle TN (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Robertson County TN, Maury County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN, Belle Meade TN, Nolensville TN, Spring Hill TN, Gallatin TN, Springfield TN and Mt. Juliet TN). Jim helps homeowners, condo owners, property owners and commercial real estate owners who are in foreclosure or who owe more than their homes, condos, investment properties or commercial properties are worth. Jim provides the latest news on foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, short sales, loan modifications, the overall real estate market and more. Jim McCormack is a proud member of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network, a free online community to help real estate professionals grow their business.

Nashville Developer Faces Foreclosure

Nashville Developer Faces Foreclosure

According to this Nashville Business Journal article, Bank forecloses on property for Crosland's Griffin Plaza, Crosland, Inc.'s Griffin Plaza property (a 280,000 square-foot mixed-use development) in Downtown Nashville TN (in the Gulch area) is being foreclosed on by Carolina First Bank. The trustee auction sale is scheduled to take place on 11/30/2009 at 11:00 AM in front of the main entrance to the Sommet Center. This news comes only about a week after I posted my article, Terrazzo in Nashville Gulch to Auction Condo Units Due to Slow Sales, in which I predicted that the developer of the Terrazzo (also Crosland) would face foreclosure on that project. Now, I am almost certain that foreclosure will occur. It is clear that many other Nashville Tennessee and Middle Tennessee developers will go bankrupt and/or face foreclosure. The worst is yet to come.

If you are a Middle TN real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay the property/project mortgage payments (due to the poor economy, adverse financing conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), have already defaulted on the mortgage, or are already in foreclosure, or owe more than the property/project is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/project). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in and around Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN).  If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

FDIC Hurting Distressed Homeowners

FDIC Hurting Distressed Homeowners

As set forth in this FDIC publication, IndyMac Shared-Loss Agreement, the FDIC is making so called "Shared-Loss Agreements" (SLAs) with investors who are willing to purchase the assets of insolvent financial institutions.  Without going into all the details, these SLAs basically offer these investors guarantees on huge percentages of any net losses that they may suffer as a result of their investment in the failed financial institution.  In this particular case, the FDIC is paying for 80%+ of the net losses of the investor (OneWest Bank) who purchased the assets of IndyMac. Basically, the Net Loss is calculated by taking the current outstanding balance of the mortgage note (at the time of the loan purchase) less the net proceeds of the short sale or foreclosure offer price.

The reason this is a problem for financially distressed homeowners is that due to the loss guarantees provided by the FDIC, the investors mentioned above have very little financial risk in the deal.  Therefore, they have incentives to take what would normally be a big risk (but isn't due to their sweet loss guarantees courtesy of the FDIC) such as foreclosing on homeowners to try and squeeze out more profit even when there are feasible alternatives to foreclosure such as short sales and loan modifications.  As a result, these investors are making it difficult and even impossible to get loan modifications and short sales approved.

In her blog post, Is the FDIC Killing Short Sales, Alexis McGee of Foreclosures.com states that "IndyMac was taken over by the FDIC and sold to OneWest Bank in March/2009. Guess who the investors are behind OneWest? George Soros, Michael Dell, Steve Mnuchin (former Goldman Sachs executive), and John Paulson (hedge-fund billionaire)." She goes on to describe the terms of the SLA.  The highlights are below:

• The investors purchased all current residential mortgages at 70% of par value (70% of the outstanding loan amounts).
• They purchased all current HELOCS at 58% of Par Value.
• The FDIC stepped in and guaranteed that for any residential mortgages where OneWest experiences a loss, the FDIC will step in and cover anywhere from 80%-95% of the loss. The loss is calculated using the current outstanding balance of the mortgage note (at the time of the loan purchase), not the amount that OneWest paid for the loan.
• For foreclosures, the FDIC picks up 80% of the tab on all of the extra costs associated with a foreclosure (BPO’s, upkeep, utilities/maintenance, legal fees, etc.)

Here is an example which shows why this creates a problem for financially distressed homeowners who would like to do a short sale, or obtain a loan modification.  Let's say one of the loans that OneWest purchases has a Current Loan Amount of $500,000.  Based on the 70% purchase deal described above, OneWest would have paid $350,000 for this loan.  Also, let's assume that an all cash investor wants to purchase the property via a short sale for net offer price to OneWest of $200,000.  Below is the analysis of this situation:

• The Net Loss, according to the FDIC calculations, is $500,000 (i.e. the current outstanding balance of the mortgage note at the time of loan purchase) less $200,000 (i.e. the net proceeds of the short sale offer) = $300,000.
• Based on this $300,000 Net Loss, the FDIC pays OneWest $240,000 (i.e. 80% of the Net Loss).
• One West would then be able to sell the property in question for the short sale Net Offer Price of $200,000 and end up with total revenue of $440,000 ($240,000 + $200,000) for a loan that they paid $350,000 for.  Therefore, OneWest will have made a profit of $90,000. 

The reason that this situation creates a problem for a financially distressed homeowner seeking a short sale is that since the FDIC (per the information above) pays 80% of the losses of foreclosure there is no incentive for OneWest to mess around with a short sale unless they can make much more money.  That is why they are demanding absurd short sale settlements and promissory notes from the homeowner.  Of course, there is absolutely no incentive to offer a loan modification so that request would be dead on arrival.

According to Alexis McGee, "The scary thing is that over 50 banks have Shared Loss Agreements in place with the FDIC. Some of them include: Bank of America (go figure), CitiMortgage, Wells Fargo, etc."  I have to agree.  That is truly scary.  I can already see the pain and anguish of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of financially distressed homeowners as they are unnecessarily dragged through the foreclosure process.

If you are a Middle TN homeowner, property owner, real estate investor, home builder or real estate developer who cannot pay your mortgage payments (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, adverse business conditions, slow sales, loss of investment property tenants, vacancy issues, lack of funds to complete the project, feuding business partners, etc.), know that you will not be able to pay your mortgage, have defaulted on your mortgage, are already in foreclosure, or owe more than your home is worth, please contact me to discuss your options including a loan modification and a short sale (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/home). I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I primarily help sellers (homeowners, property owners, real estate investors, home builders and real estate developers) of distressed real estate, short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, investment properties, failed new construction projects and struggling commercial real estate developments located in and around Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN).  If you do need to short sell your home or property, or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

Terrazzo to Auction Condo Units Due to Slow Sales

Terrazzo in Nashville Gulch to Auction Condo Units Due to Slow Sales

According to this Nashville Business Journal article, Terrazzo to slash prices, auction condos, Crosland, the developers the Terrazzo, a $68 million 117 unit luxury high rise condo project in the Gulch section of downtown Nashville Tennessee, will auction off up to 30 units at 1:00 PM CST on November 21st at the Renaissance Hotel. According to the article, sluggish sales are the reason that the developer opted to auction off some condo units.

The article quotes Bill Barkley, president of Crosland's Tennessee division (the developer of the Terrazzo) as saying that the auction "offers Terrazzo the opportunity to sell a significant number of condominium homes and instantly build the growing community at Terrazzo — all in a single day."  The article goes on to state the following terms and conditions of the Terrazzo auction:

• "Minimum offering bids will range between 40 percent and 50 percent of list price. Minimum bids for one-bedroom units will range between $159,000 and $225,000, two-bedroom units will start between $250,000 and $310,000, and three-bedroom units will start at $399,000. Bids will include one parking space in the mixed-use building’s underground garage."
• "Interested buyers are required to register and preview the units before bidding. According to the Terrazzo’s Web site, bidders will need to come prepared with a cashier’s check or money order for $5,000 and a blank personal check, which will be added to the $5,000 to equal 5 percent of the winning bid price."

I would like to say a couple of things about this auction:

• The minimum bid prices are still too high.  This will result in very light bidding.
• Overall, I do not think many units will sell at these prices. See my previous blog post, Birmingham Auction Ended Abruptly After Too Many "Low Bids", for the results of a condo auction in Birmingham Alabama. The highest bids at that auction were only about one-third of the original list prices.
• According to the City Federal Condos (the Birmingham condo project mentioned above) website, the developer is now trying to sell the condo units that fetched $80,000 at the auction for $139,000.  My guess is that this project will be bankrupt in less than 12 months.
• Even if the developers do sell some some units at 50% of the original list prices, what happens to the people who already purchased condos before the price drop?  If they have to sell due to a job loss, job relocation, illness, or other reason, they will lose over $100,000, or be forced to short sale their condos.
• Based on the above information, I think that the Terrazzo will end up being auctioned off by the lenders who financed the project.  Until the developers accept the fact that there is only a limited number of high income young people and wealthy "empty nesters" they will never price their condo units where the overwhelming majority of the market is.  It seems like the developers are still in denial.

If you are a home buyer or real estate investor in Middle Tennessee who is interested in purchasing a Fannie Mae foreclosure, a Freddie Mac foreclosure, another foreclosure, REO, short sale, auction home, or other distressed real estate in order to get a great home or investment property at a low price, please contact me, or visit my website Search the Middle Tennessee MLS - Find Middle TN Short Sales, Pre-foreclosures, Foreclosures & REO's so that you can find foreclosures, short sales and other distressed real estate and homes in Middle TN. I help home buyers in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

Forbearance: A New Plan for Temporary Mortgage Payment Relief

Forbearance: A New Plan for Temporary Mortgage Payment Relief

According to this New York Times article, A Plan for Forbearance, due to continuing high unemployment "federal regulators are intensifying efforts to curb the effects of job losses or underemployment before they fuel another wave of home foreclosures. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which protects consumer deposits when banks fail, recently recommended that lenders provide certain borrowers with a temporary respite from mortgage payments, or a forbearance. That relief would last up to six months, and sometimes longer, as the lenders work on long-term loan modifications."  This new forbearance plan was announced in September 2009.

The article quotes Michael H. Krimminger, the special adviser on policy to the FDIC chairwoman Sheila C. Bair, as saying "We want to make sure lenders do this as a strategy to mitigate losses to the F.D.I.C., but also because it’s the right thing to do."

According to the article, the FDIC's plan recommends (i.e. does not require) that certain lenders (see below) reduce loan payments to "affordable levels" for borrowers who cannot pay their mortgages as a result of login their jobs, or having their incomes reduced.  The FDIC says that the new reduced mortgage payments would "be low enough to allow for reasonable living expenses in addition to the mortgage."  The plan "applies only to the 53 financial institutions that relied on the F.D.I.C.’s insurance fund while acquiring failed banks. It does not include the four major mortgage lenders: Citigroup, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America. These banks already have unemployment forbearance programs, though they differ from the F.D.I.C. plan."

The article offers some information about about the proprietary plans offered by Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.  A summary of those plans is below:

• Citigroup - The article states that in March 2009 "Citigroup introduced its Homeowner Unemployment Assist program, which lowers the monthly payment for many unemployed borrowers to $500 for three months. To qualify, a homeowner must have a loan owned and serviced by CitiMortgage, and be 60 days or more delinquent, among other things."
• Wells Fargo - The article states that Wells Fargo has had forbearance programs in place for years for years for "unemployed borrowers who cannot pay their mortgages".  According to Debora K. Blume, a Wells Fargo spokeswoman, the forbearance terms are "highly dependent on the customer’s full financial and personal circumstances."
• JPMorgan Chase - The article states that a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase said "if the borrower’s income is too low or not certain, but there are prospects for future employment, we may offer a loan forbearance program that allows a borrower to pay a reduced amount, or even zero, for a limited length of time, often three months."
• Bank of America - The article states that "Bank of America offers up to six months of forbearance, according to Jack Schakett, the bank’s credit loss mitigation strategies executive."  The article quotes Mr. Schakett as saying "borrowers generally receive better forbearance packages if they have "reasonable prospects for employment," though his bank also examines their financial management skills. Bank of America looks at mortgage-payment habits and overall debt payment success, among other things.  People who were already struggling with their mortgage payments would be less likely to end up with a job that would help them be successful in the future."

According to the article, the lenders insist that "they have been working together, and with the federal government, to create more consistent strategies for unemployed borrowers."  Personally, I laugh at this.  Lenders are completely botching this situation and causing significantly more short sales and foreclosures than they need to.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who has lost their job, but have either been turned down for a loan forbearance or loan modification, or you still cannot pay your mortgage and your home is worth less than your mortgage balance, please contact me to discuss selling your home via a short sale. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure expert and REALTOR. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

If you need to sell your home fast via short sale you can my request help on my website JimTheRealEstateExpert.com.

Greenspan: Unemployment Likely to Exceed 10%

Greenspan: Unemployment Likely to Exceed 10%

According to this Bloomberg article, Greenspan Opposes New Stimulus Even With 10% Unemployed Likely, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve Chairman, believes that the federal government should not consider a new stimulus package even though the US unemployment rate is likely "to penetrate the 10 percent barrier and stay there for a while."

The article quotes Greenspan as saying "The focus has got to be on trying to get the economy going, but you also have to be careful that in trying to do too much you can actually be counterproductive" on ABC’s "This Week" program. Greenspan noted that only abouyt 40% of the $787B stimulus money has been spent thus far.

Regarding last week's unemployment report, the article quotes Greenspan as saying that the unemployment report was "pretty awful no matter how you looked at it." However, Greenspan still believes the economy is in the early stages of a recovery. Greenspan did raise concerns, though, about the number of people unemployed for 6 months or more. According to the September 2009 unemployment report, that figure is now at 5.44 million people, which is a 9% increase over August 2009. The result of these alarming figures is that more homeowners will default on their mortgages and short sales and foreclosures will increase.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who has lost their job and cannot pay your mortgage and your home is worth less than your mortgage balance, please contact me to discuss selling your home via a short sale. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure expert and REALTOR. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN.

If you need to sell your home fast you can request help on my website JimTheRealEstateExpert.com.

Get Expert Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Distressed Real Estate, Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert & Real Estate Professional

Get Expert Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Distressed Real Estate, Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert & Real Estate Professional

Attention Property Owners and Homeowners in Middle Tennessee (Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN) - Get Expert Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Distressed Real Estate, Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR, Real Estate Expert & Real Estate Professional

• Can't afford your mortgage payments?
• Received a Notice of Default (Foreclosure Letter) from your lender, or their attorney?
• Home worth less than your current mortgage balance(s)?

If one or more of the above situations apply to you then you need to get help from a Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR & Real Estate Professional who can help you avoid Foreclosure, sell your home via a Short Sale, or even get a Loan Modification.

A Loan Modification may help you keep your home and should be considered. However, many lenders seem unwilling to grant modifications. If you cannot get a loan modification, or your home is worth less than the mortgage balance(s), or you just can't afford to keep your home then a Short Sale may be your best option as it could salvage what is left of your credit and to reduce the risk of the lender pursuing you for their net loss (deficiency judgment). Acting quickly will give you the greatest chance of getting your life back without all the stress and worry. For immediate help please contact Jim McCormack now!*

Jim McCormack's Foreclosure and Short Sale Assistance Hotline

(615) 653-4383

*Jim McCormack is a REALTOR, not an attorney. You should consult an attorney before making any real estate decisions.

For more information, please visit my real estate website, JimTheRealEstateExpert.com, which is focused on helping property owners who are in foreclosure, or who need expert assistance with a short sale (i.e. where the property value is worth less than the mortgage debt). My website is designed to inform short sale and pre-foreclosure sellers and consumers on how to best solve their real estate problems in the quickest time possible. The articles and tools throughout the website are FREE, with zero strings attached.

If you would like more information first, please let me introduce myself. My name is James W. McCormack. I am a Short Sale, Pre-foreclosure and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert. I am a 10+ year real estate sales veteran and full-time real estate professional who specializes in helping people solve their real estate problems. I focus on short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures and investment properties in the Middle Tennessee TN market with my primary focus being on Murfreesboro, Smyrna, La Vergne and Eagleville in Rutherford County, Brentwood and Franklin in Williamson County and Nashville and Belle Meade in Davidson County. My website helps you to search for and find short sale listings, pre-foreclosure listings and foreclosure listings in Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Belle Meade TN and Nashville TN.

I am a real estate expert who is here to help you. Please call me at 615-653-4383 to discuss your real estate situation or problems. I almost always return phone calls by the next business day.

I provide the following real estate services:

Specialty and Challenging Real Estate (Sales, Consulting & Leasing):
1. Physically Distressed Properties (i.e. fixer uppers, rehab properties, handyman specials, etc.).
2. Foreclosures.
3. Pre-foreclosures (i.e. Notice of Default, etc.).
4. Short Sales (i.e. where the sale price is not enough to pay off the mortgage(s) and other liens.).
5. Bank Owned Real Estate (i.e. REO's).
6. Divorce Sales.
7. Estate Sales.
8. Abandoned and Vacant Properties.
9. Rental Homes and Properties (Leasing and Consulting).
10. Lease Option/Lease Purchase Homes (Sales, Leasing & Consulting).
11. Other Difficult Situations.

Commercial and Investment Real Estate (Sales & Leasing):
1. Small Multifamily Properties (2-4 units).
2. Apartment Buildings (5+ units).

Search Middle Tennessee MLS Listings
Find Middle TN Real Estate, Houses, Homes, Townhomes, Condos, Building Lots, Farms & Land
Find Short Sales, Pre-foreclosures, Foreclosures, REO's, Bank Owned Properties, Fixer Uppers & Other Distressed Real Estate

Effects of a Loan Modification, Short Sale, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Walking Away/Doing Nothing on Credit Scores

Effects of a Loan Modification, Short Sale, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Walking Away/Doing Nothing on Your Credit Score

There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there regarding the negative effects of a Loan Modification, Short Sale, Foreclosure, Bankruptcy and Walking Away/Doing Nothing on a person's credit score. I would like to try to clear some of that confusion up.

According to this Los Angeles Times article, Mortgage problems are walloping Americans' credit scores, loan modifications, short sales, foreclosures, bankruptcies and walking away/doing nothing effect your credit score differently. Below is a brief summary of the different options.

• Loan Modification Type 1 - This Loan Modification type rolls late payments and penalties into the principal debt owed. According to the LA Times article, this type of loan modification may modestly increase your credit score.
• Loan Modification Type 2 - This Loan Modification type is a refinancing of underwater (i.e. negative equity) mortgage(s). This is what is offered under the Obama administration's Making Home Affordable Program through government controlled Fannie and Freddie Mac. According to the LA Times article, this type of Loan Modification "may have little or no negative effect on scores, even though the homeowners might have been tottering on the edge of serious delinquency before refinancing."
• Short Sale - A short sale is a sale of a property where the net sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off the mortgage balance(s) and there is no party willing or able to make up the shortage. According to the LA Times article, a short sale may lower your credit score by 120-130 points. I have heard from other people that a short sale lowers a person's credit score by 80-100 points. For sake of simplicity, let's say that a short sale will drop your credit score by about 100 points on average (This does not include the negative effects of any missed mortgage payments. You do not need to miss any mortgage payments in order to successfully complete a short sale). While this seems bad (it certainly is not good), it is much better than foreclosure, or doing nothing. In fact, according Question 7, "If a borrower has completed a short sale and was never delinquent on that mortgage and is now attempting to purchase a new primary residence, will Fannie Mae purchase the loan?", in this this Fannie Mae publication, Announcement 08-16: Bankruptcy, Foreclosure, and Conversion of Principal Residence Policy Changes; and Revised Property Value Representation and Warranty Requirements, "If the borrower is purchasing a new property and the previous mortgage history complies with our excessive prior mortgage delinquency policy and does not have one or more 60-, 90-, 120-, or 150-day delinquencies reported within the 12 months prior to the credit report date, the loan is eligible for delivery to Fannie Mae, provided the lender or servicer who completed the short sale has not entered into any agreement that obligates the borrower to repay any amounts associated with the short sale, including a deficiency judgment." In other words, you can short sell your existing home and immediately buy another home as long you did not have a 60 day or more delinquency and your short sale lender did not require you to pay the shortage (normal loan underwriting criteria applies). This publication clarifies the previous Fannie Mae publication, Announcement 08-16.
• Foreclosure - Homeowners that allow their home to go to full foreclosure (i.e. be auctioned off by the lender and/or become a bank owned property) should expect their credit scores to decline by 140 to 150 points plus negative marks on their credit bureau files for as long as seven years. Having a foreclosure on your credit report will also make it much more difficult to buy a home. Fannie Mae requires foreclosed home buyers to wait at least 5 years before buying another home and even then Fannie Mae will require larger down payments. Freddie Mac generally requires a waiting period of 7 years. The FHA currently has a waiting period of 3 years, but is expected to increase that waiting requirement.
• Bankruptcy - The LA Times article states "People who file for bankruptcy protection covering all their debts (mortgage, credit cards, auto loans, etc.) will get hit with an average 355- to 365-point drop in their scores. Bankruptcies remain on borrowers' credit bureau files for 10 years." Having a bankruptcy on your credit report will make it very difficult to buy another home. Fannie Mae requires that people who file a non-Chapter 13 bankruptcy wait a minimum of 4 years from dismissal or discharge before obtaining a new home loan. For Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the waiting requirement is 2 years from discharge and 4 years from dismissal.
• Walking Away/Doing Nothing - according to the LA Times article the "strategic default" has become common in large foreclosure laden markets such as California (and Florida, Nevada and Arizona). Homeowners who choose this option should expect the same consequences as a Foreclosure (described above).

The LA Times article goes on to state that Americans overall credit scores have declined significantly over the last couple of years. The article refers to the Vantage credit score, the main competitor to the well known FICO credit score, which "rates borrowers on a scale range of 501 (subprime, the highest risk) to 990 (super-prime, the lowest risk). Unlike Fair Isaac Corp.'s FICO scoring system, whose scores can vary by 50 to 100 points based on which bureau supplied the underlying credit data, Vantage scores are about the same for each consumer."

Regarding the negative effects of this financial mess on people's credit scores, the article states "For example, roughly 36.6 million of the 213 million consumers tracked by the three national credit bureaus in the first quarter of 2008 had Vantage scores above 900 -- the super-prime credit rung. That select group represented 17.2% of the country's consumers.But by the end of the second quarter of this year, just 15.4% -- 33.3 million out of 216.9 million individuals' files -- were left among the elite. By credit industry standards, that's huge. More Americans' scores are slipping into the worst credit category as well. In the third quarter of 2006, 34.4 million consumers were in the lowest segment -- 16.6% of 206.9 million individuals. But by the second quarter of this year, 18.3% of all files were in that category -- 39.8 million consumers out of 216.9 million. Most of these changes -- fewer people with excellent credit, more people in the lowest brackets -- have been caused by late payments on home mortgages, serious delinquencies, short sales and foreclosures, according to VantageScore researchers."

The article does offer a glimmer of good news - the same information I have been saying for months. That is "the bottom-line good news about scores is that homeowners facing financial stress can experience minimal dings to their credit if they contact their loan servicer or lender early in the game -- when they first discover that they may have trouble making their monthly payments -- and take the first steps toward a loan modification or refinancing." In other words, doing nothing is the worst thing you can do. The article cautions financially distressed homeowners not to "wait and fall several payments behind before seeking a modification". The article quotes Barrett Burns, a former lender and now chief executive of VantageScore, as saying "Start that conversation early. You can lose 240 points on your score" and damage your ability to obtain credit for years.

Based on the above, if you are a home owner who is experiencing difficult financial times and cannot afford to pay your mortgage, you should try to get a loan modification first. If a loan modification is not approved, or you cannot pay your mortgage even after a loan modification, then a short sale is your next best option.

Due to the declines in people's credit scores as described above, the large number of homeowners in financial distress (due to a loss of income, unemployment, etc.), the large number of homeowners underwater (see my previous blog post, SCARY STUFF: About half of U.S. mortgages seen underwater by 2011), the relative attractiveness of short sales and the large numbers of homeowners who do nothing/walk away (this is a terrible decision) there will be a lot of short sales and foreclosures over the next several years.

If you are a homeowner who cannot pay your mortgage (due to losing your job, having your income reduced, illness, health problems, etc.), or your home is already in foreclosure, or you owe more than your home is worth you should contact a real estate and/or bankruptcy attorney to discuss your legal options. You should also contact your mortgage company to inquire about a loan modification. If you a homeowner in Middle Tennessee and would like help and assistance with a loan modification please contact me for free no obligation assistance. If a loan modification will not work for you, or is not granted by your mortgage company, I can help you with a short sale of your property. I am a Middle Tennessee distressed real estate, short sale, pre-foreclosure (preforeclosure) and foreclosure REALTOR and Expert. I serve real estate owners, homeowners and investment property owners in Rutherford County TN, Williamson County TN, Davidson County TN, Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN, La Vergne TN, Eagleville TN, Lascassas TN, Rockvale TN, Christiana TN, Brentwood TN, Franklin TN, Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN. If you do need to short sell your home (a real estate short sale occurs when the sale proceeds are not sufficient to pay off all the mortgages and liens on the property/home), or you need a quick sale due to being in foreclosure, you can request short sale and foreclosure help and assistance on my website at Get Short Sale and Foreclosure Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Real Estate Expert.

Navigating Short Sales - Help and Assistance for Sellers Who May Need to Sell via a Short Sale

The information below is intended to provide help and assistance for sellers who may need to sell their home via s short sale as a result of a personal hardship (i.e. illness, job or income loss, etc.) and their home being worth less than the total mortgage balances. This information is valuable for sellers in any area of the country. However, I personally service the following areas in Middle Tennessee:

• Rutherford County Tennessee: Murfreesboro TN, Smyrna TN and La Vergne TN (LaVergne TN)
• Williamson County Tennessee: Brentwood TN and Franklin TN
• Davidson County Tennessee: Nashville TN and Belle Meade TN

Navigating Short Sales: What to Do When the Sale Price Leaves You Short

If you're thinking of selling your home, and you expect that the total amount you owe on your mortgage will be greater than the selling price of your home, you may be facing a short sale. A short sale is one where the net proceeds from the sale won't cover your total mortgage obligation and closing costs, and you don't have other sources of money to cover the deficiency. A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when your lender takes title of your home through a lengthy legal process and then sells it.

1. Consider loan modification first. If you are thinking of selling your home because of financial difficulties and you anticipate a short sale, first contact your lender to see if it has any programs to help you stay in your home. Your lender may agree to a modification such as:

• Refinancing your loan at a lower interest rate
• Providing a different payment plan to help you get caught up
• Providing a forbearance period if your situation is temporary

When a loan modification still isn’t enough to relieve your financial problems, a short sale could be your best option if

• Your property is worth less than the total mortgage you owe on it.
• You have a financial hardship, such as a job loss or major medical bills.
• You have contacted your lender and it is willing to entertain a short sale.

2. Hire a qualified team. The first step to a short sale is to hire a qualified real estate professional* and a real estate attorney who specialize in short sales. Interview at least three candidates for each and look for prior short-sale experience. Short sales have proliferated only in the last few years, so it may be hard to find practitioners who have closed a lot of short sales. You want to work with those who demonstrate a thorough working knowledge of the short-sale process and who won't try to take advantage of your situation or pressure you to do something that isn't in your best interest.

A qualified real estate professional can:

• Provide you with a comparative market analysis (CMA) or broker price opinion (BPO).
• Help you set an appropriate listing price for your home, market the home, and get it sold.
• Put special language in the MLS that indicates your home is a short sale and that lender approval is needed (all MLSs permit, and some now require, that the short-sale status be disclosed to potential buyers).
• Ease the process of working with your lender or lenders.

• Negotiate the contract with the buyers.
• Help you put together the short-sale package to send to your lender (or lenders, if you have more than one mortgage) for approval. You can’t sell your home without your lender and any other lien holders agreeing to the sale and releasing the lien so that the buyers can get clear title.

3. Begin gathering documentation before any offers come in. Your lender will give you a list of documents it requires to consider a short sale. The short-sale “package” that accompanies any offer typically must include

• A hardship letter detailing your financial situation and why you need the short sale
• A copy of the purchase contract and listing agreement
• Proof of your income and assets
• Copies of your federal income tax returns for the past two years

4. Prepare buyers for a lengthy waiting period. Even if you're well organized and have all the documents in place, be prepared for a long process. Waiting for your lender’s review of the short-sale package can take several weeks to months. Some experts say:

• If you have only one mortgage, the review can take about two months.
• With a first and second mortgage with the same lender, the review can take about three months.
• With two or more mortgages with different lenders, it can take four months or longer.

When the bank does respond, it can approve the short sale, make a counteroffer, or deny the short sale. The last two actions can lengthen the process or put you back at square one. (Your real estate attorney and real estate professional, with your authorization, can work your lender’s loss mitigation department on your behalf to prepare the proper documentation and speed the process along.)

5. Don't expect a short sale to solve your financial problems. Even if your lender does approve the short sale, it may not be the end of all your financial woes. Here are some things to keep in mind:

• You may be asked by your lender to sign a promissory note agreeing to pay back the amount of your loan not paid off by the short sale. If your financial hardship is permanent and you can’t pay back the balance, talk with your real estate attorney about your options.

• Any amount of your mortgage that is forgiven by your lender is typically considered income, and you may have to pay taxes on that amount. Under a temporary measure passed in 2007, the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act and Debt Cancellation Act, homeowners can exclude debt forgiveness on their federal tax returns from income for loans discharged in calendar years 2007 through 2012. Be sure to consult your real estate attorney and your accountant to see whether you qualify.

• Having a portion of your debt forgiven may have an adverse effect on your credit score. However, a short sale will impact your credit score less than foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA. 

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (REALTOR.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®.

Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.