Bank of America Increases Loan Modifications

Bank of America Increases Loan Modifications

According to this CNBC article, Bank of America Ups Its Foreclosure Prevention Efforts, Bank of America "increased the number of customers with a trial mortgage modification by 62% in September to 95,000" and "increased the total number of modification offers under the Home Affordable Modification Program to 156,000 last month, versus 125,338 in August" which is an increase of nearly 25%.

According to the article, "Data on success rates at this point is limited and in a way lagging. The program is barely six months old and its terms require that a modified loan stay current for three months to be considered a success." Personally, I do not think being current for 3 months is successful at all.

The article quotes a Bank of America document as saying "With sustained high unemployment, even the most aggressive loan modification program will not help where there is no income." In my opinion, this is the real issue: unemployment.

The article states "The government program also includes a refinancing component, which is meant to decrease the number of potential defaults. BofA says that as of September it has taken more than 144,000 applications in that category and funded some 60 percent of them. According to August Treasury data, the bank has the largest number of loans that are 60 days or more past due (836,000)—a key benchmark of delinquency and foreclosure barometer. Foreclosures continue to run at a record rate, despite a multitude of government and private programs. The problem has spread well beyond its original flash point, the subprime sector. The program is designed to help homeowners already in trouble (the loans have become delinquent) and those who may be heeded for it. Loan services receive a fee of $1,000 per loan modification. In addition, they receive a $1000 a year for three years if the modified loan stays current. The program also covers underwater borrowers. The loan-to-value ratio, which started out at 105 percent, is now 125 percent, meaning a homeowner with a $250,000 loan on a property valued at $200,000 is eligible for refinancing aid."

There are a few reasons why these increased loan modifications will still fail:

• Job Losses - You cannot pay your mortgage if you do not have a job.
• Number of Foreclosures - The number of foreclosures far exceeds any loan modification efforts.
• Underwater Homeowners - Even if the bank lowers their payments by a few hundred dollars per month many homeowners will still default due to owing far more than their home is worth.

In some cases, though, a loan modification is the right option for a homeowner.  It all depends on their personal situation.  If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who is interested in a loan modification please call me for a free consultation.  I can give you valuable information on how to improve your chances of getting your loan modification request approved.  On the other hand, if you are a Middle TN homeowner who  is unemployed, have seen your income decline substantially, are already in foreclosure, have already been turned down for a loan forbearance or loan modification, and your home is worth less than your mortgage balance(s), 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 a short sale you can my request help on my website at Get Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure Expert and REALTOR.

Housing Market Problems Persist Despite Government Intervention

Housing Market Problems Persist Despite Government Intervention

According to this REUTERS article, Housing risks still lurk even as buyers return, the US housing market will likely decline further due to continued pressure from adverse economic forces. The article proposes that the most significant economic forces which will hurt the real estate market in the near and mid term future are:

• Expiration of the first time home buyer tax credit on Novermber 30, 2009.
• Continued job losses.
• High rates of foreclosures.
  

The article states "On the surface, a glimmer of confidence is returning to the battered U.S. housing market, after more than three years of gut-wrenching defaults, price slumps and foreclosures. But investors and homeowners in California, the most populous U.S. state and a benchmark for housing across the country, are bracing for another fall as emergency government support measures fall short or expire." The quotes Mark Jacques, a mortgage broker in Corona Del Mar, California as saying "All that has been achieved is to put off the real pain until later on. I'm hunkering down for the storm." I agree with this comment. The real problem with the real estate market is that housing prices still exceed the historical ratios of incomes to housing prices - in short houses are still too expensive when compared to the incomes people actually earn.

The article states "California led the United States when housing prices soared early this decade, spurred by an array of public policy incentives to encourage home ownership. The boom fueled a frenzy of lending and spending that drove the U.S. economy. But California proved to be the epicenter of reckless lending that pushed housing throughout most of the United States over a cliff in 2007, triggering a credit crisis that plunged the world economy into recession. The sobering view now from ground zero of the U.S. property market underscores the problems faced by President Barack Obama as he tries to fix the U.S. economy. Washington is trying to stem rising numbers of homeowners who cannot afford their mortgages as job losses mount. Housing prices have fallen to levels not seen since 2003. But even investors pouring millions of dollars back into real estate say it may take up to four more years for California's housing market to settle. The reasons why -- rising foreclosures, joblessness and tight credit -- are not unique to the state and may have already slowed a recent recovery in places like Florida."

Tax Credit Threat

The article describes how the potential housing rebound will be challenged by the expiration of the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit on November, 30, 2009. According to the article, the "(tax credit) plan has resulted in 357,000 home sales so far in 2009, out of a total 3.88 million, according to a survey of realtors by research firm Campbell Communications Inc." The article quotes John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Irvine, California as saying that ending the tax credit "will likely cause a drop-off in buyers, or a "false peak" of the budding housing recovery."

Recent rumblings in Washington indicate that the government is considering extending and/or expanding the home buyer tax credit due to their concern that the housing market is still not stable. I have to say that the housing market is definitely not stable.

According to article, "Helped by government measures and a sense that the worst of the price slump is over, U.S. home prices have risen nearly 4 percent from their low point in April. But the bounce was preceded by a 33 percent slide since the peak in July 2006. The nascent housing recovery has combined with stronger data in other sectors to suggest the U.S. recession is over. This has helped thaw credit markets that are the lifeblood of the economy. Bidding wars are breaking out in some areas. Sales are now routinely above asking prices in California, from wealthy Orange County towns like Irvine to harder-hit San Bernardino County in the high desert east of Los Angeles." Apparently foreclosed houses are selling for 25-30% less than their 2007 market peaks, but still about 40% more than their original new construction prices of 2002. To me, those prices are still too high. Ask yourself, did incomes of the buyers for these types of homes increase 40% from 2002 to 2009? The answer is "No". Therefore, those homes are still priced too high.

Job Loss Threat

According to the article, "Efforts by the government and by banks to help struggling homeowners cut payments and stay in their homes are outpaced by mortgages going bad. The mortgage-modification programs risk being swamped by rising unemployment." A recent mass loan modification event in Los Angeles "drew 50,000 people over five days, hoping for mortgage-reduction deals to help keep them in their homes." The article quotes JC Ferebee, manager of Wells Fargo's team at the mass loan modification event, as saying "When you look at the whole culture right now and the economy with the jobs situation, it's a domino effect." We already know that the September 2009 US unemployment rate hit a "26-year high of 9.8 percent and is likely to head into the double-digit levels already suffered in California. The jobless rate is usually considered to be a lagging economic indicator because employers are slow to hire after a recession as they wait to be sure a recovery is for real. Economists fear that a protracted and high unemployment rate this time will deter Americans from spending more again on houses and goods, raising the prospect of a slow recovery." In short, jobs drive consumer spending and home purchases. With the economy shedding over 500,000 jobs each month there can be no real and meaningful housing market recovery.  What we are seeing now is more mirage than substance.

Foreclosures Threat

In previous blog posts I have stated that the banks are holding back on offering their foreclosures for sale and not taking back homes even when the home owners haven't paid their mortgages for many months. My opinion is that the banks are trying to artificially inflate the market values of their foreclosed assets (i.e. homes). According to the article, "Economists fear a repeat of the flood of foreclosure listings that scared all but vulture buyers -- specialized in assets few others want -- and sped the 2008-09 price slump. More than half of house sales in southern California in late 2008 and early this year involved "distressed" properties, accelerating price drops, according to Thomas Lawler, founder of Lawler Economic & Housing Consulting in Leesburg, Virginia. In response to the slump, banks slowed foreclosure sales to seek other solutions for homeowners and help shore up prices. At the same time, the Federal Reserve's emergency slashing of interest rates to near zero has helped encourage buyers to take advantage of the lowest prices in decades and a rush by the Federal Housing Administration, a U.S. agency, to guarantee more loans is also helping would-be home owners find credit. But the emergency steps by the government and the Fed will be overrun by economic forces, according to many analysts. "We are far from persuaded by a little summer upturn in a sector that the government had endeavored so mightily to support," Deutsche Bank said in a report last month. In California's Inland Empire -- a 27,000 square mile (69,900 square kilometers) region made up of Riverside and San Bernardino counties, prices will likely fall 15 percent from June for a peak-to-trough drop of 66 percent, the most for the biggest 10 U.S. metropolitan areas, Deutsche Bank predicted. Local buyers rely not only the scheduled-to-expire tax credit but almost entirely on funding from the FHA, which in response to rising taxpayer losses may soon tighten access to its credit. One bill would require bigger down-payments."  I discussed this FHA insolvency issue in a previous blog post.  In short, lending irresponsibly is not a solution for a problem that was caused by lending irresponsibly.

Regarding the failure of loan modifications, the article states "Nearly 43 percent of homeowners whose mortgages were modified in the first quarter fell behind on payments within three months, data from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of Currency shows. For older modifications, the re-default rate is above 50 percent.  Postponed foreclosures have created a backlog that banks may have little alternative but to dump onto the market.  Foreclosures being processed surged nearly 80 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier to nearly 1 million. But completed foreclosures fell nearly 10 percent to 106,007, the OCC says.  Brokers in California bemoan what they say is just a delay in the inevitable pain of people losing their homes and the follow-on boom in sales of cheap properties, something for which there is no shortage of demand today.  Bruce Norris, president of property investment firm The Norris Group, said inventory levels are "completely artificial, completely baloney ... The delinquency rate (in California) has exploded, but inventory levels have gone down. In many of these cases the banks have simply avoided foreclosure."  I have been saying this for months.

According to the article, "Amherst Securities, a broker-dealer specializing in residential mortgage-backed securities, calculated a mountain of 7 million U.S. housing units is likely to end up on the market -- equivalent to 135 percent of a normal year's supply." Fred Arnold, a broker in Stevenson Ranch, California said "It's going to drip on the market.  We don't have the state and federal government that will let the natural supply and demand market occur which is pushing the real estate problem into 2012."  Amen, that is what I have been saying for months now.  The best way to get the housing market to stabilize is to allow the housing market to hit the real bottom, which will be at prices that buyers can actually afford without government subsidies.  Per my previous post, it will take until about 2020 (or longer) for home prices to return to their 2006 peaks.  For homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth and who have lost their jobs or suffered a reduction in their incomes 2020 will probably not come quickly enough.  Many of these homeowners will need to get loan modifications, sell their homes via short sales, or suffer through a foreclosure.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who is unemployed or have seen your income decline 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 a short sale you can my request help on my website at Get Help and Assistance from a Middle Tennessee Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR and Expert.

Over 6,600 Home Foreclosure Filings Per Day

Over 6,600 Home Foreclosure Filings Per Day

According to this REUTERS article, Foreclosures mark pace of enduring U.S. housing crisis, in the US there is a foreclosure every 13 seconds which translates into "more than 6,600 home foreclosure filings per day, according to the Center for Responsible Lending, a nonpartisan watchdog group based in Durham, North Carolina. With nearly two million already this year, the flood of foreclosures shows no sign of abating any time soon."

According to the article, "the country's worst housing downturn since record-keeping began in the late 19th century may only get worse since foreclosures, which started with subprime borrowers, have now moved on to the much bigger prime loan market on the back of mounting unemployment. In congressional testimony last month Michael Barr, the Treasury Department's assistant secretary for financial institutions, said more than 6 million families could face foreclosure over the next three years."

The article references a September 2009 report from a FL foreclosure task force as finding that people are now defaulting on their mortgages for different reasons. The report states "People are no longer defaulting simply because of a change in the payment structure of their loan. They are defaulting because of lost jobs or reduced hours or pay."

According to the article, "A recent pickup in sales and home prices in some regions has been heralded as a sign that the crisis in residential real estate may be close to bottoming out, after the steepest price decline since at least 1890. But nearly half of recent sales have been attributed to foreclosures or "short sales" at bargain-basement prices. Even as the U.S. economy seems to be recovering from its worst recession since the Great Depression, mortgage delinquencies continue to rise. And that adds risk to any relatively upbeat assessment, since foreclosures depress the value of nearby properties while eroding the net worth of homeowners and the tax base for communities nationwide. The Center for Responsible Lending says foreclosures are on track to wipe out $502 billion in property values this year. That spillover effect from foreclosures is one reason why Celia Chen of Moody's Economy.com says nationwide home prices won't regain the peak levels they reached in 2006 until 2020. In states hardest-hit by the housing bust, like Florida and California, the rebound will take until 2030, Chen predicted."

The article quotes Celia Chen of Moody's as saying "The default rates, the delinquency rates, are still rising. Rising joblessness combined with a large degree of negative equity are going to cause foreclosures to increase. Anyone doubting that the recovery in U.S. real estate prices will be long and hard should take a look at Japan, Chen said. Prices there are still off about 50 percent from the peak they hit 15 years ago."

According to the article, the chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association, Jay Brinkmann, thought that foreclosures would peak in the second half of 2010. The problem is that this somewhat rosy prediction is based on unemployment falling in 2010 after reaching a peak "barely in double digits by the middle of next year." As we already know, the US unemployment rate reached 9.8% in September 2009 and show no signs of going down anytime soon.

I think this article provides even more evidence that the US real estate/housing short sale and foreclosure crisis is not going to end anytime soon. As more people lose their jobs, short sales and foreclosures will increase for the next several years since it will take until at least 2011 before the unemployment starts to go back down and even then it will take until at least 2012 or 2013 before the US unemployment reaches a level where people can afford to pay their mortgages. The net effect of all this will be that US real estate and housing prices will continue to decline for the next several years leaving more homeowners underwater.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who is unemployed, have seen your income decline, has been turned down for a loan forbearance or loan modification 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 a short sale you can my request help on my website at Get Help and Assistance from a Middle TN Short Sale and Foreclosure Expert and REALTOR.

Rutherford County Tennessee: Foreclosures up 22% in 2009 versus 2008

Rutherford County TN: Foreclosures up 22% in 2009 versus 2008

According to this DNJ.com article, Growth slower, but still strong, "Rutherford County ranked 36th nationally in residential housing growth over the first six years of this decade but dropped to 68th during a recession the last two years, the U.S. Census reported. The county as of July 1, 2008 had 101,708 housing units, representing a 44 percent growth from the 70,616 units in April 1, 2000, according to a Census study of the 100 fastest growing counties with at least 5,000 housing units."

The article mentions that Rutherford County Tennessee is a great place to live. I agree with this. However, in my opinion, the most important information stated in this article is "The slumping economy has included an unemployment rate above 10 percent and a rise in foreclosures. The county since Jan. 1, 2008, has had 1,609 sales of foreclosed property, representing 13.3 percent of the 5,791 real estate transactions, according to the Property Assessor's Office. In 2009, the county has had 721 sales of foreclosed property, representing 16.2 percent of the 4,363 transactions so far. Overall, foreclosures are probably representing around 1.6 percent of the county's 105,410 parcels, Deputy Assessor Bill Gibbs said."

There are a couple of important points to make here:

• The 10%+ unemployment rate in Rutherford County TN is not good.
• The 22% increase (16.2% in 2009 versus 13.3% in 2008) in the percentage of total real estate sales in Rutherford County TN that are foreclosures is also not good.
• The Rutherford County TN foreclosure figures above do not include short sales and other non-foreclosed distress sales.  While the article did not provide information regarding these figures, I have done my research via the Middle Tennessee MLS and have found that in 2008 there were a total of 3,762 Closed Sales in Rutherford County TN and 285 of these sales were short sales and foreclosures.  In 2009 YTD so far there are a total of 2,596 Closed Sales with 437 of these sales being short sales and foreclosures.  This means that so far in 2009 short sales and foreclosures are accounting for 16.8% of all sales.  Since many distress sales (i.e. short sales and foreclosures) are not put into the MLS and not all short sales and foreclosures are properly identified in the MLS I think it is reasonable to conclude that short sales and foreclosures could easily make up as much as 20% of the real estate sales in Rutherford County TN in 2009. Given the high unemployment rate I see no reason why this percentage will decrease any time soon.

If you are a homeowner in Middle Tennessee who is unemployed or suffered a reduction in your income and has been turned down for a loan forbearance or loan modification 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 a short sale you can my request help on my website at Get Help and Assistance from a Middle TN Short Sale and Foreclosure REALTOR.

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.