The fact that no one made a bid among the prospective buyers in a court-supervised foreclosure auction held last week at the county courthouse in Annapolis showed that the minimum bid prices were too high for their budgets or too high compared to the market values of the foreclosed properties.

Another public showing of repo homes for sale in downtown Annapolis during the same week as the court auction showed that the housing downturn is not yet over in the city. A total of 13 new houses in the high-end Acton’s Landing development site were put up for discounted sale because the developer failed to sell them at their original asking prices of over $1 million for many of the properties.

Annapolis seemed insulated from the foreclosure crisis that clobbered a lot of cities, but in reality, the city has also been suffering from sharp home price declines.

The court originally set a public auction for 15 foreclosed houses, but some were canceled a few days before the auction, according to auction firm Alex Cooper. Apparently, some were able to delay the foreclosure sale through special deals with the lenders.

At this particular public auction, although there were investors and real estate agents in the audience, no one made a bid. Ultimately, all the distressed properties were sent back to the lender through absentee bids.

Millersville realtor Marcy Gaines said that the prospective buyers apparently surveyed the foreclosed properties and determined that they could not make a profit from the minimum bid prices set by the lender. She added that the Bay Ridge Avenue home was not worth the $145,000 set by the bank.

Meanwhile, the Acton’s Landing housing units are being shown to the public before it will be sold off in an auction later in the month. According to auctioneer Michael Russo, many of the units were already sold before the construction, but buyers backed out when the housing market collapsed even if it meant forfeiting their deposits.

The lowest opening bid is $249,000 and the higher-priced units start at $400,000 and $500,000.

The low auction prices show how sharply home prices have dropped in Annapolis. Condo residents who bought their units in 2007 at around $529,000 have been frustrated at how low the values of their condo units have fallen.

Repo Homes for Sale in Annapolis Show Home Price Declines is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

The number of residential properties to be auctioned off this month is the third highest in the history of the Atlanta metro area. In 2008, the number of foreclosed homes for auctions never exceeded the 8,000 level. This year, all monthly totals surpassed 8,000 except one.

In August, the highest number of foreclosure filings occurred in Gwinnett County, with a total of 2,120. Fulton County had 1,929 filings; DeKalb County posted 1,571; Cobb County had 1,107 filings; and Clayton County posted 785.

To help stop the increasing number of foreclosures, Reverend Jesse Jackson and the members of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition carried out a protest prayer vigil at the Federal Reserve Bank in downtown Atlanta. They particularly denounced the foreclosure sales held by courts across the Atlanta metro area.

Jackson cited the billions of money given by taxpayers to big banks and expressed frustration at the failure of these banks to help these taxpayers during difficult times.

In July, Georgia ranked seventh in a chart of foreclosure filings provided by a real estate research firm. With one household out of 356 households notified with default or foreclosure, Georgia posted more than 11,000 foreclosures in July. More than 3,500 of these were already repossessed by banks while more than 7,600 were already posted for trustee sales.

Meanwhile, in a chart of 203 metro areas surveyed across the U.S., the metro area covered by Atlanta, Marietta and Sandy Springs was 35th based on foreclosure rate in the first 6 months of this year. More than 2 percent of all households in the metro area were in the foreclosure process, putting a total of 42,799 housing units in danger of actual foreclosures.

With one in 49 homeowners in the Atlanta area notified with delinquency or foreclosure in the first half of this year, the foreclosure rate of the area increased by nearly 11 percent from the rate in the previous quarter of July to December 2008 and nearly 11.5 percent from the rate in the same 6-month period in 2008.

According to Jackson, he and his group will continue to campaign against bank foreclosures. His group planned to meet with pastors nationwide to plan a strategy against foreclosures, starting with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition regional conference in Atlanta in October.

Atlanta Foreclosure Home Auctions to Sell 10,000 Units is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

The two luxurious homes were purchased by Michael Wilson, a 22-year-old hedge fund trader based in Cleveland, in 2008 for $6.3 million. At the time, the purchase became the talk of the town as it pushed up the benchmark for residential real estate transactions in Erie County.

But Wilson was able to pay only slightly over $1 million for each mortgage loan. After Wilson failed to make the required payments this spring, Russo and Greenacres filed for foreclosure.

Greenacres is a company affiliated with the Russo family, who founded South Buffalo-based cheese producer Sorrento Cheese Co. The company was later sold to S.A. Perrier over 10 years ago. Today, Sorrento Cheese is still one of Buffalo?s top manufacturing companies.

Zeftel and Russo were the only bidders during the court-conducted foreclosure auction. Zeftel made a $1.9-million bid for the residential building at 6523 Boston State Road and made a $1.85-million bid for the neighboring building at 6553 Boston State Road. The bidding was largely a credit bid or a paper transaction because Greenacres and Russo held the mortgages on the properties.

According to Anthony Colucci Jr., the Buffalo lawyer chosen by the court to hold the foreclosure auction for the 6523 Boston State Road property, said that the foreclosure decision was easy to make because the defendant, Michael Wilson, clearly defaulted on the loans. It was lawyer Kenneth Case who handled the foreclosure sale for the 6553 Boston State Road building.

Court documents filed by Russo and Greenacres also listed real estate company Phantom One Holdings One LLC as defendant together with Wilson. The company was formed by Wilson to purchase the two homes.

Recently, the high-end residences were raided by FBI investigators looking for documents in connection with their investigation of hedge fund trader Wilson. Until now, however, Wilson has not been charged for anything.

The residence at 6553 was built in 1992 and has over 15,500 square feet while the residence at 6523 was built in 1995 and has 15,000 square feet. Both have indoor pools, in-home theaters and other luxurious amenities.

According to lawyer Zeftel, Wilson has left the residences. He also added that the Russo family will put back the houses on the market soon.

NY Foreclosed Homes for Sale Bought by Mortgage Holder is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

According to data, one out of six properties on the market for sale is priced less than the original amount paid for by sellers. Additionally, short sale accounted for 17 percent of properties under contract or listed for sale. Short sale means lenders allow homeowners to sell their mortgaged properties less than the total amount they owed for their loans.

Industry experts said that about 75 percent of almost 1,401 listed properties for short sales are priced less than $300,000. Properties priced more than $500,000 make up only 7 percent of short sale listings.

Meanwhile, 8.42 percent of Utah homeowners with mortgages are either delinquent or in some kind of foreclose process. Experts blamed lenders’ faulty loan practices during the peak of the housing market for the rising short sales in the state.

And the situation has become worst with the addition of rising unemployment rate.

So far, 46,000 people lost their jobs in Utah. Last month, seasonally adjusted jobless rate in the state jumped by 5.7 percent, representing an increase of 2.4 percent from the same month in 2008.

Industry experts said that Utah should take consolation on the fact that it is better off compared with other states in terms of foreclose property and unemployment rates. In the first six months of this year, one out of 69 homeowners received at least one foreclosure filing, earning Utah the 5th position on the list of states nationwide with high foreclosure rates.Utah’s foreclosure rate for the period rose by 88 percent, compared with the first six months the previous year.

The number of foreclosure filings nationwide rose by 9.5 percent from January to June of this year, representing a 15 percent rise from the same period last year. Jeff Thredgold, chief economist at Zions Bank, said that with the way foreclosure rate keeps on rising, it is not surprising to see property values dropping and short sales increasing.

Experts said that cities with high number of foreclose properties are also leading the list of areas with high rate of short sales and unemployment and declining property values.

High Unemployment, Foreclose Rates Pummel Utah is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

According Federal Reserve Bank of Boston economists, faulty economic assumptions may be one of the reasons why the Obama Administration?s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has so far failed to achieve its target goal of helping about 7 to 9 million distressed homeowners across the country avoid home repossession.

When the foreclosure crisis started, there was a widespread consensus that in order to prevent the problem from spreading across the country, lenders and banks should modify the troubled loans of homeowners to make them affordable.

According to industry experts, the initiative is a win-win deal for both lenders and borrowers. Lenders would modify the loan by reducing the interest rate or outstanding principal. Borrowers get to stay in their home while lenders avoid the trouble and cost of house repossession and reselling foreclosed properties.

In line with the program, the Department of Treasury offered about $75 billion to subsidize the cost of reducing the monthly payments of borrowers to not more than 31 percent of their gross income. The program also provided incentives to lenders by paying them $1,000 for each successful loan modification and additional $1,000 for every modified loan that remained current after three years.

But the program has so far failed to make a dent in the foreclosure problem. Industry experts said that the slow progress of the program may be due to the increasing unemployment rate.

Meanwhile, federal economists pointed out that modification downplayed the underlying reasons why lenders would want to foreclose. They said that an estimated 30 percent of borrowers would be able to make their account current without modification. That means the same percentage of the total cost of loan modification is wasted.

And because lenders do not have advance knowledge of who are these borrowers who could eventually make their accounts current, they hesitate to provide loan modifications.

Another issue is the risk that homeowners would default again on their modified loans. By the time that homeowners redefault, the foreclosure costs for lenders would even be higher.

Federal economists concluded that the number of house repossession that could be prevented is fewer than what the public were made to believe.

Study Modification Not Enough to Stop House Repossession is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Government data showed that so far, the federal program barely attracted a fraction of its 4 million target. Foreclosure mitigation counselor Tammy Thompson said that the federal program is a godsend to distressed homeowners, adding that she is trying to convince her clients to get into the program.

The program was launched by the Obama Administration in March as part of the government’s financial bailout plan which was adopted in October last year. The $75 billion initiative aims to contain the number of properties on forclosure list by encouraging lenders and banks to modify terms of mortgage loans to make them affordable for distressed homeowners.

This month, the program has started restructuring nearly 270,000 distressed properties, according to the Department of Treasury. The department noted that the July figures were more than twice the 122,000 troubled loans that were modified in June under the program. However, the numbers fell short from the department’s target of helping 4 million homeowners save their properties from repossess.

Concept Capital’s Washington Research Group policy analyst Jaret Seiberg expressed his skepticism that the program would achieve its goal of stemming the tide of homes on foreclosure list. He pointed out some challenges the program is facing, including difficulty in monitoring and the success of loan modification on homeowners who lost their jobs.

Meanwhile, Action-Housing foreclosure prevention specialist Dan Sullivan said that a mortgage could not be successfully modified if it is too big for the homeowner to begin with, adding that the program would not work on a badly underwritten loan.

Under the program, the federal government is offering cash incentives to mortgage servicers who successfully modified a loan. For every borrower whose loan was modified, the mortgage servicer will stand to receive $1,000. The same amount will be received by the mortgage servicer for each succeeding three years that the borrower remains current on his modified loan.

So far, 25 of the country’s largest home mortgage servicers have joined the program to stem the tide of properties on forclosure list, including CitiMortgage, National City, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

Mediocre Program Response, Forclosure List Still Growing is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Anderson County has been ranked by the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority as number 7 in terms of foreclosure rate. The agency studied several counties in the state, taking into account the average number of repo homes for sale, the volume of abandoned and vacant residential properties and the high-cost mortgage loans.

Anderson County interim administrator Rusty Burns described the foreclosure situation in the area as horrible. He blames the economic recession on the worsening foreclosure problem in the county. He laments the fact that many hardworking and honest county residents have been severely affected by the economic crisis and foreclosures.

Burns pointed out the devastating psychological impact of the foreclosure problem on homeowners and their families.

He said that the County Council decided not to increase taxes this year to help ease the burden on homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments. He added that the council plans to hold business and energy seminars for county residents.

Meanwhile, the State Housing Finance and Development Authority has awarded Anderson city and two local nonprofit agencies with $2.17 million to allow the city to purchase repo homes for sale. The funds to purchase foreclosed homes sale were awarded in accordance with regulations set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Anderson city?s director of economic and community development Erica Craft noted a great number of distressed properties in low-income areas. She said that the HUD tasked her office to identify areas in greatest need of funding.

On the other hand, GrandSouth Bank Chief Executive Officer and President Ron Earnest said that the economic downturn has made it difficult for county residents to own properties. He explained that his bank continues to underwrite home loans based on the ability of the borrower to pay.

In upstate South Carolina, job losses have affected the ability of residents to pay their monthly mortgages, according to Elaine Worzala, Clemson University?s director for its Center for Real Estate Development.

She advises homeowners who are facing repo homes for sale to talk to their lenders immediately to modify their loans.

Repo Homes For Sale Still on the Rise in South Carolina is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

The Standard and Poor’s/Case Shiller’s index of home prices dropped by 18.6 percent from the previous year following an almost 18.7 percent decline in March. These figures are based on results of the Bloomberg News survey which also showed that consumer confidence increased to its nine-month peak in June.

Studies showed that the increasing unemployment rate, the highest in 25 years, has greatly contributed to the growing number of Bank Owned Foreclosures. The trend is expected to further put pressure on property values in the coming months.

Meanwhile, a slowdown in consumer spending is expected to hinder any economic recovery. According to experts, many Americans affected by the declining property prices are saving more, thus current consumer spending is sluggish.

Barclays Capital Inc. economist Michelle Meyer said that the housing market will continue to remain imbalance due to the flood of Bank Owned Foreclosures. She predicted that home prices will continue to drop in a slower pace even if the economy emerges from the current recession.

Meanwhile, a report from the Conference Board may show that the consumer confidence index rose by 55.3 percent, the highest since its peak in September the previous year.

On the other hand, the total number of foreclosure filings in May inched up by 18 percent. These figures include notices of default and auctions and property repossession. The May figures peaked at 300,000, with one out of 398 houses in some kind of foreclosure proceedings.

The decline in prices caused by repossession is helping strengthen and stabilize foreclosure homes on sale. Resale of homes increased by 2.4 percent last month to 4.77 million. Meanwhile, the median sales price dropped by 17 percent, the third biggest decline on record, according to the National Association of Realtors.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, foreclosures accounted for 73 percent of foreclosures sale last May, representing a 56 percent increase compared with the same month last year. Additionally, Bank Owned Foreclosures sales in California accounted for 51 percent of the total existing home sales, an increase of 40 percent from the previous year.

Home Prices Fell Due to Increasing Bank Owned Foreclosures is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

• Find out whether your state implements a redemption period. After the foreclosure sale, homeowners are given the period of a few days to a month or even longer. During this period, you cannot be evicted from the house even if the property already has new owners. You are given the chance to get your repossessed property back provided that you pay your mortgage liabilities completely. The buyer of your home will be given a refund of the amount he paid during the auction.
• Some states do not practice a redemption period. In such case, even if you do not have the chance to get your foreclosed home back, you still can stay in it. The eviction period can be short or long, depending on the laws in your local area. The new owner of the foreclosed property has the responsibility during eviction.
• In case no one buys your property during the auction, your home will end up in the possession of the bank. This can prove to be more advantageous than when the foreclosed home is bought at auction. Banks are big companies and transactions in such huge organizations tend to move at very slow pace. That means another few months for you to stay in your home especially since evicting you is not among the top priorities of the bank.
• Evictions undergo legal processes. In almost all cases, the court is involved in eviction. That gives room to more delays of a few days to a couple of weeks. However, you still have to act fast as you would not have much time after the eviction is permitted.
• The moment your foreclosed house is sold during the auction, immediately find a new place. Things happen faster after the eviction is approved. Notices last for only one to three days. If you do not want to find yourself in the streets, you have to make plans fast.

Before you get to a dead end, you still have plenty of opportunities to stop foreclosure. However, if you find yourself trapped in a foreclosure situation, to act ahead of time and be prepared is the best way to go.

Related Information:

• Foreclosure News
• Tax Foreclosure Properties
• Tax Foreclosures
• Cheap Houses for Sale
• Florida Foreclosures

What to Do After Foreclosure is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Foreclosures are nightmares for those who cannot keep up with their mortgage payments, making them lose their dream homes. But for first time home buyers, foreclosures represent a ray of light, which gives them a chance to own the house of their dreams for a price they can afford.

However, one of the problems with buying foreclosed homes is having in a state of disrepair. Since distressed homeowners cannot afford their mortgage payments, they cannot afford house repairs and improvements even more. Even banks do not spend much on repairing and beautifying foreclosed homes because they only want these repo properties out of their books the soonest time possible, they even consider doing negotiations. Because of this, the home buyer has to shoulder the costs of repair or putting back the house into a dream home.

What comes with the cheap price of foreclosed houses besides it being in a wear-and-tear condition is the long process it may take you before you can buy or live in them. Negotiating with banks can take you several weeks before you are approved to purchase. On the other hand, you get answers from individual homeowners — whether they accept or reject your bid – within just a couple of days.

Indeed, the economic recession has been pulling home prices down and raising the number of foreclosures each day, making millions of Americans lose their homes. On the other hand, this same situation has made lots of Americans thankful, especially the first time home buyers, for getting their dream house is just a few dollars away.

Every bad news for someone can be good news for another.

Foreclosures May Lead to Opportunities is a post from: News of Foreclosures - Read more about how does foreclosure work.