When it comes to buying a home, many things come into play. One of the most important aspects of the traditional home buying process is your agent. Your agents will be doing the negotiations for you; therefore, it is essential that you trust your agent. In order to trust your agent, you should know important things about your agent before entering into the home buying process. When picking an agent, make sure you ask the right questions and do your research beforehand.

Agent Background and Expertise

As with anyone that you hire, you should take into consideration the agent’s real estate experiences. Look online to see if you can find information about the agent including reviews from previous clients. You can also ask the agent to provide you with references, which you can call to obtain detailed information from previous clients. These references can provide you with the best information about what to expect if pursuing the home-buying process with the particular agent.

When doing your research, make sure to determine which areas the agent has the most expertise. What are his or her strengths? Furthermore, ensure that the agent has specific experiences that involve the type of home you desire to purchase. For example, if the agent mainly has experience with rentals and you desire to purchase a foreclosure, then you may need to find a lender with expertise in working with foreclosure properties. It is often best to utilize an agent that does most of his or her work in the area in which you desire to purchase.

Finally, research not only the specific agent but also the company with which the agent is associated. The best way to research the company is to utilize online search engines. Simply type in the company’s name followed by “reviews.” Within seconds you should be able to find numerous reviews from previous clients that will help you to determine the reputation of the company in which your agent is associated.

Finishing Touches

After obtaining information and reviews about the agent and the company online and through references, it is time to finalize your research. Obtain detailed information from the agent about what you can expect throughout the home- buying process if you choose that agent. What is the agent’s workload? Will there be enough time to meet your individual needs or will you merely be a number? Finally, contact the real estate department within your state to ensure that the company and agent both have a great reputation within your state.

After doing your research and determining the reputation of both the agent and the company, if you feel like the agent would be a great fit for your home buying needs then it is time to hire the agent and start the search for your new dream home!

What You Should Know About Your Agent is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

That would create the third dip since 2006, after the first bottom reached in 2009. If you remember, a swarm of residential foreclosures sent prices plunging 31% below their 2006-level peak. The second dip occurred in the winter of 2010. At its lowest point, it represented a price fall of 33% from peak. If this third dip occurs as predicted, it would represent at least 35% lower prices from 2006.

That’s a pretty big number – and those interested in foreclosure investing should take note.

To put that into perspective, take a home that cost $200,000 in 2006. That represents a fairly decent “average” price that would buy you a nice home in most markets. Right now, that same home would cost $138,000. By next June, the same home would cost just $130,000.

Why the triple dip?

Foreclosures are the main drivers behind this move. The foreclosure process is up and running again in most markets, and even though banks haven’t completely opened the throttle yet, they will soon – and that means markets will be saturated with foreclosed homes for sale in just about every region.

Foreclosure auctions will be packed with homes and investors trying to find the perfect deal, which will be far easier to find than it has been. Additionally, financing for these homes will likely be easier than it will be for traditional homes simply because the amount being financed likely will be significantly lower than the already-depressed home values for unsold non-foreclosures.

Of course, not every market in the country will result in a triple dip. In some areas, believe it or not, prices are staying the same or even rising. High-end homes are still strong, and a few choice metro areas are set up for nice rebounds. Fiserv is predicting that roughly 100 out of 385 metro markets monitored will post price increases of at least 5% from the midpoint of 2012 through 2013, and a third of those markets will break the 10% barrier.

Naturally, though, if you want to make the most of the situation and fully leverage your capital, it helps to look to areas that will be hit even worse than the national average. That represents the greatest disparity between full recovery price (the price you can expect when the market levels out) and current available prices – i.e. your profit margin. Las Vegas always seems to find its way on this list and will probably tack on another 15-16% loss before it’s all over. Miami is set up for a similar 13% decline. Many California metro areas will post greater-than-average declines as well.

This prediction is just one forecast, but the reasoning is sound. More foreclosures will enter the fray and current credit is stretched paper-thin in most areas. But, as they say in any other investment vehicle, buy low and sell high. This upcoming year gives you plenty of opportunities for the first part of that money-making equation.

Home Prices Headed for Triple Dip? Maybe – Which Means Triple Opportunity is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

For everyone else – sellers, homeowners, and lenders – the foreclosure crisis still represents problems that need to be solved.

Keeping the Forces of Nature at Bay

One big problem is simply maintaining the neighborhoods beset by massive numbers of foreclosures. Foreclosures can be a blight on a neighborhood simply because the ones that remain vacant have a higher chance of being stripped and ransacked, leaving a shell on the outside.

There are even health concerns with mosquitoes breeding in pools filled with stagnant water. One major duty of city authorities during the crisis has actually been to drain or treat these pools to keep down mosquito breeding, which can spread harmful diseases or, at the least, annoy nearby residents.

That’s in addition to the overgrown yards, weed-filled gardens, creeping vines, and infestations of rodents and other unwanted pests brought about by long foreclosure processes.

Bulldozing Homes Left and Right

Sometimes, a city doesn’t want to go through the trouble of maintaining hundreds of foreclosures. Instead, more and more cities have turned to bulldozing foreclosures that have been vacant for a while and neglected by both the owner and the lender.

In Cleveland, for example, a semi-government corporation, the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, struck a deal with several lenders in which the homes would be knocked down if the banks paid for the destruction. This has allowed lenders to rid themselves of dilapidated homes for an average of $5,500 per home, thereby increasing home values in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Of course, there has to be some way to make buying homes easier or at least keeping homeowners in their home to make regular payments if the foreclosure crisis is to end.

Banknotes from Lenders through the Extended EHLP

Enter the banks and the federal government.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development just announced that the application process for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program is now open once again, after ending earlier this year. Critics fired at the government for not having an application period that was long enough in the first place, so this move could make available a program that will help struggling homeowners stay in their homes for up to two years or up to $50,000.

This program won’t do anything to alleviate the backlog of foreclosures that already exists, but it should help keep more foreclosures from entering the pipeline.

The program is also free to enter, and loans can be forgiven entirely if the homeowner stays in the home for five years.

Regardless of how homeowners, lenders, and governments deal with the foreclosure crisis – be it with bugs, bulldozers, or banknotes – foreclosures remain and will continue to offer discounted buying opportunities for those in a position to take advantage of them.

Bugs, Bulldozers, and Banknotes: The Foreclosure Crisis Continues is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Now, each state has to struggle with its individual real estate market, including handling the waves of foreclosures that have come ashore over the past few years. By looking at two in particular – Washington state and Massachusetts – we can catch a glimpse of how states are dealing with the crisis.

Washington Takes On the Big Boys, Files Lawsuit

Today, it was announced that the state of Washington filed a lawsuit against the Bank of America (or one of its subsidiaries) over thousands of illegal foreclosures stemming from 2008.

In the lawsuit, the state alleges that BoA did not act in good faith as a neutral party in the foreclosure process, involving over 10,000 foreclosures from 2008 to 2011. Additionally, the BoA subsidiary misrepresented ownership of foreclosures and engaged in deceptive practices.

Although BoA disagrees, naturally, the state may have a case – especially since the state is a non-judicial foreclosure state. That means foreclosure trustees have more leeway in pursuing foreclosures – creating an opportunity for a bank to play fast and loose with the rules.

Foreclosure Rates Spike in Massachusetts

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country, Massachusetts saw its foreclosure rates spike in June from May by roughly 42%. The number of foreclosures for June came in at 931, which is the largest number since August, 2010. One ray of light is that the year-over-year numbers actually fell 29%, which suggests a long-term downward trend that may be picking up slightly.

Unfortunately for the state, this decrease is not thought to be because of the improving economy. Rather, it is likely that this is the same story as elsewhere – artificially slow foreclosure processing has resulted in a clogged pipeline that will more than likely start back up again soon.

Massachusetts has also had its legal issues with foreclosure companies and lenders. Back in January, the Massachusetts Supreme Court, in a surprise ruling, actually ruled against Wells Fargo and claimed that previous lawsuits against the bank were valid because the bank could not prove it actually owned the mortgages.

Since then, banks have had an uphill legal fight to prove they owned the foreclosures they initiated, a path that could soon be traveled by Washington.

By looking at these two states, it is clear that foreclosures will continue to stick around, and as a result of legal issues, foreclosures will be delayed again – meaning the buyer’s market will continue on, stronger than ever and primed for timely investments

A Tale of Two States: Washington, Massachusetts Deal With Foreclosures is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Unemployment is sky high – stubbornly hanging around 9.2% – home prices are down, and now, the specter of a national debt default looms as Republicans and Democrats bicker over the debt ceiling.

How can an investor possibly make sense of the confusion and chaos? What should a prudent investor or prospective homebuyer do?

Jobs, Believe It or Not, Are Coming Back Home

We’ll start first with unemployment. As you know, unemployment and the real estate market have a very strong relationship. People who don’t have jobs, after all, can’t buy real estate, and people who own real estate can’t keep it if they lose their jobs – hence the millions of foreclosures that have happened since 2006.

Fortunately, there appears to be a growing movement among American corporations that is calling for jobs – long-since outsourced en masse to countries overseas – to come back to domestic shores. In fact, one man, retired manufacturing executive Harry Moser, is advocating re-shoring jobs by showing companies the total cost of ownership for having operations overseas – thereby showing them that it is just as beneficial, if not more so, to have those jobs here in America.

From a long-term perspective, unemployment will improve – even if it gets worse before it gets better. And as more people pick up jobs, more will be able to buy homes – which only strengthens the real estate market.

The Debt Situation Will Be Resolved

Right now, Congress is deadlocked on what to do about the massive national debt our country owes and the deficits we are running every year. This impacts real estate because the nation needs to make good on its obligations, including the trillions it owes everyday Americans who invest in Treasury bonds or indirectly in the country’s economy through other means – including real estate.

While there have been bumps in the road, investors can gain confidence from the realization that Congress, at the end of the day, will not let America default on its debt. As a result, the doomsday prophecies about the market will not come to pass – giving investors and prospective homebuyers confidence that things will eventually return to normal.

Real Estate: What to Do?

This brings us to real estate. Many in the industry, including home builders, are optimistic about the future of the economy and the real estate market. The Housing Market Index rose in July, after all, and even home builders – who have long had the bad end of the stick – are feeling better about prospects. Plus, with the massive availability of foreclosures and other discounted properties, the only recommendation can be to trust in the eventual recovery of the economy and buy.

Investing now has its risks, as with investing in any market, but this market has tremendous upside potential that is waiting to be exploited.

Jobs, Debt, and Real Estate: Making Sense of Madness is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Some housing industry analysts have argued that federal programs meant to lower the number of foreclosures and bankruptcy homes for sale in the country have failed to do that. They also went so far as to say that people who were meant to be aided by these housing initiatives ended in worse conditions than if the programs were not implemented in the first place.

The programs meant to prevent homeowners from losing their homes to foreclosures or having their houses converted into a distressed foreclosed property on sale failed miserably, according to critics. The loan modification initiative was the one mostly criticized by a number of housing experts. The modification program was earlier projected to have the ability to assist up to 4 million homeowners in the U.S.

However, after two years of existence, only half a million Americans with houses in foreclosure were able to benefit from the initiative. The Treasury Department has reportedly argued that 500,000 is still a good number since that means half a million Americans were able to keep their homes. However, critics argued that there are even more people whose applications got rejected, with most of them ending in foreclosure even though they should not have.

Those who have criticized the loan modification program of the government have cited one primary weakness in the initiative. They stated that even though the program was a federal one, banks were still allowed to decide who will qualify for assistance. This, critics stated, resulted in more bank owned property foreclosures as lenders rejected supposedly qualified applicants, often after months of allegedly making them believe that they will get accepted.

Most analysts who criticized government initiatives stated that the fault was in the poor design of the programs and the alleged failure of the Treasury Department to effectively oversee the initiatives. They also stated that a big number of properties still ended as houses in foreclosure because compliance was not given much attention.

Federal Program for Houses in Foreclosure Deemed Inadequate is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Over the years from 1995 to 2007, 44 percent of all real-estate owned properties sold were flipped within a year. Flipping stepped up over time, peaking in 1998, when 55 percent of all REO sales were resold within one year. Flipping activities then slowed down, dropping to 37 percent of all REO sales in 2006 and to 32 percent of REO sales in 2007.

Furman researchers also found that flipping were very profitable for flippers. The median sales price represented an increase of 45 percent from the original purchase price. An REO home purchased for $300,000 was typically resold for $435,000.

Analysts contended that flipping during the boom years contributed significantly to the housing crisis. They said that flipping artificially pushed up home prices, drove appraisers to set higher home values, enticed homebuyers to purchase huge houses and take out larger loans.

Despite the fact that the number of New York City REO properties was far lower than inventories in other cities, the annual increases in the city were sharp and significant. In 2005, only 115 properties became REO, but 53 percent were flipped within a year. In 2007, 880 units became REO, but only 39 percent were flipped within a 12-month period.

From the first months of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008, the total number of REO units increased because REO sales were slow while REO units continued to enter listings.

In the first six months of 2009, the pace of REO sales was much faster than the entry of properties into REO listings, resulting in a drop in REO inventory. Of properties put into the foreclosure process in 2007, 14 percent went into auction by September 2009.

If buyers renovate REO units before they resell them, they are doing good not only to buyers but also to communities, but if they do only superficial improvements, they are deceiving buyers and putting them at risk. They are also adding more units to run-down properties in neighborhoods.

Furman analysts also reported that throughout 2008, REO properties were concentrated in Central Brooklyn, Eastern Queens, and the northern part of Staten Island.

Most REO Properties in New York Were Flipped, Furman Says is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

Once the initial $10 billion budget was utilized to buy mortgage securities, interest rates are expected to be more attractive considering that more capital will be available to the market. Of course, this does not mean that applying for a loan and qualifying will now be a lot easier especially with the stricter lending guidelines that lenders are imposing.

From this standpoint, it would look like a lot of lenders and mortgage brokers will benefit from the bailout plan. As for the borrowers or home buyers, it is still unclear if the bailout program will manage to help them or make things more difficult for them.

As you may know, buyer confidence is one of the keys that will solve the problem of the housing industry. Once these buyers start purchasing homes again and putting their money in the market, the entire cycle can be jumpstarted. For sure, home sales activity will pick up especially considering the attractive interest rates and affordable homes for sale.

Right now, most states are experiencing a significant decline in median home prices, thanks in part to the growing number of foreclosure homes. This is perhaps where the success of the bailout program will be felt the most. If these distressed homeowners are able to avoid foreclosure, then there is a great chance that the housing market will finally bottom out. When this happens, you can expect a lot of buyers to get out of the woodwork.

Most real estate experts and analysts are still holding their breath regarding the possible impact of the housing bailout program. One thing is for sure. The fact that the federal government is hoping that it will bring about financial stability is enough for most consumers.

Are you searching for the latest foreclosure news? EforeclosureMagazine can help you!

Housing Bailout Impact on the Real Estate Industry is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

So, are we there yet?

Last week, the pending home sales index jumped to 89, which is actually the highest index since October 2007. This means that buyer confidence is indeed growing and many of these savvy individuals are taking advantage of the affordable prices as well as large inventories of properties for sale including foreclosure homes.

Aside from this, there is growing activity in the lower price range market in terms of months-of-inventory. Market conditions in cities like Sacramento are surprisingly favoring sellers over buyers. Although this is considered to be bad news for those who are trying to sell these high-priced properties, it only shows that the housing market is clearing up in the bottom.

Many experts and analysts also believe that foreclosure filings are slowing down as evidenced by the 3% decline last June compared to May. Even though the numbers shot up in July, there is a great possibility that foreclosure filings will stabilize by the year’s end.

Whether you are interested in selling or buying, you should be updated with the local market conditions. Knowing whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market can mean a huge difference. For instance, buyers will enjoy better incentives and bigger discounts if market conditions favor them. On the other hand, sellers will enjoy 100 percent of their asking prices as well as multiple offers if the conditions are just perfect for selling.

If market conditions are favoring buyers over sellers, it could mean that the local market is approaching bottom and you should act accordingly.

Real Estate Market: Where is it heading? is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.

There are chances that the situation will worsen here and there will be a tremendous increase in foreclosed homes in Georgia. The mortgage rates that existed some three years back will be renewed to unexpectedly higher rates. It is an estimate that the borrowers will be forced to pay much higher monthly payments, refinance their homes or sell them in coming 12 to 18 months. The loan amount is close to $800 billion.

One of the biggest reasons for the increasing number of foreclosure homes in Georgia is that the local laws allow the lenders to foreclose much easily as compared with other states. This has led to a sharp decline in the real estate value and numerous working class and low income group people losing their homes.

Loan Interest rates were substantially less few years back and the property rates quite high. Homeowners took huge amount of loans that time and now they are falling behind in monthly repayments. The biggest trouble is that most of the homeowners are not able to refinance because they paid much high prices at the time of purchase and now the property values have really gone down. Most of the homeowners have also gone in to a bad credit. All these factors have resulted in an increase in foreclosure homes in Georgia.

There has been a rise in job availability in Georgia but most of them are less paying jobs. Apart from this most of the families here are shouldering a huge amount of debt. According to a research earlier this year the local residents have bigger credit card bills and mortgages as compared with citizens of other states.

Adding to much worsened situation, the money lenders are able to foreclose a house in a 60 day period. The time given to a homeowner is much lesser as compared with other states.
Owing to all of these factors, it is much easier to get Georgia foreclosed homes.

Great Economy but an Unstable Real Estate Market is a post from: Foreclosure Magazine - Read more about how does foreclosure work.