The pace of foreclosures has been increasing particularly in the counties of Tarrant, Fort Worth, Dallas, Collin and Denton.

In Tarrant, a total of 1,814 foreclosure filings were posted for the November auction, a 35-percent increase from filings in November 2008.

Year-to-date foreclosure postings in Tarrant increased to 18,424, marking a rise of 26 percent from last year and a staggering increase of 97 percent compared to 2005.

In Collin County, foreclosure postings for the November auction rose by 38 percent. In Denton and in Dallas, foreclosure postings increased by 35 percent and 23 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, foreclosure postings for the November auction rose by over 30 percent from postings last year, but they slowed down compared to the previous month by six percent.

Despite the slight monthly drop however, housing analysts in the area expect the year 2009 to be the worst year for the region. Foreclosure researchers predicted that the Dallas-Fort Worth area will surpass 60,000 units for 2009, a record high in the history of the region.

Nevertheless, the foreclosure pace in the region is good for individuals hoping for improved home affordability and families looking for an affordable foreclosed house for sale.

The four counties of Tarrant, Denton, Dallas and Collin have a total of 5,554 residential units posted for the scheduled auction in November. This is the seventh time the four counties surpassed the 5,000-level over the last eight months.

Of the estimated 60,000 units posted for auctions in the region, analysts said that approximately 40 percent are actually auctioned off to buyers or repossessed by the banks. Most of the housing units posted are usually saved by the homeowners through the help of nonprofits and foreclosure prevention counselors under the Obama administration’s loan refinancing and modification programs.

However, based on modification data, many of these homeowners who obtain loan modifications fall into default again within several months of signing modification agreements because of various reasons including unemployment, income reduction and serious medical conditions by a family member. As a result, in several parts of Texas, it is not unusual seeing a family leaving a foreclosed house for sale.

The new law states that the purchase price of a foreclosed home bought at a public foreclosure sale would no longer be due immediately. Instead, the buyer can request the trustee to give him more time to gather the funds to complete the purchase. The trustee and the buyer would sign an agreement concerning the final payment at a certain date.

According to foreclosure and housing analysts, the new law is not clear about many things. It does not set guidelines and does not give instructions to the trustee on how agreements with winning bidders are made.

In the past, the role of the trustee in public foreclosure sales is clear and mostly administrative. They did not require the trustee to make difficult decisions. They just implement instructions from lenders and follow standard procedures such as sending foreclosure sale notices, holding the foreclosure sale at a certain day and time, determining the highest bidder, getting the payment from the one who won the bidding and delivering documents to the buyer.

With the new law having taken effect, trustees now have to make certain decisions that could have unintended results. They now have to decide what is meant by reasonableness, which was a vague term used in the new law.

Under the new law, lenders would not be able to give specific instructions and trustees would not be able to choose which bids are the most advantageous to the lenders because the trustees would not know during the bidding which bidders would request for an extension.

In the past, any bidder who failed to win in a properly conducted public foreclosure sale does not have a legal basis to sue. But now that the trustee has the option to refuse to make a purchase agreement with a winning bidder who requests an extension and makes an agreement with a cash bidder, the situation can prompt the losing bidder to sue the trustee.

The new law can also lead to situations where lenders or property owners are not satisfied with the results of the foreclosure sales and claim that the trustee erred in his decision-making.

Texas lawmakers may have valid reasons when they made the law, but now it seems the law would result into unintended consequences in some cases.

For the few months of this year, over 35,000 residential foreclosures were reported, representing a 20 percent increase from the first seven months of the previous year. According to records, the 6,072 foreclosures included on repo homes listings scheduled for July auctions have exceeded the May filings of 5,500.

For 10 consecutive months, home foreclosure filings surpassed 4,000 units every month in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. And in the last four months, foreclosure postings exceeded 5,000 per month. The July figures are the first time that repo homes listings added over 6,000 properties for auctions.

Real estate specialists said that July foreclosures for auctions may have surpassed the number of postings in 1988 or 1989 which reached 2,000 per month.

Meanwhile, about 2,579 homeowners in Dallas County are facing the possibility of losing their homes to foreclosures, an increase of 56 percent from the previous year.

An even more significant increase occurred in Tarrant County where foreclosure postings surged by 66 percent compared with figures recorded a year ago. The increase represented 2,015 properties scheduled for auctions in July.

In Collin County, foreclosure postings were up 67 percent while 68 percent of homes in Denton County are up for grabs among bidders in July.

According to industry experts, various programs designed by the government and mortgage companies to help distressed homeowners may be a cause on the rise in foreclosure postings. They explained that while lending institutions are negotiating with homeowners, they usually re-post each distressed property every month while foreclosure actions are pending.

They noted that many lenders are delaying actual foreclosures to give more time for loans lined up for modification to be processed. As the number of delinquent mortgages continues to inch up, it follows that lenders would be overwhelmed by the volume of loans under foreclosure proceedings.

Generally, nearly 40 percent of properties on repo homes listings are sold at foreclosure auctions by lenders. The remaining distressed loans were renegotiated or some arrangements have been made in order for homeowners to avoid foreclosures.

Brookings’ survey of 100 markets showed that the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex area was ranked 36 in terms of high number of properties on repo homes listings.

Selling foreclosed properties have always been considered a lucrative business considering that these homes are a lot cheaper than the other houses for sale. And with the growing supply of foreclosure properties for sale in the market, many buyers are finally turning to them in order to enjoy significant savings.

Foreclosure sellers and brokers are also coming up with creative marketing strategies that are designed to attract more potential buyers. For example, there is the foreclosure tour bus that has become quite popular in states hit hardest by the housing crisis.

To the delight of interested buyers, there is also now a Houston-based foreclosure broker who has recently bought a bus for this purpose. Kevin Riles offers a guided foreclosure tour of Houston foreclosures to pre-qualified home buyers.

With an average of 1,000 homes entering some stage of foreclosure each month, it is not surprising that this real estate broker consider a foreclosure tour bus to be an effective marketing tool. Most buyers prefer to look at foreclosure homes in person rather than online especially if they have the time to do so.

Buyers of foreclosure properties are able to save as much as 25 percent from the property’s current market value and enjoy the large selection of repossessed houses for sale. If buyers are looking for more price reduction, they will have to wait for another 30 days when sellers usually lower their asking prices.

Foreclosed houses included in the tour bus route are being sold at asking prices ranging between $79,000 and $100,000. In the coming weeks, the foreclosure tour bus will be hading to the northern part of Houston, where foreclosure properties are sold from $300,000 up.