Distressed Properties Sale Articles

The number of mortgage loss mitigations and loan modifications completed under Citigroup Inc.’s program of reducing distressed property inventories in the first quarter declined by 12 percent, compared to last year’s fourth quarter.

The good news is that the pace of homeowners who have re-defaulted after having been helped by Citigroup also declined.

Loan modifications refer to changes in the mortgage terms such as reduction in interest rates. Loss mitigations refer to all other revisions done on a mortgage, such as short sales and extension of payments of arrears.

In last year’s fourth quarter, the bank’s loss mitigations increased by 33 percent compared to the third quarter.

Citigroup said the decline in loss mitigation activities in the first quarter is largely attributed to the relatively high number of payment deferment processes offered to borrowers during the holidays. The bank said it offered more payment extensions than usual during the past holiday season under its efforts to reduce repo property inventories.

Compared to last year’s first quarter, loss mitigations increased by 43 percent. Mitigations increased by 6 percent in the case of homeowners with FICO ratings above 660, but decreased in the case of homeowners with low FICO ratings.

Loan modifications continued to increase in the first quarter compared to last year’s first quarter, although lower than the number of modifications in the previous quarter. Citigroup said the 23-percent increase in loan modifications indicate the bank’s commitment to pursue its program of cutting down the number of homes added to repo property inventories.

The bank also explained that there is a significant reduction in foreclosures being processed and foreclosures completed because of foreclosure moratoriums imposed by several states and federal agencies.

Citigroup reported that nearly 8 percent of mortgage loans it has modified during last year’s fourth quarter later became delinquent by two months or more while a little over 2 percent later became delinquent by two months or more, the lowest levels reached since Citigroup started monitoring its mortgage modifications under its program of slashing repo property inventories.

Citigroup also reported that there were borrowers who defaulted in the third quarter, more than 6 months after they successfully modified their loans. The pace of this re-default however remained unchanged in the first quarter.

Citigroup reiterated its commitment to continue its program of reducing repo property inventories, although it expressed uncertainties about the rate of foreclosure filings in the next couple of years.

In Los Angeles County nowadays, sheriff’s deputies carry out about 15 to 25 foreclosure home evictions a day or about 74 to 100 evictions per week.

In the first three months this year, the number of default filings in Los Angeles County increased by 38 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

County sheriff’s deputies Robert Cohen and Anthony Munoz have been checking rooms of foreclosed properties after a police officer was attacked by a dog during an eviction and after a man was seen setting up a bomb outside his foreclosure home.

Munoz and Cohen said they are prepared to physically force out people from foreclosed properties, since it is their duty to carry out evictions, but it is easier for them if the families have left. They said that the sight of children walking out of homes, mothers crying and fathers carrying loads of personal belongings is difficult to take in.

They said however that most foreclosed houses have been abandoned before they arrive. What they are ensuring is the safety of bank representatives that are inspecting the foreclosed properties. They are meeting more house cleaners, locksmiths and bank representatives more than families leaving. They also observed that retired police officers and unemployed actors have been working temporarily for the banks as foreclosure home managers.

The deputies also discovered that more and more renters are being evicted because their landlords have been unable to pay their monthly mortgage payments. In Los Angeles, foreclosure home renters have received help after the city ordered banks to give time to renters to relocate and to provide renters with relocation fees.

But in areas outside the city, renters have no protection against evictions. Many of them have lost monthly payments and deposits after landlords no longer have the money to return their payments.

Munoz and Cohen said they try their best to help whenever they can. When they found a sick elderly woman in a foreclosure home, they called Adult Protective Services unit of the county to help her. When they arrived in a foreclosed duplex, they talked with the lender’s lawyer to give leeways to both families in the duplex to be fair.

Even Ryan Quintana, an agent for a firm that partnered with banks in foreclosure home management, said he is distressed as he carries out his job of talking with former owners of foreclosed homes. In the first foreclosure home that he visited, he patiently explained to the residents how the cash for keys scheme can work out for them.

The sad stories of two San Diego realtors and investors illustrate the harsh reality of losing from foreclosed house for sale lists despite years of training and experiences in the real estate sector.

Real estate investors have been returning to the San Diego and Riverside region, among the counties with the highest number of foreclosed homes for auction, as they compete to buy distressed properties from banks and other sellers, according to realtors in the region and based on home sales data.

Public housing agencies in the nation’s largest cities such as Los Angeles, New York City, Baltimore and Chicago are concerned that they will not receive allocations from the $1 billion funding that Congress has been seeking to give to housing authorities to stimulate housing sector activities and to fight the devastating effects of foreclosed for sale properties on communities.

The number of bank foreclosure properties in New Hampshire is a major contributor in the decline of home prices in the state. And real estate experts hope that the rising number of buyers taking advantage of low-priced properties is a sign that the housing market is starting to stabilize.

The devastating effects of foreclosure houses has not just stopped on homeowners but spread to their pets. Most homeowners who succumbed to foreclosures and abandoned their properties leave their pets behind.

Harris County, Texas District Judge Patricia J. Kerrigan has frozen the assets of several Houston firms charged with operating bank forclosed homes rescue scams.

New programs to help foreclosure-battered areas in the city of Denver have been launched by the city’s Office of Economic Development. Owners of housing units in danger of foreclosed homes for auction can receive help from the program.

Unlike other housing markets, the pace of foreclosed houses in the Philadelphia region, which consists of 13 counties, has slowed down in April, based on RealtyTrac’s foreclosure data.