Irvine Housing Forums

From Foreclosuretruth.com (Foreclosureradar.com’s blog)-There is no shadow inventory (and no politcal will to foreclose)

2009-11-05T22:45:47Z

Great blog post:

There is currently no shadow inventory of bank-owned (REO) properties. What’s more, a surge in REO properties is not likely anytime soon.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because I’ve said it before, here and here and other places. However, it still seems to be news (see the recent WSJ article) and despite the fact that the most recent CA Foreclosure Report from ForeclosureRadar.com runs the numbers, some still insist the shadow is there.

First, let’s be clear about what shadow inventory is. These are homes that the bank has already foreclosed on, but which, for no apparent reason, aren’t listed. The implication is that banks are holding REO properties back from the market to restrict supply and prop up prices. This actually seemed like a distinct possibility a year ago when the banks were clearly holding more inventory than they were listing. But that is no longer the case. In the past year, they have resold far more than they’ve taken back, eliminating any possibility that a shadow remains.

Some observers, who earlier this year warned that this shadow inventory would deluge the market with REO listings, have now redefined shadow inventory to include properties that should be foreclosed on. They continue with misguided warnings of a deluge of REO listings any moment now.

Not so. These properties are not lurking in the shadows at all. We know exactly which properties are in trouble and where they are in the process. Using ForeclosureRadar.com you can easily see every potential REO listing, from Notice of Default to Notice of Trustee Sale, for the next six to nine months. In addition, even if banks reversed course and started foreclosing aggressively today, it would be months before we saw those listings as it takes time to evict the homeowner, clean up and list the property.

What’s more, they’re not going anywhere. These properties aren’t grinding through the pipeline to foreclosure and into the shadow inventory. They’re not moving at all because we as a society lack the political will to foreclose. Because the national focus is targeted on keeping homeowners in their homes, the drain is bigger than the spigot – REO properties are selling faster than distressed properties are being foreclosed on.

As a result, the pendulum has swung to the other side. Instead of a glut of properties hitting the market, as so many have warned, we currently don’t have enough inventory for those who want to buy homes, and homeowners are still in trouble because the so-called solutions (foreclosure moratoriums, loan modification, refinancing) don’t fix the real problem, which is negative equity.

No more conspiracy theories. We need to abandon the obsession with shadow inventory, which distracts us from the national discussion we should be having. With the current lack of inventory, its time to force banks to clean up their balance sheets by dealing head-on with the trillions in negative equity that remains, either though loan modifications that reduce principal balances to near current value, short sale, or, if necessary foreclosure. These are the only solutions that deal with the core problem of negative equity. It’s time for “extend and pretend” to end.

Villages of Columbus - Columbus Square - Camden Place

2007-01-18T07:31:15Z

Development: Villages of Columbus

Village: Columbus Square

Tract: Camden Place (222 attached townhomes) in the City of Tustin

Builder: Lennar

Schools: Tustin School District (TUSD): Marjorie Veeh Elementary, A.G. Currie Middle, Tustin High

Tax Rate: The anticipated total effective tax rate is approximately 1.8%, which is inclusive of all Community Facilities District (CFD) rates.

HOA Dues: Estimated monthly HOA Dues are approximately $290 (includes both Master and Sub HOA’s).

Notes: This tract contain some units designated for the Villages of Columbus Affordable Homeownership program

The affordable housing prices for these were $276,000 and $311,000 (moderate, tier 2) for Residence 1 and Residence 3.

Plans:

Residence 1 - 2bd/2.5ba - 1465 sq. ft.

Residence 2 - 2bd/2.5ba - 1553-1557 sq. ft.

Residence 3 - 3bd/3ba - 1679-1689 sq. ft.

PRICING

Phase ? (Prices Effective August 19, 2006)

Residence 1 - $543,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Residence 2 - $558,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Residence 3 - $558,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Phase 5? (pricing effective 10/7/2006; picked up 1/18/2007)

Residence 1 - From $546,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Residence 2 - From $561,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Residence 3 - From $586,000 (Temporarily Sold Out)

Phases 8 & 9 (Pricing picked up on 8/21/07)

Residence 1 - Sold Out

Residence 2 - $549,000

Residence 3 - $580,000
The agent said they have a $30k incentive going on right now. They are selling Phase 8 and 9 right now. Phase 10 coming in less than a month.
Pricing as of 9/9/07

Residence 1: $523,000

Residence 2: $489,000

Residence 3: $518,000
All available with $25k incentive.
Pricing as of 10/11/07

Residence 1 or 2: $434,000

(She didn’t specify which model had this price, but that it was the bottom of the range.)

Residence 3: $459,000

$25k incentives, $5k toward closing costs, plus a $2500 internet bonus that comes off the purchase price if you talk to someone on their website chat before going in to preview the home.

Pricing effective 10/19/07

Residence 1: $434,000

Residence 2: $434,000

Residence 3: $489,000 (supposedly there is only one or two left)

Prices as of 10/22/2007
Residence 1: Sold Out

Residence 2: $434,000

Residence 3: Sold Out
Prices as of 11/3/2007
Plan 1) SOLD OUT
Plan 2) $464,000
Plan 3) SOLD OUT
Prices as of 3/2/2009
Plan One - Approximately 1,465 square feet, 2 bedrooms + loft, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage; priced from $429,000
Plan Two - Approximately 1,553 square feet, 2 bedrooms + den, 2.5 bath, 2 car garage; priced from $433,000
Plan Three - Approximately 1,679 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 bath, 2 car garage; priced from $489,000
Prices as of 3/17/09
Plan 1: SOLD OUT
Plan 2: $443,000
Plan 3: SOLD OUT

Tustin Fields

2009-09-26T10:38:08Z

I couldn’t find a thread on Tustin Fields, so I’ll start one.

By accident, I found this floorplan and really love it. (This floorplan and other Tustin Field plans available on this site.) It looks very kid-friendly! I like how the entire second floor is kid-only space. Their bedrooms are separated by a loft / play area. The rest of the living space is on the first floor. Since the master is on the first floor too, it seems like it would transition very well as the owner gets older in age and doesn’t want to deal with stairs. I was surprised to learn this is a John Laing Home. (Bk - in the past you’ve said they are safe and predictable. Any further thoughts on this?)

title charges on good faith estimate

2009-11-07T18:29:18Z

are the title charges (11xx) on the good faith estimate estimations by the lender and charged by the escrow company? or will they be fixed and charged by the lender?

for example, i have two GFEs in front of me, one with

1101 settlement/closing/escrow $1100
1109 lender’s title insurance $750
1113 title wire fee $75
1201 recording fee $150

another another with

closing escrow $2200
notary fee (third party) $100
title insurance $2032
courier/express mail-clsng $50
title insurance endorsement $100

trying to figure out if these numbers, especially title insurance and closing/escrow, just depend on the escrow company, or if they are dependent on my lender. because the second one is significantly more expensive…

Where in Irvine Ranch was this photo taken #34

2009-11-07T20:10:11Z

College Football 2009 Thread

2009-09-03T21:39:07Z

Since I know we have several College Football fans and the season has officially started with the Oregon vs. Boise St. game (which SUCKS because of the lack of offense) I wanted to start this thread. Even though I’m a big USC football fan, I still realize that Florida with Timmy Boy will be the team to beat this year. I’m not sure why Pete will start Rich Barkley at QB as a true freshman (even though he went to my HS…GO MONARCHS!). Defense should be good with Taylor Maze returning and the deep bench of tailbacks will be fun to watch. And yes, I will pull for my UCLA Bruin team as well but they’ll be lucky if they finish 3rd this year in the Pac-10.

Long Beach general thread

2008-07-16T13:11:00Z

Well, I’ll start it off with a doozy:

Short Sales In Long Beach are 26.6% of the market

Here is a story from a local LB realtor’s blog. He never gets responses or comments, but keeps plugging along….

Long Beach

2010 Woodbury/WB East New Home Collection

2009-10-17T03:33:52Z

Looks like residential building in Woodbury and Woodbury East are now officially in full swing:

2010 Woodbury/WB East New Home Collection

The common thread among this new collection is the “California Room.”

The 2010 Collection:

Woodbury:
Monteceto - SFR
Sonoma - SFR
Carmel - SFR
La Casella - Condo

Woodbury East:
Santa Rosa - Condo
Monterey - Condo
Coronado - SFR
Santa Cruz - SFR

All of this in addition to the PS homes and Ivy.

The housing slump is officially over in Irvine.

How to hide purchasing price, purchasing date & home data on real estate sites, such as Redfin, SoCalMls, etc…

2009-11-06T15:51:36Z

Any idea?

Hallmark’s new Recordable Storybook

2009-11-07T18:36:54Z

Hallmark’s new Recordable Storybook features voice capture technology, recording the reader’s voice, which is captured within the book. When a child turns a page, the book automatically plays the text on that page in the reader’s voice.

Recordable Storybooks are great alternatives for out-of-town grandparents, parents in the military, or parents who travel on business who still want to “read” to their kids from across the miles.

http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/article|10001|10051|/HallmarkSite/GoldCrownStores/GCS_HOLIDAY_GIFTS_STORYBOOKS

Recordable Storybooks are also available in Everyday Designs

All The Ways I Love You

Bright & Beautiful—A Child’s Blessing