Irvine Housing Forums

The Hidden Homeless

2009-11-20T09:16:27-08:00

I happened to catch this last night on So Cal Connected. It’s about middle class people who ended up homeless.

The first couple’s problems were a typical case of overspending. They moved up to a bigger house they couldn’t afford then began pulling money out. At one point he said something that was very honest and I have always known and espoused whenever I’m asked advice. He said that they were never realistic about their situation in life and led more of a “wishful thinking” lifestyle - hoping that things would always work out. He made this realization too late, but at least he finally “got it”. Fortunately, his epiphany was something I’ve known all my life. You have to be realist about your education level, future earning capabilities, lifestyle, etc. before you plunk down big bucks to buy a home that you may not always be able to afford. Do you want to be in your 60’s and still paying down a mortgage? What if you purchase a home dependent on two incomes and then your spouse decides to stay home with the kids? What if your high-paying job goes away? So many people do not ask themselves these questions. Humility is not a bad thing.

BTW, I had trouble with this video in IE. Had to use FireFox.

From Calculated Risk - Mortgages Delinquencies

2009-11-19T15:43:40-08:00

Mortgage Delinquencies and Foreclosures

MBA Forecasts Foreclosures to Peak in 2011

“The problem is moving to prime loans, including fixed rate prime loans, and also FHA loans. “We are seeing the first hit on the weaker prime fixed borrowers.”

“Brinkmann expects foreclosures to possibly peak in 2011 (last quarter he said late 2010). He changed the forecast for two reasons: he expects unemployment to stay fairly high, and he thinks the prime borrowers will hang on before defaulting, and all the foreclosure moratoria will delay foreclosures - a longer trailing effect than usual.”

“Although the increases have slowed, about 40% of subprime loans are delinquent or in foreclosure. “

You should go take a look at the graphs, they really show the 90-day lates. I don’t care what you call it, just be aware it’s there.

“Clearly most of the increase was in the 90 day and in foreclosure buckets. And that is why the modification programs are so important.”

Celebrities in forclosure

2009-09-10T15:23:16-08:00

I thought I would start a fun tally of our well to do friends who find themselves in a real estate pickle

I’ll dispense with the easy ones we all know:

•Marion Jones (athlete - track and field)
•Jose Canseco (athlete - baseball)
•Michael Jackson (entertainer - music)
•Latrell Sprewell (athlete - basketball)
•Aretha Franklin (entertainer - music)
•Ed McMahon (entertainer - talk show)
•Evander Holyfield (athlete - boxing)

Oh and our friends over at the Real Hosewives thread. Today, I will add Stephen Baldwin

Steve

Actor Stephen Baldwin sought voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July after lenders began foreclosure proceedings. Baldwin, 43, listed $1.1 million in assets and $2.3 million in debt in documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York. His home is valued at $1.1 million and the banks sought to recover about $1.2 million in mortgage loans, according to court papers.

Who do you know?

A gripe about defaulted homedebtors.

2009-11-18T11:30:13-08:00

Got an amazing call yesterday. Need a venting moment…

“Legitimate buyer” referred from a Realtor rings me up. Person was upset, wondering why they were having trouble getting a loan. They had several past homes they paid off on time, but the last one was a short sale in August. The bank ate about 100k when they exited the property. “It was a bad investment, but that shouldn’t reflect on my ability to make a new house payment”.... There was such a disconnect between reality and responsibility it was jarring to say the least.

It got a bit weirder from there. The down payment funds were in gold. Yes, gold coins, scrap, and a few bars. This person asked if there was some way to use this asset for cash down without putting it in the bank “so I don’t have to pay taxes on it”. The conversation devolved from there about how her Attorney was going to try and remove the short sale from her credit report. I suggested that I was unable to help and that they continue with their attorney with any future questions.

One would think that if you capsized on your home in August, the last thing your going to do is try for a new home purchase with untraceable down payment resources. There was no shame or remorse that I would have expected from anyone in a similar situation. Why this Realtor was even working with them is a separate discussion as well. The Agent was a Jr assistant to a more experienced Realtor I’ve worked with for years so I’ll chalk it up to naivete

Is zero remorse for short sellers / intentional walk away’s the new norm or is this experience an aberration?

Soylent Green Is People

Foreclosure Process question…

2009-11-14T16:29:53-08:00

Haven’t posted in a little while. Looks like things are slowing down on the forums…

A few questions on the foreclosure process.

Once the homeowner gets a Notice of Default (pre-foreclosure phase),
at what point does the bank send the Notice of Trustee Sale after the
Notice of Default?

Can the owners still sell short if no one bids on the property at auction and can the
short sales process still be going on when the auction still occurs?

Is the indicator of an auction by the bank, a sign that the bank isn’t interested in
a short sales?

Once it gets back to the bank if no one bids on it, does the bank try to sell it again
via the normal selling route?

Mark Hanson doesn’t think we’re out of the woods yet

2009-10-27T20:55:33-08:00

http://mhanson.com/archives/274

It just amazes me that on mainstream media, all we hear is how the housing market has bottomed/corrected itself, and through sites like Mark’s, Dr. Housing Bubble, and IHB, we hear the truth - based in facts and figures. Stop lying, NAR!

Buyer’s Remorse (A Tale of Two Houses)

2009-09-28T06:19:26-08:00

I’d like to share my recent adventures in real estate, in case anyone is bored enough to want to read it. My husband and I just bought a house after searching for about a year. When we first started looking, we didn’t know anything about real estate except that everyone and their grandmother told us it was a great time to buy. We weren’t buying for that reason, though. We decided it was time to buy because our living situation was intolerable and we needed to move, and I hate renting as we’ve had some bad experiences in the past. Even if we did end up renting, we were planning to buy soon anyway and we didn’t want to move twice in a few years. So we decided to take the plunge and do it. Time to look for our dream house!

As we looked for a house, we quickly learned that it wasn’t truly the buyer’s market everyone promised. Or at least, it didn’t seem that way to us. There were few properties on the market and it seemed like the good ones had multiple offers and were snatched up quickly. I’m sure that doesn’t surprise anyone on here, but we weren’t expecting it since everyone told us it was a great time to buy. We were getting really frustrated. It started to feel like a frenzy…crazy buyers snatching up any decent house for prices that were still crazy high.

After we’d been looking for almost a year, we found two potential properties. Hallelujah, finally we have some options! House #1 was an SFR. It was big, but needed some updating. House #2 was a detached condo, about 250 sq ft smaller and $30k more than #1, but it was in move-in ready condition. After a lot of discussion, we decided to go with #1. It was bigger, it was a real house, we could paint it any color we want without asking the neighbors, etc. So we made an offer and it was accepted. Yay!

Only now I’m experiencing big-time buyer’s remorse. It’s the middle of the night and I’ve been tossing and turning, thinking we should have bought the detached condo. Because we are now in the middle of a HUGE remodeling project and it’s going to take forever. We’re still in our lousy living situation because our house will probably not be ready for months. Plus we’re paying double - rent plus mortage. And the renovation is going to be so expensive when all is said and done. We are in WAY over our heads since we are first-time buyers, and here we are with a gutted house. I also haven’t been liking the house too much lately. Not just because the remodeling isn’t done yet, but I think the condo was in a better neighborhood. Plus, I think the house is kind of ugly. Maybe the remodeling will fix that. I hope so. And I keep thinking that if we had bought the condo, we would have moved in already instead of being stuck in the middle of a huge remodel on a house I might not even like.

I think everything just got so crazy…we were getting desperate, couldn’t find anything perfect or even close, so we bought this house. I keep thinking of all the other houses that we saw that I wish we had bought…the house we made a super lowball offer on, the house with the great view that went into backups in 2 days (even though we saw it at the broker’s preview and decided to make an offer an hour later…too late!), and the detached condo I mentioned. But oh well, no crying over spilled milk, right? I’m sure some people are thinking we shouldn’t have bought anything at all, and maybe that’s true. If the shadow inventory ever does hit the market (and it seems like it has to, where else is it gonna go), and prices drop I will be pretty annoyed…especially living in a house I kind of don’t really like. Putting the house back on the market is not really an option because then we’d still be stuck living where we are now with no prospects. I think if we did try to sell it now, we probably would find a crazy buyer to take it off our hands, as a similar house in the neighborhood sold pretty fast. But we would definitely lose money on it because we wouldn’t get back all the money we are putting in with the remodel. Maybe we could price it a little higher than what we paid, but not much. Plus we’re not in the flipping business…we just want a nice house to live in!

Anyway, that is the situation that’s keeping me up when I should be sleeping. Thanks for reading.

Trump Says the time to buy is within 6 months.

2007-10-18T09:53:34-08:00

Was watching a show called Trump: The Billionaire Inside on CNBC and he said that he warned people that this would happen (the credit crunch and declining values) over 2 years ago. He says that the time to buy is between now and 6 months from now- when the market will finally bottom out. He seems to think that the worst is behind us and that all the "bad loans" are finally weeded out. In 6 months we will begin to see a rise in purchases.
So he says.. buy buy buy!!!! He cannot believe that so many people are afraid to buy now when so many deals are out there, when they should be buying LOW. He says that the prices today are lower than they were 2 years ago, and to Buy!
Did I mention, he said BUY?!?

Ten Questions on the Volatile Housing Marke

2009-11-17T12:41:43-08:00

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125841123967851223.html#articleTabs=article

The Trustee Sale Thread - Califoria Specific

2009-08-28T13:08:00-08:00

Hi Everyone, I would like to learn more about the trustee sale process in the state of California. I have read the foreclosure thread on this forum and did some general research of my own but I’d like to get some more insight from the investors, or others in the know, here on IHB… I have lots of questions but I’ll start with some very basic ones.

1. What exactly are bidders bidding on at a trustee sale, is it a deed of trust associated with a mortgage? Is it possible for something other than a deed of trust to be sold at a trustee sale?

2. Is the trustee performing the sale on behalf of the foreclosing bank? If a person bids and wins, the funds go to the bank, is this correct?

3. What kinds of instruments can be attached to a California title? Which instruments will and will not be wiped out by the auction?

4. What role, if any, does the foreclosing bank play at the trustee sale?

Please feel free to discuss other topics related to trustee sales also. I only ask that information in this thread be limited to what applies in the state of California.