Foreclosures pile up in central O.C.

As foreclosures add up, property values sink in Santa Ana, Anaheim and Garden Grove. But some first-time homebuyers are finding and grabbing the most affordable houses and condos in years.

Some South County ZIPs rank in the county’s top third for concentration of foreclosures, including parts of Lake Forest, Ladera Ranch, Rancho Santa Margarita and Aliso Viejo. Some market watchers say buyers with good, or pretty good, credit stretched to buy homes in those areas to live in or as investments. Now they can’t afford their mortgages.

Here are the defaults…

The foreclosure ratio…

The foreclosure rate change…

It is getting worse even in Irvine there are zips that are going to look really ugly for foreclosures due to the increase in defaults.

graphrix - 08 June 2007 11:31 AM

To answer your questions:
1. If you are serious about buying a home at the foreclosure auction you would want a title report/insurance and a chain of title from a title company. If you want to just check it out first you would just get a chain of title from the title company. I think you could figure out through county records but I would rather play catch on the freeway. The way I check is through a service the title companies offer to look up the owners and loans but there is no guarantee that it is accurate. But if they have a second loan in the last year for $50k and the NTS amount is $53K you have a pretty good idea that is what it is. Plus I can get recorded documents with it too. I know that Chicago Title offers this service for "investors" and if you want to be an "investor" I will find the link for you. I warn you a title rep will have to contact you and they need the business.

I want to run a chain of title report on one property in the upcoming auction.

Could you tell me contact info of Chicago Title ?

If you or anyone know other tilte company with cheaper and better service ,
plz share me the info.

Thanks

—-

By the way, I found out buyer can call Recon 800-281-8129 auto voice system
then enter 7 digit TS number to get Opening Bid Amt
Plz skip the first 2 digit out of 9 digit TS number
For example:
7 DEERWOOD EAST
TS Number: 200819899
Notice of Sale Amt: $726,518.94
Opening Bid Amt: 0

You just enter 0819899
It will tell you Opening Bid start at $472,500

just off housingwire/CR:

the mortgage finance giant also said that it was increasing its allowable foreclosure timeline in 21 states to a whopping 300 days from last of date payment, and 150 days from initiation of foreclosure, effective on Friday.

so now the FBs can sit in the house they used to pay rent for, for ten months instead of five.

how much is this going to shift the reset curves/bottom?

Really, this decision is not so bad.  It will give the lender a chance
to find the note.  It will encourage work outs.  The lenders are mostly
sitting on the inventory, not selling it anyway.  This goes on long enough
and you guys won’t get a chance to buy because well capitalized vultures
will take over the properties en masse.  I heard about people getting
together for this purpose months ago, and I assume they are waiting for the
values to bottom out too.  Obviously, hasn’t happened yet.

It will keep houses from being vandalized, and ruining surrounding
neighbors.

It may slightly slow the rate of decline, but more decline is built in.
I don’t know about there, but here there is a hugh amount of shadow
inventory, and stuff which just isn’t selling and people who would like
to sell, but can’t.

Some of those deals should include big haircuts to the mtg amount,
which is an equivalent to a decrease in price, and some will still not
be able to make the payments and will be foreclosed.

I don’t know if I posted this here, but NPR had a happy-happy story about
prices dropping and happy buyers fighting for the property with multiple
contracts on houses.  The example was from here in Miami and Hialeah.
The decreases were indeed very juicy.

Then at the very end they mentioned that in the previous month a number
of houses in the 900s had sold in Dade County and the amount of inventory
was over 33,000.  That adds up to me to a 3 year supply, and if you include
the shadow inventory, it’s probably 4 years, or heck, even 5.

miamicondosomething.com has mentioned a number of houses under 100k, which at
peak, you couldn’t find in the worst crime-ridden ghetto rundown area.

Another 10% off the 30% we are already down, and some knife catchers
will get interested.  Another 10% lower than that, and they won’t be knife
catchers, unless we have the greatest of GDs.  (With my usual caveat of not-
the-towers).

Also, another client came in; is not in foreclosure, but will be if he doesn’t
do something.  He bought somewhat below peak, but is presently about 20-25%
underwater.  Citi will accept late payments, so long as it is at least a full
month’s payments.  I pointed out he could walk, but would lose his credit,
which is excellent in spite of being a couple of months behind.  (Are the lenders
not reporting to the credit bureaus?).  He said it’s not business, he wants to
keep his apt, because he likes it and likes where it is. 

Anyway, Citi sent him a notice,saying plz work with us, and the reason he
stopped payment was that he lost his job, and he’s got a number of offers
so is confident he can get a new one.  They will put the missed payments
at the end.  They will add catch up payments to the current payment.

No offer as yet to reduce the balance or interest rate.  His interest rate isn’t
bad anyway.  I told him about the new housing bill.  I don’t think Citi will
cut the mtg balance until they get a whole lot more desperate.  He needs to
do something in the next few years, ‘cause the loan is interest only.

What are the zips in Irvine?

Trooper - 07 June 2007 06:11 PM

Graphix,
Don’t you ever sleep?  Seriously though, thanks for the info.  It doesn’t appear as if anyone’s buying these properties at auction…. that whole "depreciating asset" thing I guess. 
Question: You commented on being careful about seemingly low purchase prices - because they may be the 2nd liens. 
1.  How would you conduct research to verify that you are bidding on a true 1st lien?
2.  Does this mean that the distressed homebuyer is still paying the 1st?
3.  Could the low amount be a tax lien / HOA lien?  I only ask this, because I’ve seen some in Palm Springs REO under 10K.  I couldn’t figure it out !  Thanks.

County Records Research is the only foreclosure listing shop that I know of that has all of the loan information for a given property. They have all of the loans for a given property and show the which loan that is in default. Knowing which loan is in default makes a huge difference on strategy, outcome of a deal.

I am still getting up to speed on the nuances of purchsing foreclosure property but there’s a good video on their site that explains why knowing the position of the defaulting loan is so important.

Hope this helps

226 Tall Oak, 92603 got bought at the foreclosure auction yesterday morning for a little less than $400K.

I was checking the tax assessor in Miami-Dade, for something and discovered
a new category, called foreclosure statitstics.  I don’t know how long it’s been there,
but I just found it.  Has the number of foreclosures year by year and they are floating
up and down sorta randomly and then they spike for 2007, and the number of foreclosures
already in 08 for the first 6 month, is what it is for all of ‘07.

Was it bought back by the bank or an individual?  What are the details (ex. sq. ft., # bed, # ba).

EvaLSeraphim - 05 August 2008 01:49 PM

226 Tall Oak, 92603 got bought at the foreclosure auction yesterday morning for a little less than $400K.

Anonymous - 05 August 2008 06:57 PM

Was it bought back by the bank or an individual?  What are the details (ex. sq. ft., # bed, # ba).

EvaLSeraphim - 05 August 2008 01:49 PM

226 Tall Oak, 92603 got bought at the foreclosure auction yesterday morning for a little less than $400K.

It was bought by a third party.  The rest I don’t know, but it is a condo.

EvaLSeraphim - 05 August 2008 01:49 PM

226 Tall Oak, 92603 got bought at the foreclosure auction yesterday morning for a little less than $400K.

It’s an Ivy Wreath Plan C, last sold for $715,000 on 1/16/06.

3beds, 3.5baths, 1607sqft detached condo, 3 stories.

Mortgage History:
  Mortgage Date: 03/11/2008….. 03/20/2006….. 03/13/2006….. 01/27/2006…..
  Mortgage Amt: $100,000…....... $250,000…...... $180,000…...... $385,000…....
  Mortgage Lender: ...................... Capstone Finl.. Countrywide…. Nbgi Inc
  Mortgage Type: Private Party ...Conventional ..Conventional ...Conventional

Closest recent comps are 341 and 241 Tall Oak that closed at $591K and $585K on 7/17/08 and 5/29/08, respectively.

So long as nobody poured any cement mix down the sinks and toilets, that might be a good buy.

EvaLSeraphim - 05 August 2008 01:49 PM

226 Tall Oak, 92603 got bought at the foreclosure auction yesterday morning for a little less than $400K.

That is an absolute steal even if there are other liens like unpaid HOA dues and property taxes.

Btw, 329 Tall Oak sold for $688,800 on 7/11/08 (3bd/3ba 1,800sf) which is $383/sf (I’m a little shocked by that).  That 226 Tall Oak unit had el cheapo appliances and ugly wood flooring.

Looks like the NOD pace has picked up again.  Maybe all the loss mitigation types are done with their summer vacations and back at work now?!  I see 39 NODs filed in Irvine since 8/1, so we are back over 5 per business day again…

A few snippets from the Foreclosure Radar July report:

CALIFORNIA FORECLOSURE SALES JUMP 22.5 PERCENT SINCE JUNE.

Lenders take a record $12.55 Billion in loans to foreclosure auction.

“Although the declines in Notices of Defaults seem promising, much of this can be explained by the actions of
just one lender,” said Sean O’Toole, founder of ForeclosureRadar. “Ninety-one percent of the decline in Notices
of Default since April can be attributed to Countrywide Financial. Unfortunately, this is more likely due to the
challenges of integrating two companies the size of Countrywide Financial and Bank of America, than it is a
fundamental shift in foreclosure activity.”

Interesting stuff

There are a couple of reasons why the numbers are skewed for July:

1. The Countrywide/BofA merger.

2. California requires an additional 30 days before the lender files the NOD.

3. The failure of IndyCrap and the supposed halting of foreclosures from the FDIC. While this may be true, IndyCrap’s name still showed up in county records through the whole month of July.

Anyway, be prepared for some bottom calling, but regardless the numbers are still freakin ugly and the August NODs are starting off on the wrong bull’s foot. So here are my guesstimates for July with the MOM % first and YOY % second on a per day basis compared to DataQuick’s previous numbers.

NODs: 2348 +2.9%/+52.8%

NTSs: 2165 +3.9%/NA

Foreclosures: 1359 +28.8%/+270%

It is interesting to go back and read my guesstimates from a year ago. But it is also fun to look back at Matt’s blog from a year ago and read some of the comments. Like this gem on Impac. Sadly. Impac cites the reduction of staff as one of the main reasons why they can’t file a timely 10Q.

Ah… how times have changed.

graphrix - 12 August 2008 11:38 PM

There are a couple of reasons why the numbers are skewed for July:

1. The Countrywide/BofA merger.

2. California requires an additional 30 days before the lender files the NOD.

3. The failure of IndyCrap and the supposed halting of foreclosures from the FDIC. While this may be true, IndyCrap’s name still showed up in county records through the whole month of July.

Anyway, be prepared for some bottom calling, but regardless the numbers are still freakin ugly and the August NODs are starting off on the wrong bull’s foot. So here are my guesstimates for July with the MOM % first and YOY % second on a per day basis compared to DataQuick’s previous numbers.

NODs: 2348 +2.9%/+52.8%

NTSs: 2165 +3.9%/NA

Foreclosures: 1359 +28.8%/+270%

It is interesting to go back and read my guesstimates from a year ago. But it is also fun to look back at Matt’s blog from a year ago and read some of the comments. Like this gem on Impac. Sadly. Impac cites the reduction of staff as one of the main reasons why they can’t file a timely 10Q.

Ah… how times have changed.

The actual DQ numbers are in...

NODs 2320, margin of error 1.2%.

Foreclosures 1351, margin of error 0.6%.

Damn… I was good this month. If I am that good for next month, then nearly 3000 NODs and nearly 2000 foreclosures are highly possible. It looks like the sh*t storm is moving up from a category 4 to a category 5. Is there anything beyond category 5? Cuz… I am scared there might be.

I"m sure its like the Tour de France…Beyond Category.

The two questions I have:

1.  Is the CW/BofA merger together enough to start processing the NODs/NTS again?

2.  Is the worsening economy enough to force capitulation from all the former employees of lenders, etc in The OC who have been hanging on to their Alt-A financed properties by their fingernails for 8 months?

ipoplaya - 12 August 2008 09:45 AM

Looks like the NOD pace has picked up again.  Maybe all the loss mitigation types are done with their summer vacations and back at work now?!  I see 39 NODs filed in Irvine since 8/1, so we are back over 5 per business day again…

Irvine is running at 5.4 NODs per business day through the 18th per realtytrac.com.  On pace for cresting over 100 for the month, which is in worst-ever type territory for Irvine I believe…

Just checked August NODs for Irvine.  I counted 124 filed, although some are dupes on the same property, for an average of 5.9 per business day.  I think that is the most I have seen in Irvine for any particular month…

The NODs for September have fallen off a cliff. But… don’t get too excited, it is because of a bill that recently passed. Matt Padilla reported on it here.

The bill is SB1137, which Gov. Schwarzenegger signed July 8 and the foreclosure provision of the bill became law earlier this month. It calls for lenders or loan services to contact homeowners at least 30 days before filing a notice of default, the first stage of foreclosure. The bill says lenders should let borrowers know of their options to avoid foreclosure.

All this is doing is delaying the process for this month. October will most likely see a huge increase. What was sad was the fact that the lenders knew this was coming. In the last few days of August they filed about double the amount of NODs than normal. Foreclosures however still remain at record levels, and this bill will only delay the inevitable. 

I will have some numbers later this week, and I got too busy to post last months numbers, but I have them and I will post them later too.

Cue Deuce and the picture of the pile of REO’s on his coworkers desk.

Per Realtytrac, there are 77 NODs for Irvine for September through last week…  Right around 4 per business day so two-thirds the pace of August NODs for the city.

graphrix - 28 September 2008 01:10 PM

The NODs for September have fallen off a cliff. But… don’t get too excited, it is because of a bill that recently passed. Matt Padilla reported on it here.

The bill is SB1137, which Gov. Schwarzenegger signed July 8 and the foreclosure provision of the bill became law earlier this month. It calls for lenders or loan services to contact homeowners at least 30 days before filing a notice of default, the first stage of foreclosure. The bill says lenders should let borrowers know of their options to avoid foreclosure.

All this is doing is delaying the process for this month. October will most likely see a huge increase. What was sad was the fact that the lenders knew this was coming. In the last few days of August they filed about double the amount of NODs than normal. Foreclosures however still remain at record levels, and this bill will only delay the inevitable. 

I will have some numbers later this week, and I got too busy to post last months numbers, but I have them and I will post them later too.

RealtyTrac is only showing a total of 9 NODs filed on Irvine properties for the month of October.  I’d expect volume to shoot up at some point in October on NODS as lenders have had their 30 days to make contact with borrowers.