Foreclosures Up 600%

[Mike Simpson]

My wife just got done taking some real estate classes last week. In one of those classes the instructor told the students foreclosures were up 600% in the state of WA, and that was the highest percentage nationwide.

Based on this information we're marketing heavily to Maintenance & Marketing Firms.

You want to diversify your business? Nows the time--replace some of those less desirable lenders & their pandering real estate agents!

-Mike

 

[Kelly Green]

Mike,
How are you determining who in your area has the most activity in the foreclosure market?

 

[Randy Beigh]

Mike

I can see you are in Washington, but what city?

We went through the REO trend in Spokane and we seem to be coming out of it, now. That was in large part to a local fraudulent mortgage broker. As the REO's caused by this scam are assimilated, the rest of the market is showing signs of picking up.

In fact, as a general rule of thumb, Spokane goes the other way. When the market is good for the rest of the country, we seem to be in a slump. We are having a decrease in listings and increase in sales for the first time in years. Just need a couple of more months to feel comfortable. It has been 9 years of stability.

As stupid as the above paragraph sounds, there is a fairly long history to support it.

I may have to ask for help on how to do time adjustments in the next few months.

I don't know about other cities in the state.

 

[walt kirk]

Mike,
When the bubble breaks, when interest rates return to a more realistic level, when overextended people loose jobs, get divorces or just need to move there will be thousands of houses across this country with mortgage balances higher than market values. Appraisers who develop relationships with attorneys (forclosure, divorce or bankrupcy) or REO firms and banks will be quite busy. See you in court!

 

[Mike Simpson]

Kelly-

Log on to HUD's website, they list Maintenance & Marketing Contractors by area. Additionally, you can search the web for these companies in counties in which you service.

Randy,

I'm over here on the wet side (Everett). Funny how trends differ from city to city, county by county!


We talked about this issue some years ago, how the number hitters were going to create job security for ethical appraisers. I had an instuctor some 4 years ago tell the class he thought we could be heading toward another S & L Bailout within the next 5 years--only this time in the Residential Market. While I'm skeptical regarding the bailout, it appears foreclosures are up significantly in many areas of the country.

There's a growing market here--with clients who have a need to know!

-Mike

 

[Mike Simpson]

Walt-

Just got your reply, and you're right!!!

We've been educating ourselves to make us more attractive to the entities you've mentioned. We saw this coming some years ago and steered our ship in this direction.

Nothing happens quickly...making a move in this business is like stopping a cruise ship, it takes time! However, it appears we're peaking at the right moment.

...and to heck with seeing you in court (that'd mean you're working for the other side), how bout--I'll see you in Hawaii!!!

-Mike

 

[Dee Dee]

Hey Mike...I have a question for you or any other foreclosure gurus here in the forum.

When statistics for foreclosures hit the mainstream media, are they usually based on what HUD stats and/or county auction records show?
If so, would the homeowners who simply hand their keys back to their lenders who in turn have real estate agents market them even show up in those figures?

The reason that I'm wondering is this:
Yesterday I had an interesting conversation with a local real estate agent who exclusively sells bank-owned properties in my county for a couple of well-known banks. I asked if he was hired to do so after the homes didn't sell at public auction, and he said that they never got that far. Apparently the homeowners simply gave them back to the lender. What really boggled my mind was when he told me how many homes these two banks alone had gained possession of in just one month (February). If he was telling it to me straight, that number was almost equal to the total number of foreclosures that the local newpapers claim over the entire first quarter of the year in my county!

Considering that we're only talking two banks here, one would have to wonder just how bad the numbers really are if this same thing is happening to other lenders and not showing up in published statistics.

Most of the time when the topic of bank-owned properties comes up, we hear about the gutted and destroyed houses that the previous homeowner left behind. In reality, there are probably far more who simply couldn't make their payments or sell for what they owed, who just wanted to move on without a fuss and the ultimate insult to their credit rating.

 

[Farm Gal]

"Cash for keys" and buy-workout programs also fly below the radar in many areas...

The MLS often lists the owner as "other".

One would have to be a birdie at the courthouse to find ALL the non-original owner sales of that nature.

 

[Dee Dee]

Originally posted by Lee Ann@Apr 29 2003, 02:15 PM
"Cash for keys" and buy-workout programs also fly below the radar in many areas...

The MLS often lists the owner as "other".

One would have to be a birdie at the courthouse to find ALL the non-original owner sales of that nature.

No kidding!
And that doesn't even touch on the fact that in most areas it can take months before the transaction becomes pubic record, so it may take awhile before the true numbers start coming out.

If my suspicions are correct, there are more than a few lenders that could be holding who knows how many empty houses in their portfolios that they will need to dump quickly. Yeeeowsaaaa! :blink:

Lots of possible repercussions to consider here.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

Maintenance & Marketing Firms

Know a Metro Mortgage out of Spokane?

Do about 1 every 18 mo. and have for 10+ years for them...always seems to be problem properties, but MM pays like clockwork.

ter