Foreclosure Trends

Peter Jones asked:


The Sub Prime problem arrived in an economy growing at over 3%. It is disturbing to speculate what will happen to the substantially weakened banks if there is a long recession and the vast bulk of medium rated mortgage risk and possibly even the huge Junk bond market come under, not just the current valuation problems but also, pressure from actual defaults.

Whilst many home owners are clearly concerned about falling house prices there are a few interesting options out there both for investors and home owners who want to hedge against falls in the housing market.

Spread betting firms like IG Index now offer markets on the Average UK House Price. Of course with any such speculation there are risks. However, trading the Housing Market is an interesting option.

Sentiment is now falling and whilst mortgage approvals have been suffering this is not the end (or even beginning) of the story. Viewings and enquiries at Estate Agents have been recording ever lower numbers. The mortgage offer is generally one of the last factors in a house purchase, first comes the hunt.

The real test will come if the employment outlook begins to seriously weaken. It must be something of a worry to policy makers that the current anguish is being felt when we have virtually full employment. What on earth will happen if (when) large numbers of high earning jobs start to be lost? Whilst people outside of the City of London like to smile at every misfortune felt by the absurdly overpaid bankers the fact is that in doing so they are laughing at themselves. Weakness in the City would mean an ever widening circle of misery.

Looking at the housing market from a slightly different angle, Simon Denham of Financial Spreads recently commented on the current high cost of mortgages, “The ridiculous requirement for banks to mark to market every single asset they hold is playing havoc. Most investments are in very liquid easily priced holdings eg stocks, government bonds, cash etc. However many are in completely illiquid and still perfectly secure assets eg mortgage bonds, property etc. How do you value a product which has good solid worth but for which, temporarily, there is no buyer? Many are being forced to revalue at ruinous levels simply because the auditors, fearful of their own backs, are insisting that this is prudent. None of them would ever dream of selling at these valuation levels but this is academic.

“It is this ‘mark to market’ requirement that is likely to hold back recovery. As soon as a mortgage is awarded the lender may have to mark the loan immediately at a substantial loss. You can understand the lender’s reluctance.”

It is easy to let the current slowdown in housing to assume crisis proportions in many investors’ minds. However, in reality, a year ago it would have been difficult to find anyone who thought that prices were anything other than over heated. A period of cooling or at least stagnation is probably well overdue. Unfortunately, given that we live in a country where for many people the value of their house defines their wealth, it is easy for any slowdown to affect the national psyche. If we enter a five year slump as per 1989 to 1994 then the economy will find it very difficult to ignore.

Note that spread betting on UK House Prices like other forms of spread betting carries a high level of risk to your money and may not suit all forms of investor. You can lose more than your initial investment so make sure you only speculate with capital that you can afford to lose. Likewise make sure you understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.



DARRELL

Tom Noonan asked:


All too often, someone thinks that they can get rich in foreclosures without much effort at all. They figure the first step is to find a foreclosure through some sort of foreclosure listing website, and that will be their key to unlocking fortunes in the foreclosure market. They are too cheap to pay for some sort of premium foreclosure listing service, so they decide to go for the free trial or just use sites that list foreclosures for free. They are planning to make thousands per house, but are not willing to pay the few bucks it usually costs to find them.

There are several costs of trying to save on foreclosure listings. Let’s go through them from least costly to most costly. The first is if they think they are getting a great deal by signing up to some trial offer for a buck. A buck is worth it to find that foreclosure that will make you thousands. But you need to be very careful when signing up to free trail offers that require you to enter your credit card info. Most people forget to read the fine print. You are actually signing up for their monthly billing, but they are just giving you a free week at the start. You must cancel your account before that free week is up if you don’t want to be charged the monthly membership fee automatically. Most people sign up, look at a few foreclosures, realized that it is going to be a lot more work and risk than they thought initially and forget the whole thing. They also forget to cancel their account and end up getting billed a few hundred more than they expected.

The next way that people get burnt is when they try to use some sort of foreclosure listing service that is 100% free. These listing services are often times full of mistakes, outdated information and incomplete information. Most of the free foreclosure sites that I have seen have 1 to 2% of the listings that the paid foreclosure sites have. All too often, people who are serious about foreclosures try to save a buck by using free services and end up forgetting about foreclosures and moving on. They can’t even get a start on a single property because the information is so incomplete or outdated. If you are actually serious about investing in foreclosures, make sure to get yourself a decent foreclosure listing service.

Another way that hurts potential investors is trying to read the legal notices section of the local newspaper. All foreclosure auctions have to be listed for a certain amount of time (varies by state) in a local paper. The unknowing investor picks up the paper and thinks it will basically just be a classified for foreclosed homes. Wrong! All they see is legal jargon and figure you have to be some sort of professional to do foreclosures. It’s too hard for them so they just give up right there.

One last final way that investors get burned is when they go to some sort of auction and start bidding trigger-happy on foreclosures they know nothing about. They might buy a house that needs more repairs than is worth. They might be buying a worthless junior mortgage instead of a senior mortgage. There might be property tax leans up the yin yang on the home you just bought. The property might even get bid well above fair market value by unknowing investors.

Dealing with foreclosures is risky business. It is best to study, read and learn, then take action once you are comfortable. Know the game before you get into it.



KARL

kent harper asked:


The scenario regarding foreclosures is evolving daily. Many of foreclosures are occurring due to the economic downturn. There are a lot of unique foreclosure situations such as land foreclosure, bank foreclosure, home foreclosure, property foreclosure etc. A regional real estate agent can aid you with the foreclosure process -and your options.

Many real estate services can also provide foreclosures info and foreclosure listings, advice on how to stop foreclosure and the foreclosure process in general. As many experts will confirm, foreclosure homes often create perfect investment property. Some experts can advise individuals on bank owned, short sale, HUD foreclosures, real estate investing. A few ineligible for refinance will go into foreclosure with bankruptcy. And, tax foreclosure type questions for may be answered too. Foreclosure listings are usually comprehensive and often evolving.

Free real estate foreclosure listings, foreclosure information are offered from many local real estate agents. Finding data has never been more simple or more needed. Many need info on confusing subjects such as foreclosure sales, government foreclosures, real estate foreclosure, bank foreclosures etc. Foreclosure prevention will go a good way to avoiding foreclosure, which is not a fun topic, while it is incredibly pertinent. Real estate foreclosures have unique regulations in each state, isn’t different. Foreclosure services will allow you make sense of it all.

Seized homes or seized real estate are not infrequent. Many seek to avoid this result, announcing “buy my house!” to those that advertise, “I buy houses”. You are probably aware of these advertisements. Short sales will be a type of  loss mitigation too. There are different ways through the situation if you know who to consult with, namely a foreclosures expert.

To invest well in foreclosures, you’ll need data, info sources and expertise.  Maybe locate a local investment club, inquire where and at what time they get together, attend the majority of meetings, absorb all that possible and make contacts.  Look through the books and info you have seen, pick a source and start reading.  Read the web forum groups, magazine articles that include references and real data and save them.  Check out all the sources you may find on various web pages, it will of course increase your knowledge.

Most significant real estate companies offer paid Real Estate schooling.  It’s an excellent method to be an excellent foreclosure investor. If you do not have a history in the field, this is a fairly cost effective way to get skill regarding the intricate procedures included, whats necessary to purchase a home plus all kinds of  additional knowledge.  Many companies demand a larger fee if you do not get the license and work for that company, do plan to shop around, the school might be inexpensive.  Look in the phone book in Real Estate Colleges.  Remember that when you actually obtain your license, you have various legal considerations than when you’re with no license.  Just because you don’t actively sell real estate full-time, when licensed, you’re considered as a real estate professional.

If you think that you are going to be involved in foreclosure in some way -whether through purchasing hoses or going through the proceedings- meet with a city foreclosure consultant or real estate specialist to fully appreciate the choices. Since this is an especially detailed process, it is a worthwhile investment to meet with an expert.



MOHAMMAD