Dave Thurman's Real Estate Blog

Realty World – Dave Thurman

On Saturday, October 29, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

Citigroup paying $285M to settle SEC fraud charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citigroup has agreed to pay $285 million to settle civil fraud charges that it misled buyers of complex mortgage investments just the housing market was starting to collapse.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Wednesday that the big Wall Street bank bet against the investors in 2007 and made $160 million in fees and profits. Investors lost millions.

The payment includes the fees and profit Citigroup earned, $30 million in interest and a $95 million penalty. The money will be returned to investors in the deal, the SEC said.

Citigroup neither admitted nor denied the SEC’s allegations in the settlement.

“We are pleased to put this matter behind us and are focused on contributing to the economic recovery, serving our clients and growing responsibly,” Citigroup said in a statement.

The penalty is the biggest targeting Wall Street firms that mislead investors ahead of the 2008 financial crisis since Goldman Sachs & Co. paid $550 million to settle similar charges last year. JPMorgan Chase & Co. also settled similar charges in June and paid $153.6 million.

All of the cases have involved so-called collateralized debt obligations. Those are securities backed by pools of other assets.

In a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday, the SEC said Citigroup traders discussed in late 2006 the possibility of buying financial instruments to essentially bet on the failure of the mortgage assets being put together in the deal.

Rating agencies downgraded most of the investments that Citigroup had bundled together just as many homeowners stopped paying their mortgages in late 2007. That pushed the investment into default and cost its buyers — hedge funds and investment managers — several hundred million dollars in losses.

Among the biggest losers were Ambac, a bond insurer, and BNP Paribas, a European bank. Ambac had sold Citigroup protection against losses on the investment, allowing Citigroup to bet against it.

I found this article reading [recordnet.com]

Last year, more than two million people were turned down for homes, according to federal data, often because the applicants didn’t meet certain lender requirements or because their applications were incomplete or otherwise problematic.  With lenders’ underwriting criteria becoming more rigorous in recent years, it’s important buyers know the most common triggers for mortgage-loan rejection.

Making sense of the story

• Insufficient income: Lenders want to be sure borrowers can afford to make the mortgage payments.  Lenders typically look for at least a two-year track record of income, which could hurt those who have changed jobs recently.
• Cloudy financial picture: Generally, total debt payments, including the mortgage, cannot exceed 45 to 50 percent of a borrower’s adjusted gross monthly income.  Overtime and bonuses are included only if the borrower has worked for the same employer at least two years, and has a history of receiving them.
• Poor credit: Lenders typically reject applicants with FICO scores below 620.
• Low appraisal: One of the predominant reasons buyers are turned down for home loans is because the appraisal on the property is too low.  A buyer may think he or she is purchasing a house worth $800,000, but if the appraisal comes in less than that, the lender will not loan the borrower the money.
• Property problems: Sometimes issues turn up within a house, like a major repair or safety issue that needs to be addressed, before an application can be approved.
• Information mix-ups: Approximately 12 percent of new mortgage applications were denied because of unverifiable information or incomplete credit applications, according to the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.

Related articles

• How to Boost Your Odds of Getting Approved for a Mortgage
• More parents finance their kids’ mortgages
• First-time buyers hit by lenders’ caution
• New appraisal standards to impact mortgage rates
• Loan rejections soon to come with explanation
• I think mortgage & appraisal standards are just right
• The Top 3 Real Estate Deal-Killers – and How Buyers Can Avoid Them
• Mortgage rationing still in force
• To Understand The Benefits Of A Realty Mortgage Do In Depth Research.

Hey Investors! Check out the latest from ForeclosureRadar…

After Big Jump in August, Foreclosure Starts Fall Again

Realty World – Dave Thurman

On Saturday, September 24, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business $299.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

Hey Investors! Check out the latest from ForeclosureRadar…notice the use of the word significantly!

Foreclosure filings and sales increase throughout most of our coverage are in August. Foreclosure starts jumped significantly, reversing what had been a declining trend over the past several months. Investors bought more properties on the courthouse steps in August than in July everywhere except in Washington. The number of properties Sold Back to Bank jumped significantly in Oregon, and also rose in California and Nevada.

Foreclosure starts (the first notice filed, either a Notice of Default or Notice of Trustee Sale depending on the state) rose in every state. This appears to have been primarily driven by Bank of America and related entities, where we saw an overall 116 percent increase from July to August. Wells Fargo and US Bank also saw an increases in foreclosure start filings, while filings by JP Morgan Chase and Citibank were essentially flat.

“Bank of America appears to be primarily responsible for the surge in foreclosure starts this month,” says Sean O’Toole, Founder and CEO of ForeclosureRadar.com. “Since their average time to foreclose has recently increased to more than a year, it is unclear that these foreclosure starts will lead to an increase in foreclosure sales anytime soon.”

California

Notice of Default filings increased 69.5 percent to the highest level in a year. Notice of Trustee Sale filings were up more moderately, rising 6.0 percent month-over-month, but down 23.6 percent year-over-year. Cancellations were nearly flat, up just 1.9 percent from July. Activity on the courthouse steps increased in August. Properties Sold Back to Bank (REO) increased 12.3 percent from the prior month. Properties Sold to 3rd Parties rose 9.9 percent month-over-month, and 10.8 percent year-over-year. Time to Foreclose increased to 333 days in August, which is 49 days longer than a year ago.

Number of Homes for Sale vs. Sold vs. Pending

July 2010 there were 1168 homes for sale in Stockton, California in comparison to July 2011 where there was a decrease to 1053 homes for sale. The number of homes sold in July 2010  was 407 and in July 2011 the number of homes sold decreased to 354. In July 2010 there were 398 pending sales which increased to 544 in July 2011.

More graphs and charts from our MLS and  TrendVision Reports

On Saturday, August 27, 2011 from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM, you are invited to our Open Office at 2652 East Main Street in Stockton. If you are looking for residential, commercial, or investment properties in this area, don’t miss this opportunity to visit and meet with Dave Thurman, REALTOR®. Appointments are not necessary!

• Pick up a free list of homes!
• Foreclosure auction dates & information.
• Get pre-qualified for a home loan.
• Ask questions about foreclosures and short sales.
• Discuss agency and disclosure requirements.
• Become a member & start up your own Shaklee business $299.
• First-time buyers and investors are welcome.

Related articles

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• Best and worst of real estate times in the same (my) neighborhood
• Homeowner Groups Sue to Force Foreclosures
• Mass. Bankruptcy Judge Voids Foreclosure Of MERS Mortgage
• Foreclosure Market Gets More Complicated
• Newport brokers bet on Ariz. real estate
• Real Estate Investment
• Fort Stockton Housing Market Report and Market Listings
• Long Realty Welcomes Bryan Murphy to Oro Valley Office

California
Foreclosure activity slowed again in July, except for a slight increase in Sold to 3rd Party auction sales on the courthouse steps. Notice of Default filings fell by 11.7 percent from June, and 30.6 percent from a year ago. Notice of Trustee Sale filings were down 5.4 percent from June, and have dropped 25.3 percent from July 2010. Cancellations decreased for the third consecutive month, with a 5.3 percent drop compared to June, and were down 32.0 percent year-over-year. Foreclosures going Back to Bank (REO) declined 4.0 percent from June, down for the second month in a row. Foreclosures Sold to 3rd Parties nudged up 1.2 percent from June, and are at the same level as this time last year. Time to Foreclose decreased slightly from June, down less than one percent to 313 days; although year-over-year remained up 19.5 percent. 3rd Party investors continue to resell inventory faster than banks, with the average at 131 days compared to the average Time to Resell for Banks at 235 days.
View all California stats by state, county, city or ZIP

The above foreclosure report is emailed to me each month from ForeclosureRadar…please check out their excellent website at http://www.foreclosureradar.com

For release:
July 21, 2011

Short-sale process broken, pushing Central Valley families into foreclosure,
REALTOR® survey shows
Latest lender satisfaction survey highlights glaring issues in short-sale process

FRESNO, CALIF.  (July 21) – More than half of Central Valley REALTORS® characterized closing short-sale transactions as “difficult” or “extremely difficult,” according to a Lender Satisfaction Survey conducted by the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.).  The survey gauges REALTORS®’ experience working with lenders in their most recent transaction.  The majority of those surveyed dealt with short-sale transactions – transactions in which the lender or lenders agree to accept less than the mortgage amount owed by the current homeowner.

“The survey results demonstrate the ongoing problems homeowners are experiencing with onerous short-sale procedures on the part of lenders and servicers,” said C.A.R. Treasurer Don Faught, who presented the findings today at a news conference in Fresno, Calif.  “Despite assurances by lenders in recent months that they would improve their short-sale processes, clearly, not enough is being done.  Lenders are out of touch with the realities of the market and the consequences to struggling homeowners, and the result is unnecessary foreclosures that only make California’s economic problems worse, hindering a desperately needed recovery.”

The top three obstacles REALTORS® most frequently cited in working with lenders and servicers during the short-sale process include lenders’ slow response time to a short-sale package,  repeated requests for documentation, and poor communication with lender representatives.  Some REALTORS® even indicated that the lender foreclosed on the home before the short-sale transaction could be completed.

Some specific REALTOR® comments from the survey include:  “Bank will not come down on price; home needs work, but the bank is being unrealistic.”  “Banks say they want to help work things out on short sales, but to be honest, I don’t believe they care.”  “The whole process is completely flawed.”   “The bank took over four months to give approval.  They refused to pay common seller closing costs and repeatedly demanded paperwork that had been sent previously.”

Nearly three-fourths (74 percent) of REALTORS®  said it took more than 60 days for lenders or servicers to return a written response on the approval or disapproval of the short-sale agreement submitted.  And, half of respondents said it took the lender more than five days to return any form of communication.

Overall satisfaction with the lenders REALTORS® worked with in their most recent short-sale transaction remains extremely poor, with 77 percent saying they were “not satisfied” or “not at all satisfied.”  Moreover, almost nine in 10 (88 percent) REALTORS® said they were “not likely” or “not at all likely” to refer buyers to the lender to finance future home purchases. [more from C.A.R.]

The above article was reprinted from the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)