Gmail - Common Ways to Hold Title - jmcconnin@gmail.com

Ways to hold title under California Law.

Many people ask if they should change the names on title when when they are facing a foreclosure or a short sale.

The answer is it depends on what you are trying to accomplish and if by doing so you might give the bank a piece of evidence it might need to argue you should not be protected by California's anti deficiency protections.

Additionally, changing the name on title may not accomplish your goals.

It may protect credit if done in time, it is unlikely to change responsibility for the loan balances.

You should definitely speak with an attorney before you change title.
(beware of foreclosure consultants suggesting you put title in someone else's name.


Gmail - Common Ways to Hold Title - jmcconnin@gmail.com


for more on short sales and foreclosure law.

short sales and foreclosures buyers may be slowing down

We noticed a massive increase in interest in a our san diego short sale listings when interest rates dropped.  Now that they are rising again we see that mortgage applications hit a new 8 month law. 

We new buyers were payment sensitive but not this much. 

This should be a note for the administration and the Fed.  If inflation gets out of control and rates increase real estate prices may start falling again. 

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Mortgage Applications Hit 8-Month Low

Mortgage Applications Hit 8-Month Low
Mortgage applications declined 18.9 last week compared to the previous week, hitting the lowest level since Nov. 21, 2008, according to the index compiled weekly by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Application volume decreased from 548.2 the previous week to 444.8 last week on an adjusted basis. On an unadjusted basis, the index declined 18.5 percent and was down 7.4 percent compared with the same week a year ago.

The decline was driven by refinances, which fell 30 percent compared to the previous week. The purchase index was down 4.5 percent.

short sale strategy

Short Sale of Luxury Homes

Rich Default on Luxury Homes Like Subprime Victims (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

California is hardest hit by luxury-home foreclosures. More than 1,500 borrowers with properties in the state that once sold for more than $1 million defaulted on their mortgages in February, said Mark Hanson, managing director of the Field Check Group, a real estate company in Palo Alto, California.

About 3 percent, or 254,745, of the state’s 8.5 million houses are assessed for more than $1 million by county assessors, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick, a real estate monitoring company.

While sales for all homes in the state increased 2.5 percent last year from 2007, sales of homes valued at more than $1 million declined 43 percent to the lowest since 2003, MDA DataQuick reported. Part of the reason is falling prices as California’s median home price dropped 41 percent in February to $247,590, according to the state’s Association of Realtors.

Another explanation may be stricter lending guidelines, Hanson said.

“You have to have income of $250,000, a 20 percent down payment and near perfect credit to buy a $1 million home now, so the number of buyers isn’t what it was,” Hanson said. “There just aren’t enough buyers to sop up supply. We’re seeing the collapse of the high-end market.”

short sales

Fed is now buying Home Loans - this should help a few sellers

Fed begins purchasing mortgage securities - San Jose Mercury News

NEW YORK — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said today it has begun purchasing mortgage-backed securities in an effort to bolster the battered housing market.

The program, initially announced Nov. 25, allows the Fed to spend $500 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and another $100 billion to directly purchase mortgages held by Fannie, Freddie and the Federal Home Loan Banks. The program is aimed at driving down the price of mortgages and making home loans more available.

The New York Fed is overseeing the program for the Federal Reserve. The New York Fed is working with four investment managers — BlackRock Inc., Goldman Sachs Asset Management, PIMCO and Wellington Management Co. — to purchase the securities.

Up to $500 billion in securities will be purchased by the end of the second quarter.

The mortgage-backed securities being purchased are considered investment grade and are not the packages of loans that helped ignite the current credit market turmoil. An initial sharp rise in defaults in 2007 among subprime mortgages — loans given to customers with poor credit history — helped touch off the ongoing credit market downturn. As defaults continued to rise, the value of securities backed by subprime mortgages plummeted and investors shied away from purchasing the risky debt.

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Foreclosure Sale Suspension

This suspension give time to sellers to get short sale offers into the lenders. 

Media: News Releases > Fannie Mae Extends Foreclosure Sale and Eviction Suspension

Fannie Mae Extends Foreclosure Sale and Eviction Suspension


WASHINGTON, DC -- Fannie Mae (FNM/NYSE) today announced that it would extend the suspension of foreclosure sales and evictions from single-family properties through January 31, 2009.

This action will enable the company to work with mortgage servicers to further implement the Streamlined Modification Program (SMP) announced on November 11, 2008 and initiated on December 15, 2008. The extension will also provide additional time for the company to operationalize its new National REO Rental Policy, which will allow renters in company-owned foreclosed properties to stay in their homes. Details of the new policy are expected to be announced shortly.

The temporary suspension of foreclosures will allow affected borrowers facing foreclosure to retain their homes while Fannie Mae works with mortgage servicers to implement the SMP. Foreclosure attorneys and loan servicers have been instructed to use the additional time to reach out to borrowers and continue to pursue workout options. The initiative applies to loans owned or securitized by Fannie Mae.

Economists make predictions about home prices

REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Economists Ponder Future of Home Prices

Economists Ponder Future of Home Prices
When will home prices go back up again?

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal say that home prices won’t hit bottom until the second half of 2009 at the earliest and some say the downward trend will continue until 2011 or 2012. After that they may rise again, but not nearly as fast as they have in the last decade. Instead they will rise just a little faster than inflation and stay in line with increases in household income.
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I was and Econ major -  I do loan workouts everyday  and I used to trade the bond market.  My take:

1. A former CNBC economist said the secret to being a good economist is to forecast early and forecast often

2. If anyone was anygood at making predictions they could make a fortune trading the bond market.... bill gross made a fortune trading and managing bonds - but he always seems to talk his book.  So basically there is no one who really knows whats going to happen more than a few months out. There is always some force that is unpredicted that shows up.  Who knew that china would keep buying bonds to keep our interest rates law and skew our real estate market into the largest asset bubble in history.

3.  If you study charts you will see bubble unwinds always seem to go back furhter than expected.  Remember Nasdaq 5000.

4.  In my opinion you have to figure out who will be qualifying for what loans and guessing if consequent "qualified demand" will balance supply.

5. In higher priced homes that could be a while.

6. In that category - I think appraisals will be very tough - the best houses, with the best views, on the best lots are likely to become much more valuable than the nearby competition.   In a rising market putting lipstick on a pig (upgrades, like granite and flooring could get inferior houses high prices)  it is no longer working. 

7.  Buyers are smart.  Some are paying good money for "location" the competition winners - and others are only buying at steep discounts. 

8.  I predict that will go on for years. 

Loan Modification - Stop Forelcosure, Countrywide and Bank of America Programs.

Almost 400,000 Countrywide mortgage holders will get help - USATODAY.com

Nearly 400,000 homeowners will be able to get more affordable loans after Bank of America (BAC) agreed Monday to modify mortgages that originated with its Countrywide Financial unit. The move could be worth more than $8.6 billion and mark the largest predatory lending settlement in history.

Monday's deal settles claims brought by attorneys general in 11 states that accused Countrywide — acquired in July by BofA — of misrepresenting loan terms, loan payment increases and borrowers' ability to afford loans.

Bank of America says it will restructure loans for Countrywide customers holding subprime mortgages and option adjustable-rate loans that permit borrowers to pay only a small portion of interest and principal owed each month. Some might wind up in new fixed-rate loans; others might not.

But the Bank of America deal represents only a fraction of the future defaults and foreclosures facing homeowners. There were more than 2.2 million foreclosure filings in the USA in 2007.

EVEN MORE DETAILS: Read Bank of American's press release

"There could be a couple million more (foreclosures to come), so it begins to put a price tag on the problem and how expensive it is," says economist Joel Naroff at Naroff Economic Advisors.

Pat Lashinsky, CEO of ZipRealty, says as many as 6 million homes will have gone through a short-sale or foreclosure before this housing slump is finished.