Archive for April, 2009
April 17th, 2009 by admin
Foreclosure.com is giving back through its Hometown Hero Community Stimulus Program, saluting important community members nationwide with a special limited-time savings offer that will help them find their dream homes at prices they can afford.
Police officers, teachers, military personnel, nurses and everyone else who dedicates their lives and careers to helping others are now eligible to receive a FREE 7-Day Trial, as well as 25 percent savings on a monthly Foreclosure.com subscription — already among the lowest in the business — to search the best database of distressed real estate listings in the United States.
In addition to the limited-time offer, which expires on Dec. 1, 2009, along with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Foreclosure.com will provide a local real estate agent or broker from its successful Community Expert Program to help these interested individuals find their dream homes at prices they can afford.
It’s a one-of-a-kind program that we at Foreclosure.com are very excited to introduce. Here’s a snip from our Vice President, James Houston, from a recent press release:
“We’re in the midst of an amazing buyers market, which has presented these individuals with great opportunities to live in the houses and communities they want rather than having to settle for less. So Foreclosure.com is doing its part to make that happen with this special program…. The prices are right. It’s only a matter of time before the market begins to rebound, mortgage rates start to climb and the government incentives expire. Foreclosure homes are also being gobbled up at a break-neck rate. The time to buy really is right now.”
If you are a “Hometown Hero” and are interested in taking advantage of this money-saving program from Foreclosure.com please visit www.foreclosure.com/hometownhero for eligibility requirements and to begin your home search today.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
PARSIPPANY, N.J. (April 08, 2009) — ERA Franchise Systems LLC announced a comprehensive distressed property training and certification program for all of their brokers and sales associates nationwide. This program will provide ERA® affiliates with the training necessary to help educate and serve current homebuyers with regard to distressed properties.
The goal of the training and certification program is to provide ERA sales associates with the knowledge and skills to handle all types of distressed real estate transactions through the Foreclosure.com Certified Foreclosure Agent program. The program offers training and recognition to real estate professionals on numerous topics, including short sales, pre/post foreclosures, REO auctions and other related investment options that fall under the distressed real estate umbrella.
“Sales associates today need to know how to handle and closevarious real estate transactions more than ever before,” said, Melody Bohrer, vice president of education, ERA Franchise Systems LLC. “Certified Foreclosure Agent training ensures that our sales associates are properly prepared, up to speed on the latest trends and have the skills necessary to be successful in this market.”
The education track entails a progression of online courses that sales associates can conveniently attend from their homes and offices through the internal ERA training platform on eCampus. ERA sales associates can access the Certified Foreclosure Agent program offerings and select the curriculum that is right for them.
Additional information on the Certified Foreclosure Agent program offered through Foreclosure.com can be found right here.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
The two-year anniversary of what is now your premiere resource for distressed real estate information and education, Foreclosure.com’s “Investment Exchange” newsletter, is almost here.
We’ve come a long way since our debut, which is the reason we want to reset and touch on things that you may have missed along our journey in our April 2009 edition.
Regardless of what we cover each month, whether it’s short sales or tax lien certificates or some other interesting investing method, our primary goal is to always provide you with the tools and resources you need to achieve your real estate goals, whatever those may be.
And what the all often boils down to is how to find the best real estate deals in your area. So that’s exactly what we wanted to touch on in “Investment Exchange Two-Year Review.” We’re going back to the basics!
To check out Investment Exchange Two-Year Review today be sure to click here.
Remember that “Investment Exchange” is a FREE resource that Foreclosure.com provides its site visitors. Sign up to receive the educational real estate newsletter each month at no cost right here.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
The lenders have had their day and now the administration is baring it teeth. The foreclosure crisis spells nemesis for Countrywide Financial Corporation in New Jersey.
As part of an agreement New Jersey will be apportioned $3.6 million from Countrywide. The latter has been blamed for having preyed on gullible borrowers, said Governor Jon Corzine on 2nd April 2009.
Half of the funds would be utilized to finance the foreclosure prevention measures of the state. The other half would compensate those who had lost their homes after making six or less number of mortgage payments. It has been estimated that 8,200 residents would benefit from these steps.
Last year Countrywide was taken over by Bank of America. It did not admit to having done anything wrong. But it agreed to modifying loans, monitor the borrowers facing trouble and give to those having to move out of homes they could not have afforded an amount of $2,000. Corzine said, “These are homeowners who, through aggressive sales and marketing of inappropriate or bad loans, have lost their homes or are in danger of losing their homes.”
New Jersey State had accused Countrywide of following irregular marketing techniques by selling costly mortgages with initial low teaser interest rates to people who could not afford it right from the beginning. It was inevitable they would default.
Countrywide declined to comment when asked to do so.
The money would be used by the state to continue with measures that had been given the green signal by the legislature in 2008 – free and occasionally mandatory mediation steps. By resorting to mediation it has been possible to persuade banks to modify the mortgages.
Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, of New Jersey Citizen Action (non-profit body working on behalf of the state) said, “Countrywide was our biggest predatory lender. They would refinance people into loans that had no tangible benefit to the borrower. They had every form of bad lending.”
To be eligible for loan modifications there are certain conditions – taking of certain kinds of sub-prime mortgages during 1st January 2004 to 31st December 2007 and whose loan amount is more than 75% of the current worth of their homes. They would also have to be delinquent or about to do so. The target is to see that borrowers do not have to spend more than 42% of their income on expenses related to property matters.
Countrywide has agreed to bring down the principal without charging interest for those borrowers who owe over 95% of the current value of their homes.
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April 17th, 2009 by admin
The goal of the Fed’s new loan modification policy “is to avoid preventable foreclosures.” It is a step forward, but it’s a short step.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
With a little tinkering the plan could not only create new housing opportunities for the poor, it could also reduce the stock of foreclosed homes, thus pushing up neighborhood home values.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
Foreclosure filings were reported on 803,489 U.S. properties in the first quarter, a 9 percent increase from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 24 percent from Q1 2008.
April 17th, 2009 by admin
RealtyTrac™ announced today a new service called RealtyTrac Renter Alerts that gives tenants advanced notice when the property they are renting enters into default or is about to be foreclosed by a lender.