This video report is from our Southern California KCET’s SoCal Local Connected blog.  It pointedly illustrates the impact of the foreclosures affecting our Southern California’s Inland Empire community. 

“Foreclosure is becoming a way of life in California with repossessed homes now dominating the real estate market.  One in every two homes sold last month in Southern California had been repossessed,” host Val Zavala recites in the story’s introduction. “Or to look at it another way, 700 families lose their homes every day.  One of the hardest hit areas is the Inland Empire.”

The story begins with a crew that removes everything left behind in recently foreclosed homes.  Families whose dreams of home ownership have become a nightmare leave behind pieces of that dream, including big-screen televisions, computers, furnishings, clothes, toys and family photos. The owner of the company that does these Trash Outs, as they have come to be known, says he has found everything from birth certificates to an urn with someone’s remains in homes that his company has Trashed Out.

The business owner says his business has grown from three employees a few years ago to 73 employees today; His company now cleans out an average of 15 foreclosed homes a day. He say he tries to donate things of value, but has trouble coordinating the donations and since he cannot leave anything behind, even valuable items often get thrown away.

The video also touches on a new practice of spray painting brown lawns green outside foreclosed houses, a family that is the lone holdout on a suburban cul de sac filled with Foreclosures and Short Sales, and finally two code enforcement officers who drain an abandoned pool of stagnant green water to discourage it from becoming an issue for mosquito breeding and West Nile virus.

via Video Marketing and Mortgage News Designed for Mortgage and Real Estate Sales.

Price SOLD

Type Single Story

Bedrooms 4

Bathrooms 2.5

BEAUTIFUL CUCAMONGA HOME!!!!!! VERY NICE SINGLE-STORY “BARRATT” HOME OFFERS 2,874 SQ.FT, 4 BEDROOMS 1 CONVERTED TO EXECUTIVE OFFICE, 2.5 BATHS, GRANITE KITCHEN COUNTERS, 20″ TILE FLOORS, UPGRADED LAUNDRY ROOM, BACKYARD PERFECT FOR FAMILY ENTERTANING. HOME SITS ON 21,700SQ.FT. LOT. A MUST SEE!!!!!!!

This special financing is available on Fannie Mae homes with this logo:

How does this breaking news affect you? 

The benefits of the Fannie Mae HomePath program include:

• Low down payment and flexible mortgage terms (fixed-rate, adjustable-rate, or interest-only)
• You may qualify even if your credit is less than perfect
• Available to both owner occupiers and investors
• Down payment (at least 3 percent) can be funded by your own savings; a gift; a grant; or a loan from a nonprofit organization, state or local government, or employer
• No mortgage insurance
• No appraisal fees
• FREE home warranty is included with the purchase.

Here’s the best part about this Fannie Mae special financing program . . . you could put .5% LESS down than qualifying with an FHA loan plus you DO NOT pay any Mortgage Insurance!

Investors they have not forgotten about you either . . .

The Fannie Mae special financing program is offering 10% down for non-owner occupied properties with NO Mortgage Insurance.  If you are looking for an investment home in the Inland Empire, this certainly beats the 25% down typical Investor financing available elsewhere.

Fannie Mae is even offering a Renovation Program that allows you to finance light renovations upfront and add it to the loan amount.  So if you find an Inland Empire Fannie Mae owned home with some vandalism issues, you can finance the repairs needed right in your purchase loan.

Here is a link to search for homes in your area >>

If you find something you want to take a closer look at, give us a call so we can discuss this excellent opportunity further!

“First and foremost, Freddie Mac’s REO Rental Option is intended to help cushion the impact of foreclosure on families who own or rent homes with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages,” said David M. Moffett, Chief Executive Officer of Freddie Mac. “At the same time keeping foreclosed properties occupied and in better repair will support local property values and promote a faster recovery in the housing market.”

Under the REO Rental Option, leases will be offered to current renters on a month-to-month basis at market rents or the rent amount they were paying prior to foreclosure, whichever is less. The rent for former owner-occupants will be the market rent, which will determined by the property management firm Freddie Mac contracted to manage the program.

To qualify, current tenants and former owner-occupants must be able to demonstrate they have adequate income to pay the monthly rental amount. The home must also meet applicable building codes, or can be affordably brought into compliance, to be eligible.

Freddie Mac will also explore loan modification options that may enable owner-occupants to retain ownership of their homes by reinstating their mortgage with modified terms.

“In about half of all foreclosure sales there is no conversation between the borrower and the mortgage servicer about workouts. Before starting the eviction process, we want to ensure there is one last effort to achieve a workout,” explained Ingrid Beckles, Senior Vice President of Default Asset Management at Freddie Mac.

In 2008 Freddie Mac approved more than 87,485 workouts, enabling three out of five of its seriously delinquent borrowers to avoid foreclosure.

Freddie Mac gives lenders servicing its mortgages broad authority to help troubled borrowers before they miss a payment through forbearance as well as provide permanent rate reductions, mortgage term extensions or other modifications to borrowers who are already delinquent. Freddie Mac workout options include the Streamlined Modification Program developed with Fannie Mae, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), HOPE Now and 27 mortgage servicers to expedite loan modifications for eligible borrowers who have missed three or more mortgage payments. (For more about Freddie Mac workout options, see freddiemac.com/avoiding_foreclosure.)

Freddie Mac was established by Congress in 1970 to provide liquidity, stability and affordability to the nation’s residential mortgage markets. Freddie Mac supports communities across the nation by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Over the years, Freddie Mac has made home possible for one in six homebuyers and more than five million renters.
###
For Immediate Release
January 30, 2009
Contact: corprel@freddiemac.com
or (703) 903-3933

• 13% of Americans will die before age 65
• 28% of Americans will face a long-term disability before age 65 and be unable to work and/or earn an income

Despite these facts, Americans are twice as likely to insure their lives as their long-term health.
Life insurance is important, but is much less likely to be redeemed than a suitable long-term disability insurance policy.

Consider that 1 in 2 personal bankruptcies is the result of costly medical bills from costly long term medical treatments.

Then, consider that 75 percent of those bankrupted families actually had health insurance coverage. At some point, health insurance companies stop paying for long-term care, shifting the burden to the injured.

A person with a long-term disability cannot work his usual job and cannot earn his usual income. Many families go broke because of long-term health issues and many lose their homes to foreclosure during times like these. Adequate long-term disability insurance can help prevent the financial distress of both of these scenarios.

Do some homework and find out if your employer offers long-term disability insurance that can help protect against a long-term medical crisis. Consult with a qualified financial planner o ensure that your individual coverage suits your short and long-term financial goals.

One major difference in the code is that lenders will be required to order appraisals from one central clearing house, which will in turn select an appraiser. The down side of such a process is that lenders will have little to no communication with the appraiser, which means there won’t be an opportunity to have a discussion or touch base with appraisers before they go out to appraise the house. The new code is intended to help assure that borrowers, home buyers and secondary mortgage market investors receive fair and independent property valuations.

In some areas, lenders have already implemented these changes, and in the next few weeks and months, more will have to begin the process.

HomeSteps will pay up to 3.5%** Buyers Closing Cost Offer

Buy a HomeSteps Home and save! HomeSteps will pay up to 3.5%** of the purchase price in closing costs for all offers presented on HomeSteps homes between October 23, 2008 and January 31, 2009. With our generous offer, homebuyers save money with each qualified closing! No coupon required.

To qualify for this great money-saving offer, just ask your real estate agent to show you the available HomeSteps homes in your area and include this closing cost offer at the time of your initial offer on a HomeSteps home. Then, upon qualified closing, you will receive your Ask an Agent buyer offer.

Don’t have a real estate agent? Click here to search for an agent near you! This offer only lasts until January 31, 2009, so make sure and Ask an Agent today about HomeSteps homes.

**Buyers Closing Cost Offer is valid only on owner-occupied, financed homes; a limit of 1% closing cost offer for owner-occupied, cash sales. Buyers Closing Cost offer must be mentioned to the HomeSteps Listing Agent at the time of initial offer on a HomeSteps home. Investor sales are not eligible for Buyers Closing Cost Offer. Promotion, bonuses, discounts and offers are not valid on auction or sealed bid homes. (Please note: HomeSteps will only pay up to 3.5% of your purchase price in closing costs, not to exceed the total closing costs. For instance, if your purchase price is $125,000, and your closing costs are $4,250, HomeSteps will only pay $4,250, an amount equal to 3.4% of your purchase price.) Seller reserves the right to remove any and all homes from this promotion at any time.

California is taking a very aggressive approach. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently announced that California has inked deals with number of lenders, including Countrywide Financial, Litton, HomeEq and GMAC, to streamline and fast-track loan modifications for distressed subprime borrowers.

California also is using state housing money to offer some bridge loans to help consumers rework their mortgages, and the state has created consumer protections related to foreclosures and lending. In addition, a number of California lawmakers back foreclosure moratoriums.

It is unknown if any actions taken by the California government is going to have any significant impact on home values or homeowners in distressed situations. 

Economists and the real estate industry are split on whether government intervention is the right solution. But we must all agree that no one really wins when homes are foreclosed upon; loan modifications offer better results for both the lenders and borrowers.  There is also a strong argument that government involvement only delays the market from bottoming out and turning around.

Heaven knows there is a lot of energy being expended ranting and pointing fingers.  That is getting us no where quick!  In my opinion there’s no quick fix out there to repair damages done by a lot of uninformed overspending,  personal and corporate greed.  However, we all have a vested interest in the Housing Market recovery.  Our continued success depends on it!  I am interesting in hearing some positive input on the steps you feel need to be taken / the practices you think need to be implemented to encourage a positive recovery.  Please share your opinions.

It’s time to utilize the creative and innovative marketing techniques of an EXECUTIVE, a REALTY EXECUTIVE, to minimize credit losses and increase your company’s profitability. Contact us by email or call us directly at (909) 476-9600 or toll-free at (877) 476-9600.

Here is a list of the Cities and Zip Codes to keep in mind anytiime you need an experienced team of Realtors to market your assets in the Inand Empire.