It’s estimated that the average person who was foreclosed by the following banks will receive $1500-2000 in the settlement. If the below lenders foreclosed on you lately, you may be eligible to receive these funds.

What banks will this effect?

• Ally/GMAC
• Bank of America
• Citi
• JP Morgan Chase
• Wells Fargo

How will the Foreclosure Settlement Payout Affect You?

• About the Settlement: Learn more about the details of the settlement and find links to your state-specific information and contacts.
• Help for Borrowers: Learn how to find out if your loan is affected by this settlement and how you will know if you are eligible.
• News: Read the national news release.

Follow our blog or like us on Facebook to keep up on the latest news regarding this important legislation!

This is great news for investors who purchase in major foreclosure markets in the participating states as they should see a significant impact on foreclosure prices and inventories.

Just in time for the Spring home-buying season, look for numerous foreclosures to go to auction, back to the bank, and end in REO status.

Great Time To Purchase Investment Property

REO-heavy markets create a special opportunity for alert investors because the inventory increase should cause a temporary dip in prices. The perfect investment opportunity The biggest impact is expected to happen in judicial states: New York, Illinois, Florida, New Jersey, and Ohio. Check out our Featured Investment Opportunities.

The promise of a smoother, faster-moving, more logical, less paralyzing foreclosure process will be a welcome improvement.

Owners that are underwater on their mortgages may have a chance to refinance with new Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP 2.0.

“HARP is designed to help you get a new, more affordable, more stable mortgage. HARP refinance loans require a loan application and underwriting process, and refinance fees will apply.” – MakingHomeAffordable.gov

You will have to check with your mortgage company to see if they participate in HARP, because not all do.

Contact Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac for help in determining if you may be eligible.

The program doesn’t start until March, but you might want to get a head start and beat the rush. Just like with any refinance, shop around. Researching what several lenders are offering will get you the best deal.

Ready to get the best deal on buying or selling real estate investment property in Palm Beach County, Florida?

Call us today at 800-999-6608! We have agents standing by to help you from 8 am to 10 pm, seven days/week.

If you are employed but struggling to make your mortgage payments on your investment home, there is good news.

The revamp to the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) not only triples the monetary incentives the government pays to lenders to reduce loan balances on underwater mortgages, but eligibility will be extended to investor-owned homes that are used as rental properties.

“Treasury will expand eligibility to include properties that are currently occupied by a tenant as well as vacant properties which the borrower intends to rent.”

- Read the announcement on Treasury.gov

Provided this program works, it’ll help a lot of landlords!

We’re following it and will keep you posted. For help finding the right lender, contact us now at broker@624home.com

Why? Between legal issues with lost and forged documents, and an aggressive push to work with homeowners willing to ‘short sale’, most banks simply didn’t file as many foreclosures this year.

Is last month’s 50% increase in foreclosure filings in Palm Beach County a new trend?

Most people agree it signals the start of a new wave of foreclosures that will continue throughout 2012. The demand to buy most foreclosures has been extremely strong this year. While that trend continues, the impact on our market values should be minimal. The rest of the world knows that South Florida doesn’t go on sale very often, and they’re scooping up deals as quickly as they become available!

There’s a few problematic areas and developments that should be avoided due to high crime or horribly managed community associations. Each week we’re meeting foreign investors who have just bought ‘great deals’ on the assumption that they’ll rent easily. We’re then given the task of explaining that they bought in terrible communities that will be really hard to rent! What’s the solution? Buy your investments from an investment management company like ours!

I’ve been following real estate trends in our areas since Jimmy Carter was president, and I KNOW what to buy – and what to AVOID like the plague! Don’t buy somewhere else and then come see us – buy here today! Our staff of well trained agents and managers is busy helping smart investors acquire and manage portfolios of profitable rental properties, and we’re ready to help you too.

To learn more and tailor your investment strategy, contact me at 1-800-999-6608 or at Investment Opportunities in Palm Beach County.



Further reading: Palm Beach County Foreclosure Filings Up 51 Percent Last Month

Watch as we tour the finer rental homes of the island of Palm Beach, and see homes that rent for $60,000, $75,000 and up to $90,000 per month!

Interested in renting a home in Palm Beach County?

Browse our available rentals, or contact our leasing office anytime by calling 800-999-6608 and pressing 1.

In this report, you will see the trends of declining inventory, increased number of sales reflected as our market stabilizes. People from all over the world are buying south Florida real estate this year because they recognize value.

Florida is truly on sale right now!

Most homes, townhomes and condos can be purchased far below the cost to build new. Prudent investors recognize that fact and are acting quickly to buy in one of the nicest areas of the United States.

Two of my associates traveled to China in September to meet with investor groups that are actively buying as many properties as they can. One returned to form a REIT in which the Chinese will buy one hundred million dollars of Florida real estate. That’s remarkable, and this type of story is becoming more and more commonplace.

Will prices stay low?

With so much international interest in our South Florida market, will prices remain low forever? We’ve already seen a dramatic increase in the average price paid for condos, and I suspect we’ll see this trend in all types of ‘affordable housing’.

Be sure to check out our ‘hot deals’ in Featured Investment Opportunities. If you’d like information on these or other buying opportunities, contact us today.

Pending Sales Activity

At the peak, Palm Beach County saw as many as 3,000 filings/month back in 2009, so 1,000 new filings in June pales by comparison.  Back in 2009, short sales weren’t selling very well, and many foreclosures actually ‘went all the way’ to final judgement.  Nowadays that’s not the case, as many short sale contracts actually close, avoiding the need for foreclosure.  Why?  The lenders realized they’re far better off to cooperate with a short sale than take a house back in foreclosure, so we’re seeing far more homes sell in short sale than we did in 2009.

What does this rise in foreclosure filings mean to our market? 

Is this the beginning of a new trend?

First let’s look at  recent developments in ‘the foreclosure pipeline’, and then we’ll examine the market.

Palm Beach County Foreclosure Pipeline

The ‘robo-signing’ debacle put a plug in the foreclosure pipeline last year.  When our Judges learned that foreclosure mill law firms were essentially forging documents  required to foreclose, several large law firms went out of business, leaving most lenders without a Florida attorney.  Over the past year, several new law firms have taken over cases that were stalled in court, and begun filing new foreclosures.  In other words, the plug is coming out and the foreclosure pipeline is opening again.

Foreclosures that used to take one year to complete have been taking two years.  And on July 1^st of this year, funding in our courts was decreased and Palm Beach County courts are now understaffed.  With fewer judges handling more cases, the pipeline can only increase so much!

Palm Beach County Real Estate Market Update

The supply of lender mediated properties (foreclosures and short sales) on the market in Palm Beach County right now is the lowest it’s been in years.  With inventory dropping from a 24 months supply to an almost healthy 8 month supply, we’ve seen prices stabilize and actually go up in some areas. 

How will more foreclosures impact this market?

Over the years, I’ve used three indicators to tell me what the market will do.

• Cost to Rent versus Buy – Right now it’s still cheaper to rent versus buy most properties, indicating investors will continue buying property to rent out.
• Cost to Buy New versus Resale – The cost to build new construction is considerably higher than buying foreclosures, so look for strong demand to buy existing versus new homes.
• Cost to Borrow – Interest rates remain low!

With so many domestic and foreign buyers waiting to snatch up the ‘good deals’, it’s likely that any prolonged increase in the supply of lender mediated properties will be quickly absorbed in our market.

Listen as Cherisse Guialdo, one of our agents and property managers talks about what she’s seeing in our market.  Cherisse can be reached at Cherisse@624home.com or by calling (561) 283-0175.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to ‘subscribe’ to our blog or email list and be notified when the monthly market report is published.  For help finding the best properties to buy, contact us today.

Todd Breen

Broker/President

HomePropertyManagement

broker@624home.com

When this resident moved into her West Palm Beach rental property three years ago, the owner was current on his mortgage payments. As she relates in the video, she loved living in her professionally managed Palm Beach home, so when her lease came up for renewal, she stayed for two more years. Seven months ago, however, her world changed…

The Foreclosure Notice

Coming home to find a “John Doe Tenant” letter taped to the front door can be unnerving. The first response is often fear or panic, but it doesn’t have to be that way if you’re renting a professionally managed Palm Beach County rental home. When a property we manage goes into foreclosure, most of the time we are able to continue managing the property, taking care of minor repairs and maintenance.

How Long Does a Foreclosure Take?

Each situation is different, however from the time the tenant gets notice of a foreclosure it will usually take 6 months or longer before the foreclosure is finalized. Some of our South Florida foreclosure rentals have been in foreclosure for more than two years, while our residents continue residing there!

Will I Be Required to Move Out?

Until recently, banks would get immediate possession of a property when the foreclosure was finalized. When President Obama passed the “Save Our Homes” act, it gave most tenants the right to complete the term of their lease. Lately banks have been open to allowing tenants to continue renting the property, or will offer ‘cash for keys’ – an offer to pay the tenant to move and leave the property in good condition. And although we haven’t seen it happen at our company, sometimes a tenant will be required to move with 30-60 days notice after the foreclosure is finished.

What Happens to My Security Deposit

If you’re renting from a private landlord and your South Florida home is foreclosed, it may be difficult to get your security deposit back! At Home Property Management, we generally hold the security deposit in our company real estate escrow account, safeguarding it for you! As you can see in the above video, this resident was handed a full refund of her deposit when the bank took over the property. While we can’t always guarantee this will be the case in every situation, more often than not we refund the security deposit to the resident.

How Can I Know if a Property is Going into Foreclosure?

Whether you’re considering renting a property, or renewing the lease at your home, there are some simple steps you can take to learn if a property is in default. First, you can ask your agent to do a Liz Pendens search in the Multiple Listing Service. You can also ask the homeowner for a copy of their most recent mortgage statement.

How Can I Learn More?

It’s easy! Just scroll down and “Speak Your Mind”, asking any questions you want or contact us for more information.

The information provided on HomePropertyManagement.com website is not a legal advice. HomePropertyManagement.com site and any information contained herein is intended for informational purposes only as public service and should not be construed as legal advice.
HomePropertyManagement is not a referral service or law firm, and NO attorney-client or confidential relationship is formed by use of the site. Because of the rapidly changing nature of the law, we make no warranty or guarantee of the accuracy or reliability of information contained herein or at other sites to which we link. As legal advice must be tailored to the specific facts and circumstances of your case, information cannot substitute for the advice of competent legal counsel. It’s recommended you seek legal advice from a licensed attorney on any legal matter.

This Channel 7 News clip reports that Foreigners realize now is the time to buy real estate in Palm Beach County!

Yesterday the agents at our weekly staff meeting all agreed that prices have stabilized overall, and been increasing in certain areas.  That’s right – prices have actually increased.  Where?  In the areas where cash buyers are competing to get the best deals.  Condos that sold for $20,000 only a few months ago are now selling for $50,000.

How do we know it’s the right time to buy?

One indicator is ‘replacement cost’; if you can buy a property for significantly less than the cost to build it, you’re getting a good deal!  And our agents all know which deals are the good ones.

To learn more about buying the best real estate deals while the market prices are still so low, contact us today!