Housing Recovery – Page 5 – Miami Real Estate Attorney Blog

Problems Persist in Today’s Housing Market due to Foreclosures which Will Delay South Florida’s Housing Recovery for at Least Another Year

The housing bust hangover continues to linger over South Florida. Cumulative home prices are expected to decline between 6 to 8% for the next 7 to 8 months and perhaps bottoming out towards the end of 2011.

A main culprit behind the housing market’s continued struggles involves all of the recent scandals that have plagued our real estate market.

For instance, allegations of robo signing, fraud, documentation errors, issues with process servers, problems servicing loan modifications, and other similar issues, have prompted many lenders to slow down the foreclosure process which in turn has slowed down the housing recovery.

The slow down in the housing recovery ultimately means that the real estate market won’t make a full recovery for at least another year. The reason being is that the slowdown of foreclosures has pushed out the time frame when the real estate market would have gotten through the critical mass of foreclosures that would have led to stabilization. As a result of all these foreclosure related problems, that time frame for a recovery has now been pushed back probably at least another year.

Today’s current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida’s nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida’s housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Miami’s Foreclosure Defense Attorneys Continue to Push for Alternatives to Foreclosure to Help the Many Struggling South Florida Homeowners Facing Foreclosure

However, Florida homeowners who are struggling to make their mortgage payments may be able to get money from a billion-dollar fund run by the State. According to the Palm Beach Post, thousands of delinquent homeowners may be eligible to receive up to a year and a half worth of mortgage payments. Applications for this program called Hardest Hit will be available next month.

This will be the first time the billion dollar fund will be available statewide. Lee County homeowners were able to apply for the program while the State tested it.

The highest amount a person can receive is $35,000. Hardest Hit is aimed at unemployed homeowners or those who are working but don’t make enough money to pay their mortgage. The money can be used to make loan payments for up to 18 months and to bring delinquent loans current.

The State of Florida believes the program can help about 20,000 people. This is certainly a modest amount of help considering that about 19 percent of Florida borrowers are either in foreclosure or 90 days past due.

In the event a homeowner who accepts funds from this program sells his home within five years or falls back into foreclosure, they will have to return the money to Florida. However, paying back the State takes second place to paying off the bank and other liens on the property.

Since Florida started testing back in October, most major lenders have cooperated. This includes major banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase, and Citimortgage. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also provided directions to servicers regarding the State’s program.

Those who didn’t qualify for funding during the pilot program were denied because many had more than one property or owed more than $400,000 on their loan.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Homes Being Repossessed in South Florida due to Foreclosures Spiked Up in 2010

South Florida bank repossessions significantly increased in 2010 with an almost 80 percent increase over 2009. In total, banks took back 54,000 properties in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

Miami-Dade County had the most activity with 23,000 repossessions taking place. However, this should not be too surprising since Miami-Dade County also has the largest population amongst the three counties.

Broward County follows in second with a total of 20,400 repossessions. Palm Beach ranked third with 11,000 repossessions.

As a result, 2010 takes the prize and wins the distinction of producing the most repossessions since the real estate crash started in 2007. It was nearly double that of 2009 when lenders repossessed 30,400 homes. 2008 had 26,650 repossessions, and in 2007 there were 10,100. This figures certainly show us how the real estate market has progressively worsened.

The high 2010 figures are the result of a lengthy foreclosure process that began back in 2008. It is possible that the strong absorption of new condos may be laying down a foundation for a stronger rental market going forward.

Its expected that the annual rise in repossessions will not hold in 2011. Foreclosure filings, the first step to repossessing a home, were down in 41 percent in 2010. The drop, however, may be in light of all the “robo signing” allegations, and on going investigation launched by Florida’s Attorney General regarding certain law firms and other issues pertaining to process servers and service of process.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Real Estate Sales Increase in November but Foreclosed Properties are Still Driving Prices Down

The USA Today is reporting that existing home sales rose in November as compared with October. This is an indication that our housing market may be slowly awakening from its long slumber.

The real estate recovery, however, will continue to move in a rather uneven pace for the foreseeable future. While demand has steadily improved since bottoming in July following the expiration of the buyer’s tax credit, other factors are driving the rather uneven real estate recovery.

For instance, the glut of foreclosed homes continues to drive down home prices and continues to hurt demand for new homes. To illustrate this phenomenon one only needs to look at the numbers for the homes sold last month. During that time period, foreclosed homes sold at a 15% discount as compared to non-distressed properties. In short, foreclosed homes were selling for less than non-foreclosed homes, and, as a result, driving down prices as a whole.

Because of the large inventory of foreclosed homes still unsold, many anticipate that real estate prices will continue to decline through most of 2011. Indeed, many are anticipating that banks will repossess one million homes in 2011, and that is on top of the one million homes they repossessed in 2010. These foreclosed homes will no doubt continue to drive prices down in 2011.

Another significant factor driving today’s real estate market is job growth. Many economists are predicting that the US economy will add close to 2 million jobs in 2011. Until the job situation is truly improved, however, the real estate market, and recovery, will remain rather uneven.

Additionally, many homebuilders anticipate that 2011 will also prove to be a very difficult year. This year proved to be one of the worst years for homebuilders in decades. However, many homebuilders are claiming that the groundwork for a recovery has been laid because of the historically low interest rates, low prices, improving consumer confidence, and anticipated growth in job creation.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

High Unemployment Continues to Plague the Housing Recovery

A recent survey shows that Americans have a negative attitude towards the housing market recovery. More than half of Americans surveyed last month said they don’t believe a recovery will occur until at least 2013. Reports about robo-signers abusing the foreclosure process has contributed to this attitude. Another survey shows that about 70 percent of renters would wait at least two years before they would buy a property.

The current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. There are many factors contributing to Florida’s nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida’s housing market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them. There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

The underlying problem with today’s housing market is the continued high number of inviduals that remain unemployed. If unemployment rates stay high – like those we see in South Florida – then the housing market cannot recover. While the housing market is taking small steps toward a recovery, it will not fully rebound until unemployment is lowered.

Even those who are employed now are not buying homes. This is probably due to the fear of taking on the risk of a long-term financial commitment in a climate where people feel they could be next to lose their jobs.

A survey also demonstrated that more Americans are willing to walk away from their homes if they owe more on their homes than what it is worth. This typically referred to as a strategic default. Compared to 41 percent in May, 48 percent of homeowners with a mortgage would consider a strategic default today.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Miami’s Housing Recovery Is Being Impacted by the Growing Number of Foreclosures and the Ever Increasing “Shadow Inventory”

“Shadow inventory” is beginning to have an effect on home prices. According to the Miami Herald, the prices of existing South Florida homes increased as the number of sales dropped in October. This drop in home sales comes amidst a slowdown in foreclosures by banks due to alleged irregularities in procedures.

It is believed that this trend is temporary now that foreclosures have resumed. Nevertheless, the slowdown could lead to an increase in the amount of homes that are “shadow inventory” and slow down a long-term recovery. The term “shadow inventory” describes homes which have already been repossessed by banks, but have yet to be listed for sale.

In Miami-Dade County, single family home sales were down 6.2 percent from September and down 4 percent from last year. The only year-over-year increase occurred in Miami-Dade’s condo market. Condo sales were up 17 percent from last year, but down 9.1 percent for the month.

In Miami-Dade County, the median price for a single family home sold in October was $199,100. This represents a 5.9 percent increase from September. For October condo sales prices rose 8.4 percent to $107,000.

The increase in prices can be attributed to the fact that banks have dramatically reduced the amount of properties they list for sale with an agent. As such, since less lower-priced homes are being sold, median prices increased.

The long-term effects of the foreclosure suspensions are not clear. Some experts envision a years-long waiting period before the local housing market returns to a normal level. Others believe the effects will be minimal.
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EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Florida Leads the Country in the Number of Homeowners who are Delinquent in their Mortgages

According to the latest figures, Florida still leads the nation in the percentage of homeowners who are seriously delinquent on their loans.

Down from 20.13 percent, 19.52% of borrowers were either 90 days past due or in foreclosure in the third quarter. When adding in borrowers who are 30 and 60 days late, one quarter of Floridians are behind on their home loans.

Unfortunately, Florida holds the number one spot with a sizeable margin. In Nevada, the state with the second greatest amount of homeowners who are seriously delinquent, the rate stands at 17.83%. Illinois ranks third with a 10.77% of homeowners that are seriously delinquent.

The current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many parties in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them.

There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.

There are many factors contributing to Florida’s nation leading delinquency rates. They include a weak job market, weak economic recovery, and a major drop in home prices. Consequently, Florida’s real estate market remains unsettled in large part due to the continued foreclosure crises.

For instance, the economic recovery that is currently taking place is largely a jobless one. In fact, since 2007, when the recession began, South Florida’s workforce has only recovered to about 90% of where it was before the recession began. Since South Florida’s economy was so dependent on the housing market, it will likely take some time for South Florida’s economy to recover given the ongoing real estate crisis that is impacting all of us on a daily basis here in South Florida.

Additionally, another potential problem for our local economy, an economy that is still very dependent on real estate development, is that many lenders are increasingly reluctant to make new construction loans to developers. Now that certain tax credits have expired, coupled with the increasingly sluggish real estate market, builders continue to see stormy days ahead. Indeed, increasingly high unemployment rates, coupled with stringent mortgage lending guidelines, are keeping many prospective purchasers on the sidelines.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us today toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

South Florida Real Estate Values Continue to Plunge as Foreclosures and Short Sales Continue to Drive the Market

Real estate values continue to decline in South Florida as the local real estate market is still searching for its bottom.

Of all the South Florida homes that were sold between June and September, nearly half of them were sold for a loss. Specifically, 45.2% of all South Florida homes were sold for a loss in the last quarter.

The continued slide in real estate prices have further increased the amount of homeowners that are currently underwater on their mortgage. Since the peak of real estate values back in June 2006, home values have dropped 53.5% in South Florida. This has left almost half of all single-family homeowners underwater in South Florida. Put differently, approximately 42% of all single-family homeowners in South Florida currently owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth.

Many factors are contributing to the continued decline in real estate prices in South Florida. For instance, the continued high rate of foreclosures coupled with a weak job market are both continuing to influence housing prices, and the housing market, as a whole.

Short sales also continue to dominate the market. Indeed, sellers continue to slash their prices, making it a very attractive buyer’s market. In fact, many buyers are finding very attractive deals in this market. That is illustrated by the fact that nearly 21% of all south Florida home sellers reduced prices in the third quarter. Moreover, short sales and foreclosures continue to account for most real estate transactions and are currently accounting for more than 60% of all south Florida sales.

The current real estate market, and ongoing foreclosure crises, presents all sorts of issues that must be properly navigated by a struggling homeowner. Our Miami foreclosure defense lawyers have assisted many homeowners in buying enough time to reach the solution that is right for them.

There are many alternatives to foreclosure, and often times it just takes proper planning to properly navigate against the potential pitfalls. Help is often available to those who seek it.
—–
EXTENDED BODY:
Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Florida Remains Among the Nation’s Leaders in Foreclosure Filings

Foreclosures are a growing epidemic impacting not only many individual families, but the economic recovery as a whole. Whether your circumstance was caused by an increase in your interest rate, a loss of employment, decrease in income, divorce, death, or hospitalization of someone in your family, we can help.

Florida continues to hold on to its number three position for foreclosure filings in the country. In the third quarter, one in every 56 homes received a foreclosure filing. Nevada continues to lead the nation, and Arizona was second.

Florida foreclosure activity increased 12% from the previous quarter and was flat from a year ago, giving Florida the second largest foreclosure activity total, with a 157,026 properties receiving a foreclosure filing.

However, the recent moratorium on foreclosures, by several major lenders, in light of the “robo signing” revelations, will likely result in a reduction of foreclosures in the fourth quarter. Foreclosure activity in the 24 states that require foreclosures to be filed through the courts, including Florida, most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue plaguing many banks accounts for 40% of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36% of all bank repossessions.

Struggling homeowners should contact our office to meet with one of our Miami foreclosure defense attorneys today. As the revelations of improper “robo signing” continues to increase, those who are in danger of losing their home to a foreclosure should examine the situation, with the aid of one of our attorneys, in greater detail. The problems the banks are presently experiencing as a result of the “robo signing” allegations arise in large part as a result of foreclosure defense attorneys bringing to light the systematic fraud routinely committed by the banks, their employees, and their law firms.

Homeowners have many alternatives available to them to fight a foreclosure. But homeowners must be armed with as much information as possible to decide what is best for them regarding the ongoing foreclosure crises.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.

Wells Fargo Foreclosures Move Forward Despite Damaging Testimony by Their “Robo Signers”

Recently, lenders such as Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase and Co., and GMAC have halted foreclosures after they discovered their employees were signing affidavits without verifying any information.

As we have all ready discussed on this blog, many employees were signing hundreds of affidavits a day without verifying any information whatsoever. This practice has become known as “robo signing.”

Consequently, “robo signing” has called into question countless foreclosure proceedings in Miami, and across the country. Luckily, some banks are exercising due caution and suspending foreclosures in order to verify already signed affidavits. However, Wells Fargo is not one of these banks. At least not yet.

A Wells Fargo employee testified in a deposition in March that she signed about 300 to 500 foreclosure documents per day and would only verify her name and title. Wells Fargo will not stop foreclosures and says that it has not discovered any problems with the legal documents that have already been processed despite this testimony.

Although they claim their foreclosure affidavits are accurate, this is the second Wells Fargo employee to admit to improperly signing affidavits. In May, an employee admitted that he verified only the dates on up to 150 documents per day and relied on co-workers to ensure the accuracy of the rest of the information.

The recent disconcerting news about unverified bank documents is certainly a call for homeowners to contest foreclosures, even those which have already been completed. JP Morgan has set aside $1.3 billion in the third quarter to cover legal expenses, including foreclosures. JP Morgan initially halted foreclosures in 23 states, but is now extending their review to 41 states. As a result, JP Morgan Chase will have 115,000 cases under review.

Consider Your Options. Contact Us Today.

We have been successful in defending many foreclosure cases when given an opportunity to develop a plan to properly defend the foreclosure.

If you are on the brink of foreclosure, need a real estate attorney, or just need to assess your legal rights, please contact our office today.

Call us toll free at 1-866-518-2913 or at 305-263-7700.