Home Foreclosures Rise

I'll be home for Christmas......if only in my dreams.

Sadly, but predictably, foreclosure activity has been rising across the country. Thousands of homeowners now face foreclosure in the New Year, as a result of flattening home prices and rising interest rates.

71,606 properties entered some stage of foreclosure this November. Translation, 1 in every 1615 households will lose their homes in the coming months.

In California, foreclosure activity has edged up 29% to 6051 new foreclosures, In November alone. San Francisco is seeing flat price appreciation and even a decline in prices in some area's. Orange county saw a 42% increase in foreclosure activity, coupled with a drop in home sales prices for the second consecutive month.

Novembers new foreclosure filings reveal that another 3668 homes in New Jersey face foreclosure; 1743 in Las Vegas, Nevada, up 156%; New York new filings up 33% to 4702; Kentucky up 100%; Indiana 2800 properties reported entering some form of foreclosure, a 32% increase; Ohio reported 4968 new filings, up 5.7%. Colorado and Georgia take top honors, as the nation's two highest foreclosure rates. Colorado reported 2687 new foreclosures, or 1 in every 681 households. Georgia didn't fair much better, reporting 4416 new properties entering foreclosure, a 28% increase, effecting 1 in every 701 households.

A Katrina/Rita brightspot? The Gulf Coast states were the only area of the nation with declining or stable foreclosure rates. The exception to the Katrina silver lining was found in the state of Flippers, previously known as Florida. Florida reported 8872 properties entering some stage of foreclosure, a 16% jump, with the dubious honor of reporting the most foreclosures by any state. Florida's present foreclosure rate is 1 in every 824 households, the third foreclosure rate average in the country.

Prediction: As payments on adjustable interest rate mortgages (ARMS) rise and home prices stabilize or decline, thousands of overleveraged, cash strapped homeowner's will suffer in record numbers. The foreclosure effect will be felt first in regions of the country, overrun with novice speculators. Unfortunately, the drag and change in consumer sentiment will be felt by all home sellers. Home sellers and Realtors will face tough competition from the deals offered by banks and lenders, anxious to dump non-performing real estate assets off their books, as quickly as possible.

The upside... flippers will return to the sea, the thousands of newbie real estate agents will return to their roots, and experienced investors with deep pockets and an intermediate time horizon will successfully build upon their real estate portfolio's for 50-80 cents on the dollar.

Affordable Cool Ceilings with Timeless Appeal

Easy Stick Ceiling Tiles make updating your stained or cracked ceiling a snap.

Lightweight decorative thermoplastic panels by ACP are a quick, easy and affordable way to dress up a boring ceiling. The panels are available in dozens of color finishes and embossed designs. The tiles are easier to install than metal tiles. Just trim the panels using scissors or a utility knife and then apply to the ceiling with adhesive. The product is also available in a suspended grid application for covering up those unsightly basement pipes, while allowing access to them in the future.

These ceiling products are available at Lowes and Home Depot. Read more about Acoustic Ceiling Products at http://www.acpideas.com

The second option in after market ceiling treatments is a product made by USG. Their Wavy Ceiling Treatments dress up a flat ceiling with some three-dimensional tiles. USG first launched the TOPO Systems for use in retail and commercial interiors, but now these curved, colorful panels are available for the home. The panels are offered in translucent or opaque styles in five colors. When combined with lighting, it makes an unusual accent where people least expect to see it.

Visit the USG website at http://www.usg.com for all the scoop on their exciting new products for the home.

Products and idea's such as these mean the sky is the limit on your creativity. When updating your home, buyers need to do no more than gaze upward, to see for themselves that your house stands out from the rest.

Seasons Greetings and Happy Home Selling to you all.

Donald Trump Sued by "Insane" Brokers

Donald Trump is being sued by three New York City real estate brokers for $1.3 million. The brokers, Barbara Corcoran, Carrie Chiang and Susan Madden, lawsuit claims that Trump paid them $2.7 million and stiffed them out of $1.3 million in commissions on the biggest residential real estate sale in New York City's history.

Trump purchased the 77 acres of riverfront and three buildings in 1994 for $84 million. He sold it to the Extell Development Corp. and the Carlyle Group, the investment cartel associated with the Bush family, for a record $1.8 billion in October, 2005.

The brokers alledge Trump made a killing and pocketed a third of their commission. Trump fired back that he owed the brokers no money---yet.

Trump said "The agreement is very clear. I only pay them when I get paid. For her to bring a lawsuit against me is insane."

Greed, need or loophole? Donald may have called it. These brokers may in fact be insane. Their agreement with the Donald included no date when the final payment to the brokers was due. Ouch and Merry Christmas.

Christmas Lights on Steriods. A Must See!!

And so goes the glitter and glam Inman News awhile back blogged about the home holiday light show of all home holiday light shows, which can be viewed (and heard) clicking here, http://www.hedonistica.com/media.php?path=http://70.85.89.52/%7Ehedonist/videos/christmas_house.wmv.

We're still not sure whose home this is or where it's located, but a reader in the area wrote in to say that the audio light show was broadcast on a low power FM station so the neighbors would not hear the music that goes along with it. "People driving by were told to tune to a 'talking house' type FM station to hear the synchronized music," according to the reader. The home's owners also only turned on the light show from 6-10 p.m. each day to maintain good relations with the neighbors and even asked neighbors and the police to let them know if it caused problems. But, "Alas, a car accident occurred near the display so the homeowners shut down the show," the reader wrote. "I don't think this qualifies as obnoxious." We don't either. We thought it was innovative and tres cool and are sorry to hear it's now gone. At least it's still online. .

Options for Delinquent Mortage Holders

Nearly 70% of borrowers behind on their mortgage payments are unaware of the workout options that are available to them. More than half of all delinquent borrowers fail to ever contact their lenders at all, this according to a study released by Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac conducted this study to find out why late-paying borrowers risk losing their homes instead of simply contacting their lender. 61% of late-paying Borrowers explained their lack of follow-up by reporting that they were unaware that there were a variety of workout options that could help them overcome short-term financial difficulties and possibly avoid foreclosure on their homes.

Delinquent borrowers have several options to explore before they lose their homes. One option is forbearance, which temporarily delays or reduces payments. Another is loan modification, which can restructure the payment term for a fixed period. These services are usually described in collection letters, but it is always up to the borrower to follow up and learn more.

"Part of the problem is that the data shows that there's a knowledge gap. People's interest in the options available to them is quite high, but their awareness of these options is quite low," said Elizabeth Armet, vice president, senior account executive at Roper Public Affairs. While the likelihood of successful foreclosure avoidance depends upon each individual borrower's financial situation, a 2004 Freddie Mac study concluded that repayment plans could lower the probability of home loss by 80 percent among all borrowers and by 68 percent among low-to-moderate-income borrowers.

If you are behind on your mortgage payments, the message is clear: when you get a phone call or letter from your servicer, don't ignore it, act on it. Pick up the phone, call your servicer and talk to them about the possibility of forbearance or some other repayment alternative.

One simple phone call may be your best chance to avoid foreclosure.

Housing Outlook for 2006

2005 was another record setting year for real estate and housing. In looking to 2006, we found two experts staring into their crystal balls and weighing in with their forecasts.

First up, Mike Sklarz, Chief Valuation Officer at Fidelity National Financial, offers his predications. (a) Interest rates will increase slightly or remain steady (b) West Palm Beach, FL is the most vulernable city in terms of price decline or stagnation (c) Most of California housing is also at risk for a market decline, but some more than others. CA Area's most suspectable to a bubble burst are Fresno, San Jose, Bakerfield and San Bernadino.

Prediction 2, offered by Dave Collins, VP of Broker Network for realestate.com predicts that (a) interest rates will rise slightly (b) homeowners with older ARM's will have to seriously consider refinancing, as the new rates crimp their budgets (c) Residential housing will slow to more normal levels. Expect increased days on the market and a return to normalcy (c) consumers want immediate response time when making an online inquiry about real estate. Agents should educate themselves about the shift to online marketing and the public's love of the internet with regard to property search.

To comment or offer your predictions e-mail tommi@infotube.net .

Selling Your Home "As Is"

Why do some sellers choose to sell their home "As Is"?

An "as is" real estate sale means that the seller will not pay for any property repairs, but must disclose all known defects to the buyer.

Typically, foreclosures, bank-owned real estate and tax-forced sales of property are sold "As Is". Also, individual home owners may choose to sell "as is" for a variety of reasons, such as, (a) they don't want to be inconvenienced or live a long distance from the property, (b) they feel the typical buyer for their home will want to tear it down or remodel to their own liking, (c) they simply can not afford to make the repairs.

"As Is" properties are generally priced below the market because they are in need of a lot of work. Sellers of "as is" houses should be aware that it is a "red flag" warning buyers that the property is distressed. Buyers expect to obtain a bargain price and their offer will generally be lower than the full market value of the property. The seller should note that the buyer will also make their offer contingent upon a satisfactory inspection report.

Conclusion: If selling "As Is", disclose all known defects; Expect low ball offers; Discount the property to compensate for its condition.

Website Grades Real Estate Agents.

Review your real estate agent's report card before you hire them. Home buyers and sellers can now rate and review the performance of their real estate agent at www.realtyrators.com.

The site, which is free to all visitors, features a directory that includes 85% of the Realtors across the county. Consumers rate their agent based upon 9 qualities: professionalism, responsiveness, availability, accountablility, knowledgeable, attentiveness, personality, salesmanship and marketing. Visitors are also encouraged to leave and read comments about their agent, along with their ranking.

Another website in this space is AgentRank offered by Realty Baron. Their system calculates a number of factors including, consumer feedback, experience and recent sales data. According to the site, agents with a higher ranking should be able to command higher commissions.

It's elementary. Consumers pay billons of dollars a year in commissions to their agents, ratings and satisifaction reports about the service they received is long over due. Accountability and performance based ratings work to increase professionalism in any industry. As far as the home selling and buying public is concerned, everyone may rest a little easier, knowing whether our Realtor earned an A or deserved an F.