Real Estate News: Attorney General Urges Extension

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATTORNEY GENERAL MASTO JOINS NATIONAL EFFORT TO EXTEND TAX RELIEF FOR DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS

Exclusion Estimated to Save $1.3 Billion Over Two Years

Las Vegas, NV – Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto urged Congress to extend tax relief for consumers who have mortgage debt canceled or forgiven because of financial hardship or a decline in housing values. Masto joined 41 attorneys general to sign on to a letter to U.S. House and Senate leaders today, urging them to extend the exclusion, which has been in effect since 2007 and which will otherwise expire on Dec. 31, 2012.

The expiration comes at a time when many homeowners nationwide are benefitting from the $25 billion national settlement agreement with the nation’s five largest loan servicing companies, which provides $17 billion in debt reduction and other relief to homeowners. The progress report on the national settlement released yesterday shows Nevada homeowners have received $907.9 million in relief, or $100,089 per borrower, so far. Many other banks across the country also offer mortgage modification and debt relief programs. "I urge Congress to extend this critical tax exclusion so that families in need are not stuck with an unexpected tax bill or deterred from participating in this historic settlement," said Masto. "Mortgage modification and debt relief programs provide real relief to Nevada homeowners fighting to keep their homes or trying to get back on their feet. Unless Congress acts, any debt relief to be provided in 2013 under the National Mortgage Settlement, as well as other mortgage debt relief programs, will likely be considered taxable income." Under the federal Mortgage Debt Relief Act, in effect since 2007, mortgage debt that is forgiven after a foreclosure or short sale or through a loan modification provided to a homeowner in financial hardship may be excluded from a taxpayer’s calculation of taxable income. This exclusion only applies to mortgage debt forgiven on primary residences, not second homes. An extension is included in the Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Act of 2012 (S. 3521), which recently passed out of the Senate Finance Committee with bipartisan support. Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen and Florida Attorney General Pamela Bondi led this effort for the attorneys general.

CARSON CITY – The deadline for a free, federal independent foreclosure review for Nevadans whose homes were in foreclosure in 2009 or 2010 has been extended to Sept. 30, 2012, Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said today. The previous deadline was July 31.

Reprinted with Permission from Nevada News Bureau via Creative Commons.

Ordered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve, the independent foreclosure review will determine whether individuals suffered financial injury and should receive compensation or other remedy because of errors or other problems which occurred during the foreclosure process.

“Do not wait until the extended Sept. 30 deadline to submit your application for a free and independent foreclosure review,” Masto said.

According to the OCC’s recent report, as of May 31, 108,687 Nevadans who are eligible for the review received a mailing and 4,267 Nevadans submitted requests for review.

Information about Independent Foreclosure Review may appear in this format in advertisements and postcard notices that eligible borrowers recently received by mail.

More information, including edibility and online applications is available at www.independentforeclosurereview.com or 888-952-9105 (between 8 am and 10 pm (Eastern), Monday through Friday, and between 8 am and 5 pm Saturday). All requests for Review Forms must be submitted online or postmarked no later than September 30, 2012. Not every finding will result in compensation or other remedy.

In first announcing the program on May 31, Masto said: “I encourage Nevadans hurt by foreclosure errors and who are eligible, to apply for a free review before the July 31 (now Sept. 30) deadline. In doing so, beware of anyone who asks you to pay a fee for any foreclosure review service and immediately report those persons or companies to my office.”

To be eligible, the foreclosure process must have been active between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 31, 2010. The property securing the loan must have been a primary residence, and the mortgage must have been serviced by: America’s Servicing Co., Aurora Loan Services, BAC Home Loans Servicing, Bank of America, Beneficial, Chase, Citibank, CitiFinancial, CitiMortgage, Countrywide, EMC, EverBank/EverHome Mortgage Company, Financial Freedom, GMAC Mortgage, HFC, HSBC, IndyMac Mortgage Services, MetLife Bank, National City Mortgage, PNC Mortgage, Sovereign Bank, SunTrust Mortgage, U.S. Bank, Wachovia, Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo, or Wilshire Credit Corporation.

More than 4.3 million forms and letters explaining the process were sent to eligible homeowners in 2011. Nevada residents who received a letter should be aware it is a legitimate program.

Anyone who wants to report an independent foreclosure review scam can contact the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Hotline at 702-486-3132 or visit http://bit.ly/NVAGComplaintForms.

Real Estate News: $25B settlement reached over foreclosure abuses

Feb. 2012 - A big national $25 billion settlement with the nation’s top mortgage lenders is promised to give relief for victims of foreclosure abuses. But consumer advocates say that actually very few homeowners will benefit.

Proponents say that the real estate settlement deal promises to reduce loans for underwater mortgagees who owe more than their homes are worth. The settlement is also supposed to send checks to others who were improperly foreclosed upon. But how much? The amounts are pretty modest.

Will the mortgage settlement and foreclosure settlement deal help struggling homeowners keep their homes or benefit those who have already lost theirs?

About 11 million households are "underwater," which means these mortgagees owe more than their homes can be sold for. The settlement proponents say it will help 1 million of them.-- Find out more. Read the entire article here...

Real Estate News: Nevada Home Prices Expected to Keep Falling

2011 - A survey of Nevada real estate agents shows that high numbers expect home prices will keep declining. 82 percent think so, according to HomeGain. The survey shows an increase from the prior number of 29 percent thought prices would decline, when they were asked during the first quarter of the year. That's quite a difference.

HomeGain also reported that their survey of Nevada homeowners found 63 percent said prices would fall during the next six months (only 3 percent expected an increase).

Most also thought homes were not fairly priced. Among home sellers, only about one in 3 (actually 37 percent) thought homes were fairly priced.

Nevada real estate agents were also critical of the performance of President Barack Obama, with only 18 percent approving of his performance. This number is really down a lot from the first quarter, when 44 percent said they approved of Obama's performance. So, what did Nevada homeowners think? 60 percent disapproved and 43 percent said strongly so.

Real Estate News: Buying Foreclosures

2011 News from RealtyTrac’s News and Trends Center. Here you will find the latest foreclosure trends and news, along with video, blogging, feature and opinion articles, and contacts for ordering custom foreclosure data.

Bank-Owned Buyer Survival Skills: Outwit, Outlast, Underbid

By Joel Cone, Staff Writer

Experienced Investors Share Secrets to Buying Unlisted & Listed REOs

As a real estate investor specializing in low-end condominiums in Orange County, Calif., Lin He knows the value of doing his homework and relationship building. They are the two key factors that have given him a jump on his competition when it comes to buying bank-owned properties — either before or right after they are listed on the local multiple listing service.

“Buying pre-listing REOs definitely is a viable strategy. In fact, it's my major property acquisition strategy for me,” said He. “It takes time to develop a relationship with the REO agents. They need to be able to trust that you’ll perform.”

The relationship strategy has worked many times for him. So well in fact, that sometimes he’s able to submit an offer immediately when the property hits the MLS, and other times he’s been in the situation where he doesn’t even have to make an offer up front. The agent just sends him the paperwork on the deal and he decides whether he wants to take it or not.

His focus has been not only on getting to know the key REO agents in the areas he buys, but also on building good relationships with the local homeowners associations, the property management companies that represent the HOAs, and even the neighbors surrounding the condos he owns. These relationships translate into a better chance that he’ll know early on about units headed into the foreclosure process.

Outwit Other Buyers
An investor in REO properties for 20 years and a well-known coach to real estate investors nationwide, Andy Heller believes working the unlisted bank-owned market is good for as much as a 25 percent to 30 percent discount before the property hits the MLS.

Utilizing a foreclosure listing service such as RealtyTrac, Heller teaches his students how to scan the lists of pre-foreclosure properties looking at location, amount and loan type as key criteria for sorting through properties. Next, the investor should identify 15 to 25 potential properties that are expected to go REO based on location.

While the larger banks don’t have to talk with you, and the chance of an investor getting in with the bank directly are slim and none, that strategy might be feasible with smaller, more local or regional banks. The key is timing, Heller noted.

“What you want to accomplish is to have the bank view you as an alternative to their normal structure of how they do things,” he said.

He suggests a three-step approach:

* Call in the days following the foreclosure sale but before the bank begins its normal process to market the property.
* Make a specific property inquiry for a single property based on your identified property list. Tell them you’d like to make a quick sale offer which will separate you from other investors.
* Say the right things. After telling them you’d like to make a quick sale offer, ask them for nothing more than access to the property and tell them you should have an offer on their desk in two to three days after that.

Heller said he calls 15 to 20 banks and expects that two or three will give him the time of day and grant him access to the properties. He ends up buying one or two properties a month that way.

Nevada is in the Real Estate News...

2011 This Just Came to us from RealtyTrac
PRESS RELEASE

Trulia and RealtyTrac Survey Reveals 54 Percent of American Adults Now Believe Housing Recovery Remains Unlikely Until 2014 or Later

In Wake of Congressional Efforts to Repeal Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program, 45 Percent of U.S. Adults Say Government Not Doing Enough to Prevent Foreclosures

SAN FRANCISCO 2011 – Trulia, a top resource for homebuyers, sellers and renters, and RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released the latest results of an ongoing survey that has tracked American attitudes toward foreclosed homes since 2008. Harris Interactive® conducted this online survey on their behalf from April 15 to 19, 2011, among 2,018 U.S. adults aged 18 and over.

KEY FINDINGS -

American Expectations for Housing Market Recovery Falters
As more cities across the nation experience double dips in home prices , more than half (54 percent) of U.S. adults believe recovery in the housing market will not happen until 2014 or later, according to the survey released today. In a previous survey conducted six months ago , 42 percent of American adults said they thought the market would turn around by 2012 or had already turned around. Now, only 23 percent continue to think this will happen.

“Most Americans, as our latest survey revealed, overestimated how quickly the housing market would bounce back, but when it does, it will likely be a long and gradual process. Looking at the recent double dips in home prices, I expect the rest of 2011 to be volatile for real estate,” said Pete Flint, co-founder and CEO, Trulia. “On the flip side, mortgage rates won’t stay low forever and even if home prices continue to fall for a bit, now is still a good time to enter the housing market. In my eyes, we have another 18 months until we start to see signs of price stability in the housing market.”

"Our survey reflects a growing perception among potential homebuyers that the housing recovery is still a long way off," said Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac. "Demand remains weak, loans are increasingly difficult to qualify for, and the shadow inventory of several million distressed properties is weighing down the market. All of these things need to improve before housing can recover."

The widespread prevalence of distressed homeowners facing foreclosures in today’s market is one reason why negative sentiment toward the government may be so high. Almost one-third (30 percent) of homeowners self-reported that they have or know someone who has applied for or received a loan modification, stopped paying their mortgage, foreclosed, walked away or short sold their home.

Expectations for Buying a Foreclosure - More than half of U.S. renters (56 percent) and 47 percent of current homeowners are at least somewhat likely to purchase a foreclosed home. Along with having some concerns about hidden costs, a risky buying process and loss in home value, many potential buyers expect to save money if they buy a foreclosure versus a similar non-foreclosed home. In fact, American adults expect to pay 38 percent less for a foreclosed home than a similar home that was not in foreclosure – not too far above the average discount of 36 percent on sales of bank-owned homes (REO) compared to sales of homes not in foreclosure reported in the RealtyTrac 2010 Foreclosure Sales Report.

Methodology - This 2011 survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive via its QuickQuery(SM) online omnibus service on behalf of Trulia between April 15-19, 2011 among 2,018 U.S. adults aged 18 years and older. The sample included 1,257 homeowners, 906 of whom currently have a mortgage, and 704 renters. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

Real Estate Resources: Selling and Saying Goodbye to a Home

Selling your home and saying goodbye can be a difficult experience, especially when it's combined with upheaval, which is often the case these days. The formalities and procedures can be frustrating and intimidating.

Like many sellers, you might also be wrestling with bittersweet memories and assorted goodbyes. In fact, your feelings can range from eagerness to become unburdened and move on, to anger and regret because you must leave your home. Yet, despite the iffy market or maybe because of it you've made the decision to sell your home and take on that other emotional roller coaster ride.

Deciding to sell is only the first of many decisions you'll need to make through a nerve-wracking process that can last months, so hold on to your courage. Whatever you may be feeling, or trying not to feel can make the experience worse by:

• Second guessing your reasons for selling.


• Having unreasonable expectations about the value of your home.


• Being defensive and angry about taking the steps needed for it to show well to prospective buyers.


• Keeping ideas, feelings, thoughts, and anxieties inside instead of talking about them with understanding people.


• Trying to sell your home on your own without understanding the amount of work, money, time, patience, and knowledge you need to handle it well.

Whatever your reasons for selling, there will be times during the process you will want to remind yourself of exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Here are reasons people frequently give for selling: