Distressed homeowners facing the possibility of foreclosure are being targeted by unscrupulous individuals and companies under the guise of offering foreclosure help. Another couple in California has actually fallen victim to a foreclosure scam that involved paying a small fee in exchange for stopping foreclosure.

The said foreclosure company contacted the couple via a letter and promised the couple a way to stop foreclosure. Out of desperation, the Californian couple decided to accept the offer and paid the foreclosure rescue company $1800. This fee is supposed to pay for the mediation services that the company will provide. The couple was lead to believe that a short sale negotiation with the lender was in the works.

Of course after paying the fee, the couple was unable to contact the foreclosure rescue company and the short sale arrangement never materialized. For them, being taken advantage of by these individuals is worse than losing the $1800. They could not believe that there are actually people who try to profit from unfortunate situations.

Foreclosure scams have actually been on the rise in the past year ever since the mortgage mess erupted. One of the reasons why many distressed homeowners have fallen victims to these scams is that they believed that their mortgage problems can be remedied that easily. Other are simply too ignorant of their rights and the foreclosure process to make an informed decision.

It is very important for troubled borrowers to know that working out a deal with their lender is the first option they should explore if they really want to avoid foreclosure. Negotiating repayment terms does not really require the involvement of a third party as long as you are honest and straightforward with your financial capability. You should try to prepare for the meeting with your lender by sorting out your financial documents and working out a realistic budget.

Most cities and towns in Michigan are feeling the impact of the enduring foreclosure crisis. In fact, the jump in the state’s foreclosure rate is now being tied to the local economy.

It would seem that the increasing number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure correspond to the increase in unemployment rate. For the month of June, the unemployment rate has reached 8.5 percent. This percentage is considered to be the highest in the country, considering that the national average is at 5.5 percent.

Of course, this correlation is not surprising. When a person loses a job, the savings and other extra income goes to the purchase of food and payment of utilities. Mortgage payments are often delayed if not missed entirely.

In addition to this, the foreclosure crisis in Michigan can also be blamed on relaxed underwriting guidelines and predatory lending practices. Combining all these factors together has resulted to a recipe for a housing market disaster.

The local governments are not only worried about the impact of the growing inventory of foreclosure homes in home market values. There is also concern about increasing crime rates and accidents. In order to address this concern, some banks hire professionals to maintain the properties. This includes the cutting of the lawn and shoveling of the sidewalk during the winter months.

Of course, the impact on home market values can not be ignored. So called fire sales generally mean unbelievably low asking prices. Foreclosure buyers and investors are often on the lookout for these sales and would not consider buying other real estate properties. As a result, competition in the housing market has become tougher and sellers are forced to drop prices further.

Average sale price in neighborhoods such as Lansing has fallen by 23 percent in just one year, from $145,555. Such decline does not bode well for the local housing market.

If you look at today’s housing market, you will notice that there is more than enough supply of foreclosure homes for sale. The problem lies with the lack of buyer. There are those who are interested in making a purchase but have chose to wait patiently for better prices and larger selection.

Convincing a buyer to take the plunge is quite challenging especially if you are a homeowner facing foreclosure. With time against you, you will have to come up with marketing strategies to attract more buyers and improve your chances of selling your home before the re-instatement period is up.

• Improve Curb Appeal

The first thing that potential buyers notice is the exterior of your home. for this reason, you must check how your home looks from their point a view. Ask yourself if you are willing to buy a property that looks unkempt and ill-maintained on the outside. You should consider this question and work hard to make your home attractive at first sight.

• Get Rid of Clutter

Even if your home looks presentable outside, you can still lose a potential buyer if your home is filled with clutter. Keep in mind that removing clutter will make your home look bigger than it is. If possible, throw out broken appliances and furniture as well and go for a minimalist look. The important thing is that your home looks clean, organized and tidy. For sure, buyers will consider this as a sign that you know how to take care of your home.

• Emphasize Best Home Features

If your home features amenities such as a swimming pool or spacious backyard, you should try to make them the focal point of your home. If you can spare some money on some repairs or renovations of these amenities, you should not hesitate to do so. If not, you could always do the improvement yourself. Focusing on the best features of your home will let buyers see its distinctness from other foreclosure homes on the market.

According to the most recent US housing market data released by RealtyTrac, the number of homes that entered some stage of foreclosure has grown by over 50 percent in the last twelve months. For the month of June alone, there were actually 252,363 foreclosure filings.

Although the percentage of foreclosure filing went down by 3 percent compared to last month, the numbers are just too overwhelming to ignore. There were only eleven states, which did not experience any increase in foreclosure rate and the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis remain to be Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, California and Florida.

Troubled homeowners are actually dealing with a lot of factors that prevent them from finding a way to manage their mortgage problem. The high national foreclosure rate has already prompted the government to impose a tighter lending guideline, which in return resulted to sluggish home sales. In addition, the declining home prices, soaring fuel prices and weakening US economy have further added to the consumer’s burden.

There are actually very few options left for most of these troubled homeowners. Those who are considering selling their home are having difficulties finding buyers. Other homeowners who found themselves with more mortgage debt than equity simply choose to walk away and abandon their homes, even at the risk of having a foreclosure record on their credit history.

If the trend continues, the number of foreclosure filings might reach over 2.5 million by the end of the year. Experts and analysts observed that the industry’s and federal government’s efforts to curb the crisis in the housing market are being overwhelmed by the volume of properties in foreclosure.

For some government officials, the current problems in the mortgage industry could have been prevented if borrowers realized early on that they were taking out loans that they could not really afford. Such realization would have helped them avoid losing their home to foreclosure.

Reeling under the effects of Chicago foreclosure homes, the city has momentarily shifted into an undeniable silence. The silence is often broken by the noise of prospective buyers, police sirens trying to chase drug dealers and thieves. The story of the southwest corner of Humboldt Park in Chicago is no different as a number of homes are lying vacant while others have been torn down. Most of the foreclosure homes can be seen in Chicago foreclosure listings and only a handful of them have been bought by inquisitive investors or first time homebuyers.

The southwest corner of Humboldt Park is now the site of abandoned homes and buildings that have been not just grown creepers, but they have become a safe haven for drug dealers according to Deon Hughes Sr., who is the pastor of the non-denominational church. Truthfully, Deon Hughes Sr. has pushed and requested to have some of these buildings and homes sealed so that he can ensure the safety of the entire community of Humboldt Park. Some believe that this is probably the beginning of a bad era when more and more Chicago cheap homes will feature in the daily newspapers.

Some of the worst hit areas include the black dominated South Shore as well as the white dominated Jefferson Park, although the minority communities are suffering the most. Half of the Latino and black population in Chicago have taken a major brunt of foreclosures and now most of their properties to have been declared as the Chicago bank owned homes.

Actually, due to the ever increasing foreclosures, cafes and restaurants have also taken a hit. Small around the corner cafes that used to be busy places with couples, lovers, friends and families pouring in for a quick bite have seen less faces since December 2007. The complete sales have gone down by 15-20 in some of the places.

People have stopped spending money and the worst of all is that they are living in their own homes in the overwhelming fear of foreclosures.

Governor John Lynch of New Hampshire signed a new bill, HB 1286, in an effort to curb rising foreclosure rate in the state. The said bill requires the licensing of mortgage originators in order to discourage them from aggressive lending practices. It was authored by Senator Lou D’Allesandro and Representative Tara Reardon.

According to the New Hampshire governor, the new law will help protect consumers from foreclosure. Statewide, the number of homes that entered some stage of foreclosure has soared over the past year. It is believed that the primary reason involved mortgage lenders and brokers who took advantage of borrowers during the most recent housing boom.

With the new law, mortgage originators will recognize their important obligation to their clients and will make sure that all standard guidelines and regulations are followed. This is actually the second step that the state government has taken in response to the enduring foreclosure crisis. Last year, a law involving new regulations and standards on pre-foreclosure transactions, penalties for scam artists and requirement for foreclosure consulting firms to provide greater disclosure was implemented.

In addition, the New Hampshire Banking Department has established a hotline which consumers and troubled homeowners may call if they need answers to mortgage-related questions. The hotline is manned by well-trained and highly-knowledgeable staff, who will guide callers accordingly.

Nationwide, local governments have been forging ties with non-profit organizations in order to provide assistance to distressed homeowners. As the foreclosure crisis endures, many homeowners find themselves with mortgage debts that are no longer manageable. To make matters worse, the skyrocketing prices of fuel has made it even more difficult for these homeowners to prioritize mortgage payments, choosing instead to allocate their money for food and utilities.

For the month of May, the foreclosure rate of New Hampshire posted a 71.14 percent increase from the same period last year, with one filing for every 873 homes.

In Columbus, Ohio, election officials are becoming worried about the possible problems that might arise when voting day comes. Registered voters who have lost their homes to foreclosure might endure some inconveniences since their addresses are now different. In addition, their provisional ballots might not be counted if they fail to make the necessary changes.

For local officials, this is a serious issue. During the 2004 election, the state of Ohio actually provided a 118,000 vote victory for President Bush, allowing him to get the electoral votes needed to swing the election.

Last January, the Franklin County Board of Elections actually sent out 27,000 notices to residents who filled-out change of address forms but have not yet returned to complete the voter registration process. According to the board, the responsibility of updating information lies with the voters and not the county. The responsibility of the county only involves removing registered voters who have not voted for the past eight elections. This includes voters who have passed away.

During Election Day, voters are required to provide any proof of identification. If the information on the voter registration form is not updated, it could really cause much inconvenience.

Election officials have also reason to be worried about the effects of foreclosure on voting rolls considering that the city of Columbus has the 32nd highest foreclosure rate among cities in the United States. The state of Ohio, on the other hand, has the 9th highest foreclosure rate among states for the month of May.

Of course, states such as Nevada, California, Florida, Michigan and Florida have the same concern with their voting polls especially with their large number of foreclosure filings. Nationwide, foreclosure rate for the month of May rose by 48.32 percent compared to last year, with one foreclosure filing for every 483 households.

Last year, the San Diego housing officials got a surprise, and it was not about managing San Diego foreclosure homes; it was about managing the few hundred rental units in the city. Yes! San Diego has the freedom to withdraw from the public housing program run by the federal government. The truth is that San Diego City has a much bigger problem on its hands, bigger than auctioning San Diego cheap homes. It is suddenly face-to-face with the financial burden of managing these rentals.

According to recent news, the advocates for affordable-housing have given a warning to the San Diego City Council stating that the proposed business strategy by Housing Commission might lead to a spend of less dollars on the needy households of the city. The San Diego City Council has approved the plan but at the same time, it has instructed their commission to bear in mind the obligation it has towards specific households who are unable to afford high cost of housing.

Tom Scott, executive director of the San Diego Housing Federation said, “Our concern was that the commission would charge rents all the way up to market rate regardless of what income the commission would need.” He also mentioned that the rents for the public housing units will see an increase, but it will not be as high as proclaimed earlier. This decision has also been made keeping in mind the fact that there is an increase in the San Diego bank owned homes due to foreclosure and so more and more people need homes on rent.

One of the important aspects of this financial strategy is the proposal for creating 350 new affordable dwellings for low-income households or those who annual median income is around 63,200 for a family of four people. The only thing that needs to be seen is whether the city can manage all this as the number of homes in San Diego foreclosure listings keep on increasing.

In the rising tide of foreclosure, the good news of homeowners in Dallas and other parts of North Texas is that there is a slowdown in the number of Dallas foreclosure homes. However, at the same time, analysts who have been tracking various home loan/mortgage defaults believe that people should not go by these temporary figures as the situation can change for the worse in the coming months. This is just an assumption!

June 2008 has been a fairly good month for Dallas homeowners as there has only been a 3 increase in foreclosure listings and there are less the Dallas bank owned homes up for sale. This rise is lesser than what Dallas has seen in the entire period of last year. George Roddy, president of Foreclosure Listing Service said that this is a welcome change but at the same time, he underlined his fear stating that it might just go up in the coming months.

In the first 6 months since January to June of 2008, the Dallas foreclosure listings showed an increase of 20 as in comparison to 2007. According to some of the industry experts, around 25,000 homes have been schedules for foreclosure in the coming months of 2008. Even if the statistics of June are taken into consideration then it can be seen that around 3,800 homes have gone for forced sale, which accounts for a 13 increase from May 2008. There are many more Dallas cheap homes that will be put up for auction in July. Experts believe that Collin County in Dallas Area is the worst hit as the foreclosure postings have gone up by 17 as compared to June 2007. On the other hand, Tarrant County has seen a dip of 1 in foreclosures while the rate of Dallas County foreclosure homes has been quite flat since last year.

Therefore, the fact of the matter is that there could be another increase in the rate or there could be many more dips but then that is for time to tell!

The deepening problems in the housing and mortgage industries have not only resulted to millions of homes in foreclosure. The unfortunate situation has also given birth to thousands of foreclosure counselors, who are working with local governments and non-profit organizations, in order to provide assistance to troubled homeowners facing foreclosure.

This week, hundreds of foreclosure counselors are attending a convention in Denver to brush up on their skills and receive certification so that they could meet the increasing demand.

In Colorado, the number of foreclosure filings has risen dramatically over the past year, putting the state at the number ten spot among states with highest foreclosures rate. The said list included the states of Nevada, California and Florida.

The said convention has attracted foreclosure counselors from over 34 states. It will basically be a training convention, under the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling program. This particular program has a fund amounting to $180 million and aims to help at least 400,000 families.

Administered by the non-profit organization, NeighborWorks America, the foreclosure counseling program also aims to provide Americans with easy access to homeownership as well as affordable and safe rental housing.

Foreclosure counseling programs and workshops have become popular among troubled homeowners especially those who are having trouble understanding the foreclosure process. As you know, the foreclosure process varies from state to state. These workshops are also effective in identifying victims of mortgage fraud that includes falsification of information in loan applications.

Aside from these, foreclosure counselors also work as mediators between lenders and borrowers in order to work out a solution that will be beneficial to both parties. According to recent data, the most popular option that lenders and borrowers are agreeing to is the repayment option. Many foreclosure counselors believe that this is just a short-term solution and they usually push for a loan modification option instead.