Archive for 'Nevada'

Nevada Chief Justice James Hardesty is concerned about the flood of bank foreclosure property mediation requests that courts will have to handle in the coming months. He expects as many as 1,500 requests for mediation each month.

Already, the courts are preparing for the possibility that they would be deluge with requests for foreclosure prevention mediation after the Nevada Supreme Court held the first public hearing. The Supreme Court created the rules for foreclosure mediation sessions in the state.

Under the law, a distressed homeowner who is a recipient of notices of default has the option to request for a chance to talk with the lender to explore possible ways to reach a mutually agreeable resolution on the bank foreclosure property problem. A trained mediator will be present to help in the negotiation between the troubled homeowner and the lender.

Justice Mark Gibbons has called on lending institutions and banks to be flexible and to make the foreclosure mediation program a success. He pointed out that one troubled homeowner’s case is unique from the other. He suggested to lenders to consider providing short-term refinancing so that homeowners could wade through the economic crisis.

Meanwhile, Hardesty explained that the bank foreclosure property mediation law does not cover existing foreclosures, meaning homeowners who received notices before July 1 of this year do not have the option to request for foreclosure prevention mediation.

However, he said that as soon as mediators were able to manage their expected caseloads, the Supreme Court may take actions to start the process of voluntary mediation for homeowners who received notices before July 1.

Under the mediation rules, lenders and distressed homeowners will both shoulder the fees of mediators, with a maximum assessment of $200 to each involved party. The Supreme Court is expected to adopt the mediation rules on June 29.

The court plans to locate the mediation sessions in Las Vegas and a director will be hired to manage the mediation program. Already, there are 19 pending applications for the position of director of the mediation program.

The initial mediation sessions will be handled by settlement judges and senior judges. So far over 350 lawyers have signified their interest to serve as mediators.

A second public hearing for the bank foreclosure property mediation is scheduled on June 26, 2009 in Las Vegas, with the first mediation session expected in August.

A five-bedroom foreclosed home for sale in Sparks, Nevada represented one American family who has lost a home.

But it also represented the fulfillment of the dream of one Brazilian American couple who saved money for over three years to be able to make a significant down payment for their first home.

The Garcias are among couples who have chosen Sparks to be their community. The Garcias preferred Sparks because of the affordable price level of homes and the feeling of community that they feel when they go around.

According to Dickson realtor Pam Eikleberry, she has been seeing more and more people planning to buy their first homes and investors choosing foreclosed home for sale properties in Sparks. The increase in foreclosed home for sale properties in Spanish Springs also added more purchase options and made more prices more attractive.

Real estate analyst Chris Barnes affirmed Eikleberry’s observation. He said the number of younger buyers is increasing and he attributed the increase to the federal tax credit of $8,000 and the bargain foreclosed home for sale prices.

A rising number of cash investors are also being observed in Sparks, according to Eikleberry. The investors are looking at foreclosed home for sale units in Spanish Springs, in D’Andrea and in areas near the Katherine Dunn Elementary School.

Cash investors have the edge, Eikleberry said, because they can buy at further discounts and they are not hampered by the tightening credit situation.

She said that banks usually reject borrowers with a credit score lower than 580 and they require a down payment of 3.5 percent of the loan amount or higher. She added that banks no longer offer the risky loans that were easily given to borrowers during the housing boom.
Zero down payment loans are no longer offered, except for low-income families participating in state-sponsored housing programs.

The Garcias however did not have a problem with their credit score. The couple said they have steady work and good credit. They were able to negotiate for a lower loan rate because they have been working since they arrived in the U.S. eight years ago. The man of the house, Luiz Garcia, has established his own business in construction.

It took several months for the Garcias to finally find a home they could afford. They said they feel bad about the foreclosures, but the down housing market made their foreclosed home for sale affordable.

The experiences of Ian Hirsch, manager of Fortress Credit Services, as a foreclosure prevention professional and debt adjuster in Las Vegas, illustrate the conditions of foreclosed homes and the difficulties faced by distressed homeowners and debt professionals like him in Las Vegas and in the state of Nevada.

Hirsch’s company is one of just two licensed Nevada-based debt adjustment and foreclosure prevention companies in the state. He has ten personnel and has accepted almost 300 clients troubled by the possibility of their houses becoming foreclosed homes.

Hirsch and his staff members call banks and other mortgage lenders and persuade them to modify the loans of their clients. They used all kinds of badgering and aggressive responses to sway lenders to modify loans and reduce their inventory of foreclosed homes.

Even if Hirsch does not advertise his service, he gets lots of clients because of personal referrals and recommendations. About one-third of the cases he has accepted are already solved and none of them lost their homes to foreclosures.

About half of Hirsch’s clients are already in default. The other half are still current in their payments, but the lenders refuse to modify their mortgage loans because they are still updated.

Hirsch said most of the mortgage lenders have not yet worked out how to implement Obama’s foreclosure prevention program. He said some of those he has called are not even sure about clear provisions like the 30 percent of income issue–about whether it is gross income or net income.

Aside from cases where the borrowers are not yet in default, Hirsch has also difficulties helping underwater borrowers who are not yet in default but are struggling to pay.

According to a report from data analysis company First American CoreLogic, over 234,000 houses in Nevada are underwater loans, or homes valued much less than their mortgage balances. Steve Bottfeld, a top executive of housing consultant Marketing Solutions, said most properties purchased from 2004 to 2007 in Las Vegas are now underwater.

Also, Las Vegas had 8,406 foreclosure filings in February, based on RealtyTrac’s research. The city’s foreclosure rate is 1 in every 50 housing units, 7 times the average foreclosure rate nationwide. The city’s number of foreclosed homes accounted for most of Nevada foreclosures, making Nevada among the top ten states in number of foreclosed homes.

In conclusion, Hirsch stated his contention that the number of foreclosed homes will increase and that it would take many months before mortgage lenders can create a consistent approach to mortgage loan modifications.

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Time is running out for 2.2% of Nevada’s homeowners who are in peril of losing homes to foreclosures. This equates to several thousands of possible foreclosure homes with ongoing eviction processes expecting completion within days, weeks and months.

With this looming threat, distressed homeowners became more frustrated when they have not yet received a concrete bailout plan from a government briefing with the Las Vegas City Council members regarding this crisis on foreclosures. Thousands of beleaguered homeowners watch helplessly as delinquent payments pile up for months especially those with adjusted mortgage rates. Fear and tension permeates the air as the much publicized government bail out plan may come in too late.

Nevada homeowners, in a race against time, are seeking all means in getting financers to bail them out from foreclosures. Mortgage companies can do nothing in this area except give advice to owners to sell their homes. This may not be a very good idea. With the current financial crises, home prices have plummeted to record low levels. Homes that were bought for $200,000 have lost much of their market value and can only be sold at half the price.

The Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS) of Nevada, a non-profit agency, are trying ways to support homeowners facing this crisis by helping them explore possible options and solutions to avoid foreclosed homes. However, they made it clear that financial support to individuals and families may not happen. All they could do is to provide guidelines and educate homeowners on how to deal with this problem.

With the amount of homeowners facing foreclosures and are desperate to get help, the CCCS and other non-profit counseling agencies are swamped with requests for services which are more than they can handle efficiently. With the volume of free services demand, appointments with counselor may take up to four weeks before they can be served. There may not be enough time to handle all consumers, and some may end up finally losing their homes.

Search for Foreclosures for Sale by Nevada Top Cities:

• Las Vegas Foreclosures
• North Las Vegas Foreclosures
• Henderson Foreclosures
• Reno Foreclosures

The numbers of homes in the Las Vegas housing market have gone down in July to below an eight month supply, a possible reason since homes that have existed on the market have reached their highest mark when it comes to sales, in close to two years.

At 2007’s end, there was a twenty-two month supply of homes in Las Vegas. A report released recently bears more positive signs for the housing sector, for a reduction in inventory will lead to recovery in the current foreclosure crisis. This good news though, is not without a price, the homes that have sold to have sold at the lowest prices since the early part of 2004.

The number of existing homes sold in July, 2008 saw a 56 increase when in comparison to the sales of homes in July, 2007. July, 2008, had 3,173 sales and July, 2007, saw 2,027 selling. This July has seen the highest number of sales in 2008, crossing the 2,672 homes selling in June. When it comes to sales, this July was better than any other month since September 2006. The worst month this year was February, according to the report.

The last three months have seen Las Vegas averaging at 2,600 closings per month. Prices, though, have fallen. The 3,173 homes that were sold in July had a median price of 210,000. This price, since, March ‘04, was the 2nd lowest. The report also said that the median price of homes in Las Vegas hasn’t gone below the 200,000 mark since February, ‘04.

The primary reason for the decline in prices can be attributed to sales involving bank owned properties. Of all the homes that were sold in July, ‘08, 61 were bank owned, and their median price stood at 193,000. The median price of remainder of the 39 was 235,000. With prices of homes going down, and buyers buying their first homes receiving up 7,500 as federal money, foreclosure homes, this should be a welcome sign.

Start your search for Foreclosure Homes in Nevada by Top Cities:

• Las Vegas Foreclosure Homes
• Henderson Foreclosure Homes
• North Las Vegas Foreclosure Homes

Nationwide, there were over 430,000 homes entering some stage of foreclosure during the first quarter of the current year. Leading the nation is the state of Nevada with 11,514 homes. The state posted a rate of 1 out of every 75 homes. Compared to 2006, the number of Nevada foreclosure homes has already increased by 128.59 percent.

The significant increase in the number of Nevada homes in foreclosure brings into focus the current problem regarding mortgage approval guidelines. It has been discovered that many individuals were approved for these mortgage loans during the housing boom. Unfortunately, these borrowers had poor credit and were approved for loans which carry higher than average interest rates. In addition, most of these borrowers took out mortgage loans with adjustable interest rates that were set to increase every two or three years.

Unfortunately, the prevailing high interest rates and rising cost of living would make it difficult for homeowners to fulfill their mortgage payments. In the end, their homes are repossessed.

The growing number of Nevada foreclosures is also causing lenders to worry. Foreclosed homes that are not sold during foreclosure sales are placed in the lender’s possession. The lender would have to shoulder holding costs that include maintenance, insurance payments and taxes. Buyers who show interest in buying or investing in these Nevada foreclosures are delighted when these homes are sold for a fraction of what they cost in the market. Sellers compete by slashing prices and offering great deals for these properties.

To attract even more buyers, these sellers enter into listings contract with reputable real estate brokers like Foreclosure Deals. These brokers have foreclosure listings that feature amazing foreclosure homes for sale nationwide. In fact, many seasoned real estate investors consider these listings as important tools for searching potential bargains.