Archive for the 'New York Articles' Category

Those who have attended Rochester foreclosure auctions will likely know that dwellings like single family houses, duplexes, fixer uppers and apartment buildings are the most common residential structures offered in these events. But the popularity of mobile homes might soon increase the number of this type of residences in New York auctions.

While New York foreclosure auctions are dominated by regular-type family dwellings, some residents of the state have found that mobile homes offer them the best chance of acquiring their own home for a price that is not more than $200,000. Mobile dwellings, according to local housing statistics, have accounted for increasing numbers of affordable residences being sold and purchased in the state in the past few months.

Investors who usually buy foreclosure auction homes and are used to making their choices from different site-built residential properties are expected to pay more attention to mobile dwellings in the coming months as these types of houses become even more popular.

Even though mobile housing has not yet hit Rochester foreclosure auctions in big numbers, they are expected to soon comprise a large percentage of properties at auction as more people try to acquire homes for a cost that they can easily afford. Because of the increased attention that these houses have gotten, changes to loans provided to buyers have been announced by the Federal Housing Administration.

One type of loan offered to buyers of mobile residences is the chattel or personal property loan. Borrowers who opt for this type are often considered risky borrowers although they might have good credit histories. Because of this, not a lot of lenders offer this loan and government-sponsored mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not even buy personal property or chattel loans.

The FHA, however, has announced that it will now insure 90% of the losses that lenders may incur from chattel loans to make lending to mobile home buyers more secure. This move is expected to provide a wider market opening to low income and moderate-earning home buyers.

Although mobile dwellings are hardly staple items in Rochester foreclosure auctions, the changes implemented by the FHA are expected to bring these types of houses to the forefront of residential property buying in the area.

A recent effort launched by a group of tenants might have significant implications on Staten Island foreclosure auctions and on the rest of the foreclosure market of New York City. The group has demanded that the bank which owns the foreclosed building be made liable for repairs needed by the property.

Tenants at several buildings, which formerly belong to a real estate investor and were foreclosed in 2009, are demanding that mortgage holder Wells Fargo takes care of repairs to the buildings. The campaign launched by city tenants is expected to have a huge bearing on properties under foreclosure auctions in New York.

With urgings from the organized tenants, Legal Services NYC made its move by filing a motion in the ongoing proceedings of foreclosure and asking the judge to hold the bank accountable for the repairs needed by the buildings while the process of foreclosure is still ongoing.

Local officials have expressed support towards the campaign, stating that since the former owner was unable to pay the mortgage, Wells Fargo, being the lender, becomes the landlord and therefore is responsible for taking care of the properties and its tenants.

This outspoken call for additional responsibilities by mortgage holders is expected to affect properties under Staten Island foreclosure auctions and other foreclosed real estate being auctioned in New York City. This means that buyers of foreclosed properties would have to expect legal complications if they refused to take on the responsibilities of maintaining foreclosed properties in good condition.

Legal Services NYC officials have explained that getting involved in a foreclosure case to get help for foreclosed property tenants is the latest legal strategy. They further added that once this case goes into court; there would be a huge amount of pressure on banks and lenders that hold mortgages to shell out money for repairs. The case can also start a trend that could reshape the market for properties under foreclosure home auctions, market observers have revealed.

Properties under Staten Island foreclosure auctions, as well as other foreclosed real estate in various parts of New York, are likely to be affected by the case. Legal practitioners have stated that they are looking at other properties where lawsuits similar to the current case can be applied.

Search foreclosure auctions in New York cities:

• Foreclosure auctions in Brooklyn
• Foreclosure auctions in Jamaica
• Foreclosure auctions in Bronx
• Foreclosure auctions in Buffalo
• Foreclosure auctions in Hempstead

Rents are still unaffordable to many, especially to minimum wage earners in Brooklyn, despite the relatively high number of vacant units at buildings repossessed through Brooklyn foreclosure auctions.

Based on figures from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the rent for a two-bedroom unit in Brooklyn can be afforded only by families earning an annual income of $54,000, far above the median family income of renters in Brooklyn, which is $34,000.

Nationwide, rental apartments are also unaffordable to families earning minimum wages. Housing affordability analysts have contended that rental markets are affordable when rent accounts for not more than 30 percent of household income. The coalition, however, found that 71 percent of low-income families are spending 50 percent or more of their wages on rent.

What is exacerbating the situation is the drop in number of families earning the median income, further widening the gap between rental prices and what families can afford to pay.

In February, the number of homes in distress, including residential properties taken back by lenders from Brooklyn foreclosure auctions, increased by nearly 6 percent year-over-year to 495 filings.

Hundreds of units in buildings repossessed through public foreclosure auctions in New York also increased the number of vacant properties in the city, but these were not able to push down rents significantly to a level affordable to most. Problems related to maintenance and repairs in these buildings even prevented plenty of units from being rented out, cutting down the inventory of rentals in the city.

Compared to other states, however, the foreclosure crisis in New York is relatively controlled. On foreclosure rate charts, New York is down at 41st. In February, foreclosure postings in the state dropped by more than 29 percent from the previous month to 3,237 filings, and out of these, 559 were purchased back by banks through public home auctions for sale.

Bank owned homes comprised 17.27 percent of total filings in February, an increase from the 518 REOs in January, which represented 11.34 percent of total January filings.

Based on data from the Building Indicator Project compiled by the University Neighborhood Housing Program nonprofit, a total of 1,890 residential properties in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx were financially and physically distressed, reducing the number of rental units affordable to low-income and median-income households.

BIP analysts said that by tracking properties in distressed conditions and in Brooklyn foreclosure auctions, housing advocates and city officials can have a better view of what they need to do to help renters.

Search foreclosure auction in New York cities:

• Foreclosure auction in Bronx
• Foreclosure auction in Staten Island
• Foreclosure auction in Buffalo
• Foreclosure auction in Jamaica
• Foreclosure auction in Hempstead

We usually do not hear much about Staten Island foreclosure auctions compared with other metropolitan areas in the U.S. This is mainly due to the fact that the greater part of New York, including Staten Island, was able to ride out the foreclosure tide without too much damage on its housing market.

A beautiful three bedroom ranch house being sold in a foreclosed home auction in the Hamptons is a sign of the times.

Mirroring the foreclosure trend nationwide, two counties in New York have also experienced a rise in repossession homes filings for the first six months of this year.

New York Governor David Paterson has launched a comprehensive legislation that would deal with the rise in repossessed houses for sale and mitigate their effects.