According to Reid, Donovan has written him a letter informing him that HUD is sending three foreclosure response experts immediately to the HUD unit in Las Vegas and will be sending five more to assist the city in the resolution of its foreclosure problem.

Nevada and Las Vegas officials and lawmakers, including Senator Reid, got upset recently when Las Vegas did not get anything out of the $1.93 billion distributed to foreclosure-hit counties and cities across the country in the second-round allocation of Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds.

While fellow foreclosure-ridden states, Florida and California, got $348.31 million and $318.05 million, respectively, Nevada got a miserable $20.99 million, which was specifically allocated to the housing authority of Reno.

Although Las Vegas topped the list of the most foreclosure battered metro areas in 2009, posting a 12-percent foreclosure rate and nearly 95,000 foreclosure filings, its application for financial help was rejected.

The cities with lesser foreclosure rates were the ones that received the highest amounts, such as Los Angeles, which got $100 million, and Chicago, which got $98 million. Phoenix also received $60 million to mitigate the impact of its large number of repo houses for sale.

According to David Cherry, spokesperson for Representative Shelley Berkley of Nevada, one of the reasons for the rejection of NSP funding applications from Southern Nevada was the failure of the city of Las Vegas and nearby local governments to use the around $60 million given by the HUD to Southern Nevada in its first round of NSP fund distribution.

HUD Secretary Donovan also noted that his department received a total of $15 billion in funding applications, but had only $1.93 billion to distribute.

Nevertheless, Donovan said the HUD is pursuing ways to extend help to Las Vegas and nearby communities. He said that two HUD employees will work in the Office of Community Planning and Development and another two employees will be assigned to the Office of Fair Housing and Economic Opportunity.

According to Representative Berkley, the main goal of the foreclosure experts is to help Las Vegas fully utilize the resources provided in the first NSP funding round by coordinating various prevention programs and mitigating the impact of repo houses for sale on communities.

Vegas Repo Houses for Sale Finally Got Attention from HUD is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

Critics claim that the Home Affordable Modification Program has given false hopes to record numbers of homeowners who participated in the program and who spent their last money on making their monthly payments instead of saving them for their move to cheaper rental units. A lot of borrowers also thought that their credit records would not be tarnished by their loan modification efforts.

Analysts including Kevin Katari of Watershed Asset Management contended that the federal loan modification program has delayed economic recovery because it prevented homeowners from finally accepting that they could not afford the homes they purchased and prevented banks from making complete and true accounting of their losses from home loans.

Katari further argued that without the loan modification program, which has largely failed because most of the trial modifications were not made permanent, the needed cleansing process could have proceeded quickly. This cleansing process could have forced banks to recognize their losses early and completely and could have forced defaulting homeowners to move on to housing units that they can really afford or to live with relatives while they recover.

Under the current houses repossession prevention program, the Treasury Department planned to modify 3 to 4 million mortgages permanently by 2012. But as of December last year, only around 759,000 loans were put into trial modifications of 3 to 5 months and only around 31,000 of these loans were moved to permanent modification status.

Government officials and lawmakers have pressured mortgage lenders to step up their loan modification efforts, especially those which have received bailout money from the government. But housing advocates and homeowners are still complaining that the government is not doing enough and that lenders are not entertaining their requests.

In response to critics, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner explained that the federal loan modification program has lowered monthly home loan payments for nearly 750,000 American homeowners by an average of $550 per month. He added that even if some of the modifications were temporary, they were meaningful and significant to distressed homeowners.

However, mortgage specialists and real estate lawyers argued that homeowners who participated in the houses repossession prevention program often turn out in situations worse than before their loan modifications as their lenders end their trial modifications quickly and make immediate demands for higher payments or continue their foreclosure proceedings.

Houses Repossession Prevention Perceived As Adding to Crisis is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

Based on figures from the Southeast Florida Multiple Listing Service, there are currently 442 foreclosure homes for sale out of nearly 8,800 single-family homes available for sale in the Miami area. The median sales price for foreclosed homes is $134,900 while 258 units in the listings are priced below $150,000.

The lowest-priced unit, located in the city of Liberty, is being sold at $9,000 while the highest-priced unit, located in the Duhe Estates community, is being offered at $2.55 million.

Investors and prospective first time buyers can also take advantage of the sharply dropping prices in the Miami condo sector. The MLS currently features almost 16,600 condos, townhouses, coop units and villas in Miami-Dade County, and more than 500 of these are foreclosed properties. The median price for the foreclosures is $94,000 while 380 units in the listing are priced below $150,000.

The lowest-priced unit among the home auctions in Miami is a four-bedroom HUD unit in the northwest part of the county and is offered at only $15,000. This property is located in the subdivision of Seventh Avenue Highlands, where there are other lower-priced properties for sale.

For buyers who prefer buying short sale properties, the MLS also features plenty of condos and single family homes being offered at attractive prices. Short sales take a longer time and are difficult to close, but properties purchased through short sales are in better conditions than many foreclosure properties.

Meanwhile, another report from condo sellers showed the continued decline of condo prices in Broward and in Miami-Dade counties. Currently, condo prices are now more than 50 percent less than their prices during the condo boom in 2006.

Condo prices in Miami-Dade have plunged from their $294,400 average during the boom to $138,400 in November. In Broward, condo prices plunged to $83,200, a big dive from their peak price of $210,000 three years ago.

Price declines for condo conversions are even steeper, attracting bulk condo investors into Miami, including buyers from Nova Scotia and other foreign lands. Sales of previously owned condos climbed up by 48 percent while sales in Broward soared by 86 percent.

Miami Repo Homes Abound for Investors and First Time Buyers is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

The large percentage of foreclosed and distressed sales pulled down the median sales price in November to $123,000, a drop of 5.4 percent from the $130,000 median in October and a sharp drop of nearly 26 percent from the November 2008 median of $166,000.

As the price became more attractive to more buyers, total home sales in November soared by more than 200 percent from 1,110 units in October to 2,238 units. Sales of pre-owned homes also soared by more than 200 percent to 2,816 units from last year in counties in the Orlando metro area, including Orange, Lake, Osceola and Seminole.

Members of the realtor association reported total sales of 957 bank owned homes and 463 distressed houses while a total of 818 non-distressed units were sold. The median sales price for non-distressed homes was $173,960 while the median sales price for units sold through the short sale process was $122,000. Meanwhile, the median sales price for repo homes in Orlando was only $84,000.

The drop in home prices pushed up the home affordability index in Orlando by over 12 percent to almost 209.1 percent in November. The Orlando index means that residents in the area who are earning the $52,706 median income can buy any of more than 9,000 homes for sale in Seminole and Orange counties at the maximum price of $278,049.

The affordability index for first time homebuyers also climbed up to 148.66 percent. This index level means that first time homebuyers earning the $35,840 median income can buy any of the more than 6,000 homes available for sale in Seminole and Orange counties at the maximum price of $168,065.

Pending sales by members of the realtor organization also soared to 8,633 units in November, more than 200 percent higher than pending sales in November last year. An additional 3,023 sales agreements were signed in November, a substantial increase from the 1,644 contracts signed in November 2008.

Sales of condo units soared by more than 300 percent, rising to 387 from 114 units last year. Almost 50 percent of the condo units sold were priced at only around $50,000. A total of 24 pre-owned townhouses, villas and duplexes were sold in November, with most of the units sold between $100,000 and $120,000.

Orlando Repo Homes and Short Sales Accounted for 63 Percent is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

According to the FHA, approximately 18 percent of all residential loans it has insured are in default or in foreclosure. Its reserves have also dropped below the threshold set by the federal government.

This week, the FHA released stricter rules concerning the purchase of condo units using FHA loans. It has put limits on the number of condo buyers that can use FHA loans to buy their units and has put restrictions on the purchase of units in condo projects that have a lot of rental units and a large number of defaulting owners. Units in condo complexes that are likely to default because of current financial difficulties are also not qualified for FHA home loans.

The new rules released by the FHA have disappointed a lot of realtors, real estate professionals and developers. Despite the need for the FHA to protect its finances from an overload of repo houses for sale, its loan guarantees are much needed by developers, real estate professionals and realtors to move their properties.

After the release of the new rules, Salt Lake City development firm Garbett Homes canceled its 300-unit condominium project and spent thousands of dollars to convert the project into freestanding homes.

According to Rene Oehlerking, marketing head of Garbett Homes, pursuing condo projects which have less chances of getting sold to buyers using FHA loans does not make financial sense. FHA has ruled that only 50 percent of all units in a condo building can be sold to buyers using FHA loans over the next year. Starting 2011, the share will drop to 30 percent.

The new rules also require that condo builders need to pre-sell 30 percent of condo units in a new building before FHA guarantees loans for buyers of other units. The percentage will also increase in 2011 to 50 percent.

In Florida, where a lot of condo projects went into foreclosure, condo buyers need special approval before they can use FHA loans.

According to David Ledford of the National Association of Home Builders, the new rules will stop developers from pursuing condo development projects. But federal officials reiterated that the new rules are needed to prevent record numbers of FHA repo houses for sale from crushing the agency.

Repo Houses for Sale Forced FHA to Revise Condo Loan Rules is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

According to the NRA, home sales in July increased by 7.2 percent to an adjusted annual pace of 5.24 million, compared to the 4.89 adjusted annual pace in June. It was the highest adjusted home sales level since August 2007 and marked the fourth consecutive month that sales increased on a month-over-month basis.

Based on Thomson Reuters’ survey of economists, home sales for July were expected to reach an adjusted yearly pace of 5 million. The NAR data indicated an adjusted annual pace higher by 0.24 million.

In July, sales of repo homes and other distressed houses comprised about 33 percent of overall home sales, a decline from the percentage in July last year. Among the two cities with the highest levels of foreclosure sales were Orlando and San Diego as their price levels fell to lower levels. As a result, brokers have been asking lenders to release their foreclosure properties into the market.

These lower-priced foreclosure sales pushed down by 15 percent the median home sales price nationwide to $178,400.

The federal tax credit contributed significantly to overall home sales, according to top NAR economist Lawrence Yun. He said he hoped Congress would extend the tax credit so the sales momentum would not stop. The real property industry has been lobbying lawmakers to extend the tax credit, which is set to expire on November 30.

First time homebuyers need to complete their home purchase transactions before December 1 to be able to take advantage of the 10-percent tax credit, which can reach $8,000.

PNC Financial senior economist Robert Dye said it would not be surprising if home sales decline after the federal tax credit expires.

In July, the number of unsold houses increased to 4.1 million, compared to the 3.8 million units sold in June. The inventory is equivalent to 9.4 months worth of supply if current home sales rate is considered, according to real estate analysts.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said that the unemployment rate decreased in July in 17 states and increased in 26 states. Analysts contend that job losses have been driving foreclosures in the past months.

Repo Homes Sales Fall While Overall Home Sales Rise is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

During the past several months, condo developers across Florida have been losing their projects to bank foreclosures, adding more condo units to repo homes lists.

Among Miami Beach condo towers foreclosed by their lenders is the 148-unit Inland Towers Condominium located in North Miami Beach. Investment company Mazal Investments 26 filed in Miami-Dade County a foreclosure lawsuit against the developer called Inland Towers Condos LLC and its managing member Jorge
Mederos for failure to pay a $7.2 million loan. A total of 81 unsold condo units have been targeted by the lawsuit.

In 2005, the developer Inland Towers borrowed $18.5 million from Banco Popular North America to turn a residential building built in North Miami Beach in 1971 into a condo complex. In May, lender Banco Popular sold the loan balance to Mazal Investments, an investment firm based in Bay Harbor Islands and run by Israel Kopel.

The Inland Towers lawsuit is the sixth South Florida foreclosure case filed against Mederos, head of Mederos & Associates Real Estate, during the past 12 months.

Another foreclosure target is the Solabella Townhomes in Miami Gardens. An undeveloped portion of the project and 43 unsold units are scheduled to be offered for sale on September 9, but the undeveloped portion may be returned to developer Legacy Pointe if it is able to pay lender Regions Bank the amount of $1.75 million before the scheduled foreclosure sale.

Alabama-based bank Regions Bank won its $15.3-million foreclosure lawsuit after the Miami-Dade County Court ruled that Legacy Pointe owed the bank $13 million in delinquent loan, in addition to accumulated interests.

Solabella has developed 118 units of the 12.5-acre townhome project out of 210 units it signed to develop. It was able to sell 75 units, while the other units have not been completed and have been left unattended for months.

For the past 18 months, this Solabella foreclosure lawsuit is only one of 6 foreclosure cases filed against Legacy Pointe, one of the affiliates of Coral Gables-based Cornerstone Group.

Another Cornerstone Group affiliate, Cornerstone CW, has agreed with its lender Regions Bank for the foreclosure of its 46-acre development project in Miami Gardens due to a $10.5 million outstanding loan.

Meanwhile, in other parts of South Florida, such as Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, condo towers are also being foreclosed by their lenders for millions in unpaid construction loans.

Miami Condos and Townhomes Enter Repo Homes Lists is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

According to Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, notifications will be sent to 3,467 former Countrywide borrowers, including claims forms, information on the settlement with Countrywide Financial and advice on how to file claims with the administrator of the settlement agreement.

All borrowers who took out Countrywide home loans between the first day of January 2004 and the last day of December 2007, who occupied the properties as principal residences and whose properties became repo homes are eligible to receive a share in the Countrywide settlement.

Countrywide borrowers who lost their houses through short sale or deeds in lieu are also eligible under the program. Former owners of rental properties that became repo homes are excluded from the program.

According to Attorney General Cortez Masto, the final amount of settlement for each qualified borrower will depend on the final number of Nevadans who will file claims under the settlement agreement and who will sign the release document.

The more than $3 million payment will be allocated equally to all qualified claimants. If all 3,467 notified borrowers will file their claims, each claimant will receive $877.38 from the settlement. Payments will be mailed to eligible claimants in the first months of 2010.

The settlement between the state of Nevada and Countrywide is part of a nationwide settlement negotiated by Countrywide with several states in October 2008. Individual agreements with states were finalized in the first months of 2009.

For Nevadans who think they are eligible under the program, but who did not receive any packet, they should visit countrywidesettlementinfo.com or call Rust Consulting Inc.

Countrywide Financial, which was acquired by Bank of America in July 2008, also agreed to work out loan modifications for borrowers who took out subprime loans and pay-option flexible mortgage loans to help them afford monthly payments and keep their houses from lists of repo homes.

Monthly loan payments would be cut down to affordable levels through any repayment scheme that includes reduction of principal balance, reduction of mortgage rates or conversion from a flexible-rate to fixed-rate structure.

According to Attorney General Masto, late fees and other loan modification charges would also be waived to help more Nevadans save their houses from lists of repo homes.

Former Owners of Nevada Repo Homes to Get Countrywide Share is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

Market data showed that the number of delinquent borrowers who received notices of house repossession reach a total of 20,000 from April to June. Industry analysts pointed out that the figures are the surest sign of a market in great distress.

According to analysts, significant increases in default notices were registered in higher-cost zip codes. Towns that have high concentration of mortgage defaults, such as Antioch, are still on the ranking but showed some slight improvement from last year.

The increase in notices of house repossession was noticeable in affluent areas, including the Contra Costa County towns of Walnut Creek, Danville and Lafayette. These areas posted significant increases in foreclosure filings. The numbers may not be that high, but still significant which led many analysts to say that the problem is spreading and intensifying in affluent neighborhoods.

The 19,983 total foreclosure filings in the Bay Area reflected an increase of 7.3 percent from the same period the previous year.

Notices received by distressed homeowners are the first step in the foreclosure proceeding. According to market data, 62 percent of foreclosure filings result in house repossession.

Statewide, foreclosure filings also rose compared with the previous year’s second quarter. For this year, 124,562 filings were reported, an increase of 2.4 percent compared with 2008, but the numbers dropped by 8 percent compared with figures in the first quarter which totaled 135,431.

The number of completed foreclosures in the Bay Area and California dropped for the period. Industry experts said that the decline may be due to lenders preparing for the flood of loan modification requests.

The total actual foreclosures in the Bay Area was 6,929 in the second quarter of this year, a decline of 25.4 percent from the quarter the previous year. Likewise, California’s total foreclosure of 45,667 presented a decline of 27.9 percent compared with the previous year.

Industry analysts said that actual house repossession slowed slightly this year because lenders have implemented the federal government’s loan modification program to help homeowners avoid foreclosures.

Notices of House Repossession Rose in the Bay Area is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.

There was a considerable 26 percent drop from the last half of 2008, with only 12,000 homes entering some stage of foreclosure from January to June this year. Industry experts believe that the drop can be attributed to the efforts made by the federal government as well as non-profit organizations to encourage lenders to enter into a refinancing or loan modification agreement with troubled borrowers. For this reason, a lot of homeowners managed to prevent their homes from ending up in repo home lists.

Unfortunately, there was an increase in the number of homeowners who lost their houses to foreclosure for the period of May to June. According to Roy Cooper, North Carolina Attorney General, the spike could be due to lenders starting to refuse any form of negotiation with the distressed homeowners. In fact, there was a research that showed more than 50 percent of foreclosure-related cases where the lenders and borrowers did not communicate.

To address this, a legislation called Consumer Economic Protection Act will literally force communication between lenders and distressed homeowners. Based on the new law, extension of the foreclosure process is even possible if the mortgage lender failed to prove that they have shown any effort to assist borrowers. For cooper, the legislation is actually protecting both lenders and borrowers. Lenders will have a chance to recover their losses while homes of borrowers do not end up in repo home lists.

In addition to the lenders and distressed homeowners, the community and the economy will also come out as winners. As everyone knows, home values in neighborhoods blighted by numerous foreclosure properties suffer in terms of home values.

With the North Carolina bankers Association becoming a member of the Bankers Association, which advocates for lenders to help out borrowers, it is likely that the process of keeping people inside their houses and away from repo home lists will be improved.

To date, the new legislation has been given the thumbs up by the Senate and is on its way to the governor’s office for final approval.

North Carolina Year-over-Year Repo Home Lists Improve is a post from Foreclosure-Auction.net - Your online source for foreclosure property auctions.