Judging by all the news stories covering foreclosures and the tanking housing market you would think that 50% of homes are in foreclosure. AHHHH, but we all know that bad news sells.... does any one want to read that less than 4% of all mortgages in the US are in foreclosure? BORING! Who Cares? I believe that people want to hear the good news. They want to know that the biggest investment of their lifetime is still a secure, sound investment. If you want to know the truth...keep reading!
30% of all homes in the US are free and clear. That means that 30% of all homes in the US do not have a mortgage, they are totally paid for! Of the remaining 70% of homes that have a mortgage, 96.7% are NOT in foreclosure. This is astounding! Less than 4% of home owners who have a mortgage are having trouble paying. The news companies would have you believe that most Americans are in default. The truth is just the opposite.
Did you know that most of the foreclosures are in 3 states and two cities? California, Michigan and Florida, Las Vegas and Phoenix are where the bulk of foreclosures are happening. Nebraska's foreclosure rate is ranked near the bottom of the states...meaning we have one of the lowest foreclosure rates in the US.
Let's recap the good news: 30% of home owners own their home free and clear, of the remaining 70% of homeowners, 96.7% of mortgages are NOT in foreclosure. The majority of homeowners are paying their mortgage or do not owe on their home. Most of the foreclosures are in 3 states and 2 cities and Nebraska's foreclosure rate is one of the lowest in the US. :)
Showing posts with label foreclosure. Show all posts
Showing posts with label foreclosure. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Looking at foreclosures? Read this first.
Are you considering a foreclosure? Their rock bottom prices may be enticing but watch out for the hidden costs hassles. The true sales price may be much higher than you thought! When you compare the foreclosed home to a brand new Hartland Home, it is easy to see why a brand new home just makes more sense.
Consider these items when looking at a foreclosed home:
Consider these items when looking at a foreclosed home:
- Cost: The foreclosed home’s purchase price may be less in the beginning, but consider all the repairs and fix-up costs. Add the repair costs to the purchase price for the true price of the home.
- Warranty: This home will have no warranties, you get it AS IS. Generally, a home that has gone into foreclosure wasn’t taken care of properly. The former residents knew they were moving and not going to pay for it, nor sell it, so they had no reason to properly care for it. TIP: Make sure you get a whole house inspection on any used home you buy.
*Hartland Homes provides a 10 year warranty on all their homes and that is just 1 of many warranties we provide! - Health: Health hazards such as mold, pet dander, bug infestations or other items may be present in the foreclosed home.
- Style: A foreclosed home comes AS IS; it may have out-dated styles, layout and colors.
- Repairs: Repair costs cannot be rolled into your mortgage and must be paid for in addition to your house payment, utility bills and insurance.
- Taxes: Just because you paid below market price doesn’t mean your property taxes will reflect that. Most likely you will be paying taxes, which are fully assessed, on the amount the home is worth, not the price you paid.
*Did you know that when you build and purchase a Hartland Home, your taxes won’t be fully assessed for at least a year? That could save you over $1,800 your first year! - Choices: There are limited homes available for below market price and a complex bidding process which makes them hard to buy if you do find one you like!
*Hartland Homes has over 25 different floor plans in 5 different communities and you get to choose your options and colors.
Friday, March 6, 2009
US housing crisis 'exaggerated', focused on only four states
US housing crisis 'exaggerated', focused on only four states
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent March 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE breadth of the US housing crisis for the average American is being overstated, according to a study released yesterday.
While foreclosures have booted millions of Americans from their homes, the study from the University of Virginia shows the trouble is mostly focused on four states -- California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- where home prices were the most overheated in the US housing boom.
Although there are pockets of substantial declines, claims that overall housing values have plummeted nationwide are exaggerated, they say. "In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, for example, prices have barely changed," the authors wrote.
In the University of Virginia study of 50 states, 35 metropolitan areas and 236 counties, the analysis indicated that "66 per cent of potential housing value losses in 2008 and subsequent years may be in California".
Then there was another 21 per cent in Florida, Nevada and Arizona -- meaning those four states made up about 87 per cent of national declines.
"California had only 10 per cent of the nation's housing units, but it had 34 per cent of foreclosures in 2008," say the report's authors, William Lucy and Jeff Herlitz. They say California was vulnerable to foreclosures because the median value of owner-occupied housing in 2007 was 8.3 times the median family income, while the 2007 national average was only 3.2 times higher than median family income.
Another vulnerability to foreclosures was seen in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where over 20 per cent of mortgage-holders in each county were paying at least 50 per cent of their income in housing-related costs.
They add that the number of foreclosures usually were lower in central cities than in some suburban counties, probably due to less demand in those suburbs.
The study notes the huge run-up in housing prices in California created opportunities for large gains for home buyers if price increases continued. "Thus, more households may have been attracted to potential gains, worried, perhaps, that they would be priced out of the home buying market if they did not act quickly," they said of the speculative bubble that emerged. They added that lenders such as former US mortgage giant Countrywide, which specialised in no-principal, interest-only and no-income check loans, got their start in California and focused there.
"But even in California, enormous variations existed among jurisdictions, such as in the San Francisco area, where (the outlying) Solano County had 3.69 per cent of housing units in foreclosure in November 2008, while only 0.24 per cent of housing units were in foreclosure in the City of San Francisco -- a 15 to 1 difference," Lucy and Herlitz say.
And of the financial crisis, the authors note that potential losses in housing values from 2008 foreclosures in all 50 states -- if values decline to 2000 levels -- were less than one-third of the $US350 billion provided to banks and insurance companies to cope with losses in mortgage-backed securities, Lucy and Herlitz add.
"Damage to the balance sheets of large banks and (insurer) AIG occurred not mainly from losses on foreclosed residential mortgages, but because of borrowing short-range to buy long-range derivatives and from selling credit default swaps insuring derivatives backed by mortgage payments," they write. "These financial manipulations had high-speed forward gears, but when the housing bubble burst, the banks and AIG discovered they had neglected to create a reverse gear with which they could separate foreclosed properties from some forms of mortgage-backed securities."
Geoff Elliott, Washington correspondent March 05, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE breadth of the US housing crisis for the average American is being overstated, according to a study released yesterday.
While foreclosures have booted millions of Americans from their homes, the study from the University of Virginia shows the trouble is mostly focused on four states -- California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada -- where home prices were the most overheated in the US housing boom.
Although there are pockets of substantial declines, claims that overall housing values have plummeted nationwide are exaggerated, they say. "In the Washington, DC metropolitan area, for example, prices have barely changed," the authors wrote.
In the University of Virginia study of 50 states, 35 metropolitan areas and 236 counties, the analysis indicated that "66 per cent of potential housing value losses in 2008 and subsequent years may be in California".
Then there was another 21 per cent in Florida, Nevada and Arizona -- meaning those four states made up about 87 per cent of national declines.
"California had only 10 per cent of the nation's housing units, but it had 34 per cent of foreclosures in 2008," say the report's authors, William Lucy and Jeff Herlitz. They say California was vulnerable to foreclosures because the median value of owner-occupied housing in 2007 was 8.3 times the median family income, while the 2007 national average was only 3.2 times higher than median family income.
Another vulnerability to foreclosures was seen in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, where over 20 per cent of mortgage-holders in each county were paying at least 50 per cent of their income in housing-related costs.
They add that the number of foreclosures usually were lower in central cities than in some suburban counties, probably due to less demand in those suburbs.
The study notes the huge run-up in housing prices in California created opportunities for large gains for home buyers if price increases continued. "Thus, more households may have been attracted to potential gains, worried, perhaps, that they would be priced out of the home buying market if they did not act quickly," they said of the speculative bubble that emerged. They added that lenders such as former US mortgage giant Countrywide, which specialised in no-principal, interest-only and no-income check loans, got their start in California and focused there.
"But even in California, enormous variations existed among jurisdictions, such as in the San Francisco area, where (the outlying) Solano County had 3.69 per cent of housing units in foreclosure in November 2008, while only 0.24 per cent of housing units were in foreclosure in the City of San Francisco -- a 15 to 1 difference," Lucy and Herlitz say.
And of the financial crisis, the authors note that potential losses in housing values from 2008 foreclosures in all 50 states -- if values decline to 2000 levels -- were less than one-third of the $US350 billion provided to banks and insurance companies to cope with losses in mortgage-backed securities, Lucy and Herlitz add.
"Damage to the balance sheets of large banks and (insurer) AIG occurred not mainly from losses on foreclosed residential mortgages, but because of borrowing short-range to buy long-range derivatives and from selling credit default swaps insuring derivatives backed by mortgage payments," they write. "These financial manipulations had high-speed forward gears, but when the housing bubble burst, the banks and AIG discovered they had neglected to create a reverse gear with which they could separate foreclosed properties from some forms of mortgage-backed securities."
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