by Catherine Reagor - Oct. 17, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Investors are dominating metropolitan Phoenix's home-buying market again.
The region's growing supply of inexpensive foreclosure homes is drawing thousands of investors, who can pay cash and close deals fast. The growing supply of renters means those investors can make money off the homes they have scooped up.
The market has drawn a diverse crowd of investors, spurring small-scale landlords to add more homes to their holdings and attracting buyers from around the world looking to get in on a down market.
It also has quietly attracted investment firms that are buying huge quantities of houses in a strategy aimed at reaping big profits from today's low prices. Big investors are showing so much interest that some observers say lenders may soon start selling foreclosure homes in bulk batches, an unprece- dented tactic in metro Phoenix where the homes have always been sold in small groups or one at a time.
Whether the investor-buying trend of the past few months continues at this pace in the Phoenix area depends in some part on the foreclosure moratoriums announced in the past few weeks by a handful of the nation's biggest lenders. So far, many Valley real-estate agents and investors aren't seeing a drop in supply of fore- closure homes for sale or problems finalizing sales on lender-owned homes.
Continue reading here.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Foreclosure auctions hit record as document crisis unfolds
By Charles Riley, staff reporter October 14, 2010: 12:45 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bank repossessions and foreclosure auctions hit record levels in the third quarter, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
372,445 foreclosure auctions were scheduled in July, August and September, while 288,345 properties were repossessed by lenders over the same time period.
Overall foreclosure filings edged up to 930,437 in the third quarter, a 4% increase from the previous quarter. One in every 139 homeowners received a foreclosure filing during those three months.
Continue reading here.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bank repossessions and foreclosure auctions hit record levels in the third quarter, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
372,445 foreclosure auctions were scheduled in July, August and September, while 288,345 properties were repossessed by lenders over the same time period.
Overall foreclosure filings edged up to 930,437 in the third quarter, a 4% increase from the previous quarter. One in every 139 homeowners received a foreclosure filing during those three months.
Continue reading here.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Wells Fargo: No halt to foreclosures
Phoenix Business Journal - by Mark Calvey
Wells Fargo said Friday it has no plans to adopt a foreclosure moratorium despite Bank of America’s decision today to halt all foreclosures.
“Wells Fargo is not planning to initiate a moratorium on foreclosures. Our affidavit procedures and daily auditing demonstrate that our foreclosure affidavits are accurate,” said Wells Fargo spokesman Chris Hammond. “As a standard business practice, we continually review and reinforce our policies and procedures. If we find an error or if an improvement is needed, we take action.”
Wells and other major lenders are under growing political pressure to put the brakes on foreclosures. This week, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper publicly called on Wells and 14 other lenders to halt home seizures.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Friday that he will hold a hearing on Nov. 16 to investigate allegations of improper and fraudulent mortgage servicing and foreclosure proceedings.
Continue reading here.
Wells Fargo said Friday it has no plans to adopt a foreclosure moratorium despite Bank of America’s decision today to halt all foreclosures.
“Wells Fargo is not planning to initiate a moratorium on foreclosures. Our affidavit procedures and daily auditing demonstrate that our foreclosure affidavits are accurate,” said Wells Fargo spokesman Chris Hammond. “As a standard business practice, we continually review and reinforce our policies and procedures. If we find an error or if an improvement is needed, we take action.”
Wells and other major lenders are under growing political pressure to put the brakes on foreclosures. This week, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper publicly called on Wells and 14 other lenders to halt home seizures.
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd said Friday that he will hold a hearing on Nov. 16 to investigate allegations of improper and fraudulent mortgage servicing and foreclosure proceedings.
Continue reading here.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Bank of America halts foreclosures in 50 states
Oct. 8, 2010 12:36 PM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A mushrooming crisis over potential flaws in foreclosure documents is threatening to throw the real estate industry into chaos, as Bank of America on Friday became the first bank to stop taking back tens of thousands of foreclosed homes in all 50 states.
The move, along with another decision on foreclosures by PNC Financial Services Inc., adds to growing concerns that mortgage lenders have been evicting homeowners using flawed court papers, without verifying the information in them.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., the nation's largest bank, said Friday it would no longer complete foreclosures in all 50 states as it reviews documents used to process foreclosures. That applies to homes that the bank takes back itself and those that it transfers to investors such as mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
A week earlier, the company had said it would only do so in the 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
The bank did so in reaction to mounting pressure from public officials inquiring about the accuracy of foreclosure documents. A document obtained last week by the Associated Press showed a Bank of America official acknowledging in a legal proceeding that she signed thousands of foreclosure documents a month and typically didn't read them. The official, Renee Hertzler, said in a February deposition that she signed up to 8,000 such documents a month.
Read more here.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A mushrooming crisis over potential flaws in foreclosure documents is threatening to throw the real estate industry into chaos, as Bank of America on Friday became the first bank to stop taking back tens of thousands of foreclosed homes in all 50 states.
The move, along with another decision on foreclosures by PNC Financial Services Inc., adds to growing concerns that mortgage lenders have been evicting homeowners using flawed court papers, without verifying the information in them.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Bank of America Corp., the nation's largest bank, said Friday it would no longer complete foreclosures in all 50 states as it reviews documents used to process foreclosures. That applies to homes that the bank takes back itself and those that it transfers to investors such as mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
A week earlier, the company had said it would only do so in the 23 states where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
The bank did so in reaction to mounting pressure from public officials inquiring about the accuracy of foreclosure documents. A document obtained last week by the Associated Press showed a Bank of America official acknowledging in a legal proceeding that she signed thousands of foreclosure documents a month and typically didn't read them. The official, Renee Hertzler, said in a February deposition that she signed up to 8,000 such documents a month.
Read more here.
Wells Fargo to pay $24M to end mortgage probe
Oct. 6, 2010 01:40 PM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Wells Fargo is paying $24 million to end an investigation by eight states probing whether lenders acquired by the company made risky mortgages to consumers without disclosing their perils.
The states said loans known as option adjustable rate loans, or "pick-a-payment" mortgages, were deceptive to borrowers. Those particularly toxic loans allowed borrowers to defer some of their interest payments and add them to the principal balance. Borrowers could make payments so low that loan debt actually increased every month.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. announced the agreement Wednesday with attorneys general in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Washington state.
The loans were made by Wachovia Corp. and a California company it acquired, World Savings Bank. Wells purchased Wachovia at the end of 2008. Wachovia had already stopped making those loans before the acquisition was complete.
As part of the agreement, Wells has agreed to offer loan assistance worth more than $770 million to more than 8,700 borrowers through June 2013, though that amount will depend on how the economy fares during that time. The $24 million will be used to help states reach out to customers who took out such loans.
Read more here.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Wells Fargo is paying $24 million to end an investigation by eight states probing whether lenders acquired by the company made risky mortgages to consumers without disclosing their perils.
The states said loans known as option adjustable rate loans, or "pick-a-payment" mortgages, were deceptive to borrowers. Those particularly toxic loans allowed borrowers to defer some of their interest payments and add them to the principal balance. Borrowers could make payments so low that loan debt actually increased every month.
San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. announced the agreement Wednesday with attorneys general in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Texas and Washington state.
The loans were made by Wachovia Corp. and a California company it acquired, World Savings Bank. Wells purchased Wachovia at the end of 2008. Wachovia had already stopped making those loans before the acquisition was complete.
As part of the agreement, Wells has agreed to offer loan assistance worth more than $770 million to more than 8,700 borrowers through June 2013, though that amount will depend on how the economy fares during that time. The $24 million will be used to help states reach out to customers who took out such loans.
Read more here.
Wells Fargo, Arizona homeowners settle mortgage-loan case
by Casey Newton - Oct. 7, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Mortgage relief is on the way for Arizona homeowners who took out "pick-a-pay" loans from two companies that since have been acquired by Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo has agreed to provide more than $150 million in mortgage relief to homeowners who obtained the adjustable-rate loans through Wachovia Corp. and Golden West Corp. The move will come about as part of a settlement announced by Attorney General Terry Goddard, who alleged that the loans were marketed deceptively.
About 1,700 Arizonans obtained the loans through one of the two companies.
Under the terms of the settlement, Wells Fargo admitted no wrongdoing. But Mike Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Mortgage, said that mortgage relief would benefit the community.
Read more here.
The Arizona Republic
Mortgage relief is on the way for Arizona homeowners who took out "pick-a-pay" loans from two companies that since have been acquired by Wells Fargo.
Wells Fargo has agreed to provide more than $150 million in mortgage relief to homeowners who obtained the adjustable-rate loans through Wachovia Corp. and Golden West Corp. The move will come about as part of a settlement announced by Attorney General Terry Goddard, who alleged that the loans were marketed deceptively.
About 1,700 Arizonans obtained the loans through one of the two companies.
Under the terms of the settlement, Wells Fargo admitted no wrongdoing. But Mike Heid, co-president of Wells Fargo Mortgage, said that mortgage relief would benefit the community.
Read more here.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Mortgage rates fell to 4.32%
Sept. 30, 2010 07:12 AM
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages matched the lowest level in decades and rates on 15-year loans dropped to their lowest point in nearly 20 years.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed loans fell to 4.32 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1971. That's down from 4.37 percent the previous week and equal to the average rate reached four weeks ago.
The average rate on 15-year fixed loans fell to 3.75 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1991.
Rates have fallen since spring as investors poured money into the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
Read more here.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Rates on 30-year mortgages matched the lowest level in decades and rates on 15-year loans dropped to their lowest point in nearly 20 years.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed loans fell to 4.32 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1971. That's down from 4.37 percent the previous week and equal to the average rate reached four weeks ago.
The average rate on 15-year fixed loans fell to 3.75 percent, the lowest on records dating back to 1991.
Rates have fallen since spring as investors poured money into the safety of Treasury bonds, lowering their yield. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.
Read more here.
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