KCM Blog

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Foreclosures

Puzzled Banks Now Buying Time

March 3, 2010

Often I get asked why banks are not foreclosing on borrowers even after they do not make mortgage payments for many months. Actually, the answer is quite logical. To fully appreciate the banks position we must understand that the current housing market is like a Rubik’s cube. Every action the bank takes creates a challenge [...]

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Today’s Real Estate Headlines – True or False?

February 23, 2010

Almost every day, as I do my research, I come across a headline that grabs my attention. Many times it leads me to believe that there is a contrarian view to one that I currently hold on an issue in real estate. I immediately read the article only to find out that the headline and [...]

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Crazy Foreclosure Alternatives?

February 17, 2010

Homeowners can’t pay their mortgages and are being forced from their homes. Others can pay but decide to just ‘walk away’ instead. Both scenarios have created a flood of foreclosures that neither the government nor the banking industry can handle.
The modification programs, though genuine in their effort, have failed. The banks can’t handle what they [...]

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The Domino Effect of Delinquencies

February 16, 2010

Yesterday, I posted a blog on foreclosures. In that post I said:
We still have a very serious foreclosure problem in the vast majority of neighborhoods in this country. It will become even a bigger challenge as 2010 moves forward.
Some of our readers contacted me and asked why I felt so strongly on this issue. Banks [...]

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Another Foreclosure Headline Debunked

February 15, 2010

It amazes me how many times media will report on a press release and assume they know what the release is saying by just reading the headline and perhaps the first paragraph. This week was no exception.
Several newspapers repeated a headline on Realty Trac’s press release claiming
U.S. Foreclosure Activity Decreases 10% in January
And many papers repeated the first paragraph:
RealtyTrac®,  the leading [...]

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Upper End Foreclosures Stacking Up

February 12, 2010

Last month I posted Are Foreclosures Coming to the Luxury Market? Well apparently they are.
In an article from Housing Wire, Fitch Ratings reported on jumbo mortgages (where the initial principal amount is above the $417,000 conventional loan limit set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In higher-priced markets the limit is $729,750):
The new year has [...]

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Walking Away from Negative Equity

January 22, 2010

Today let’s look at negative equity and attempt to determine what impact it will have on a housing recovery in 2010. Negative equity, often referred to as “underwater” or “upside down,” means that borrowers owe more on their mortgage than their homes are worth. Negative equity can occur because of a decline in value, an [...]

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Delinquencies: Roadblock to a Housing Recovery?

January 20, 2010

The current economy has devastated the finances of so many families in every income bracket and in almost every neighborhood in this country. More and more people are falling further and further behind in their mortgage payments. In the past people would take a second job or borrow money from family to catch up. Today, [...]

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The Long “Option ARMs” of the Loan

January 19, 2010

When the housing market was going strong between 2004 and 2006, many buyers were purchasing houses they were not able to afford with conventional financing. That created a need for less conventional mortgage products known as option ARMs (adjustable rate mortgages). These mortgages allowed a buyer to either pay less of an interest rate during the [...]

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The Impact of Foreclosures on Real Estate in 2010

January 18, 2010

Going into 2010 things were looking rather ‘bullish’ for the housing industry. Sales were up and prices seemed to be stabilizing.  But in the last few weeks we are starting to see how fragile the recovery actually is. Obviously, when the government ends its support after the first quarter (no longer holding down interest rates [...]

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