From Homescape

written by Amy Le on Thursday, May 15, 8:48AM

Amy Le

Nevada, California and Arizona top state foreclosure rates, according to a foreclosure market report released by RealtyTrac this week. The report, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 243,353 properties, a 4 percent increase from the previous month and a nearly 65 percent increase from April 2007. The data also shows one in every 519 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.

“The total number of U.S. properties with foreclosure activity in April was the highest monthly total we’ve seen since we began issuing the report in January 2005,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “Although only about 2 percent of households nationwide are in foreclosure, these properties contribute to already bloated inventories of homes for sale, and put downward pressure on home values. Areas of California, Florida, Nevada and Arizona continue to be particularly hard-hit.”

In areas hit hardest by the housing crisis, property tax bases are eroding, putting municipal budgets in peril. The city council in Vallejo, California — part of a metropolitan area with a foreclosure rate that ranked sixth highest in the nation in April — last week voted to have the city file for bankruptcy. The San Francisco suburb of 117,000 people is expected to generate $5 million less in revenue than projected, because retail sales and property values are down amid an economic slowdown and slumping real estate market, according to a report issued by city manager Joseph Tanner.

Topping state foreclosure rates
Despite a 5 percent month-over-month decrease in foreclosure activity in April, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate. One in every 146 Nevada households received a foreclosure filing in April, 3.6 times the national average, and the state’s foreclosure activity was up 95 percent from April 2007.

California posted the second highest state foreclosure rate in April, with one in every 204 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month. Foreclosure filings were reported on 64,683 California properties in April, down less than 1 percent from the previous month, but still the most of any state, and an increase of 112 percent from April 2007.

Arizona foreclosure activity in April increased 26 percent from the previous month and 181 percent from April 2007, helping to bump the state’s foreclosure rate up to third-highest among the states. Foreclosure filings were reported on 11,620 Arizona properties in March, one in every 224 total households.

Florida had one in every 242 households receiving a foreclosure filing in April. The Sunshine State documented the nation’s fourth-highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 35,264 Florida properties during the month, the nation’s second-highest total. Florida foreclosure activity increased nearly 17 percent on a month-to-month basis and 146 percent on a year-over-year basis.

Colorado foreclosure activity in April was down nearly 3 percent from the previous month and up just 3 percent from April 2007, but the state’s rate still registered fifth-highest among the states. One in every 349 Colorado households received a foreclosure filing in April, nearly 1.5 times the national average.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Maryland, Georgia, Ohio, Michigan and Massachusetts.

California and Florida cities on the hot list
Six California cities documented foreclosure rates that ranked in the top 10 among the 230 metropolitan areas tracked in the report. Merced took the top spot, with one in every 66 households receiving a foreclosure filing during the month, followed by Stockton at No. 2, Modesto at No. 3 and Riverside-San Bernardino at No. 4. Other California cities on the list were Vallejo-Fairfield at No. 6 and Bakersfield at No. 8.

Three Florida cities registered foreclosure rates among the top 10: Cape Coral-Fort Myers at No. 5, Port Lucie-Fort Pierce at No. 9 and Fort Lauderdale at No. 10.

With one in every 116 households receiving foreclosure filings in April, the Las Vegas metro area documented the nation’s seventh-highest metro rate.

Check out other state rates among foreclosures at Informationbuilders.com/realtytrac/ActiveReport

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.

written by Amy Le on Wednesday, May 14, 4:55PM

Amy Le

The 43-year-old Canseco retired from the major leagues in 2001, but in recent years has been at the forefront of a media frenzy with his tell-all-book on steroid abuse in the league. On Thursday, Canseco landed himself in the headlines again with another startling admission. The Associated Press reported that Canseco told the celebrity TV show, Inside Edition, “It didn’t make financial sense for me to keep paying a mortgage on a home that was basically owned by someone else.” Foreclosure documents show Canseco owed a bank more than $2.5 million on the 7,300-square-foot-home located in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino.

The poor house
While the former MVP may not be in the same financial mess as other working-class families currently facing foreclosure, Canseco says his dwindling finances are the cause behind his recent misfortune. He told Inside Edition, “You know my life, this financial thing, is a very complicated issue. Obviously, when you make all that money, people think, ‘OK, let’s assume it is $35 million.’ People have to understand that $35 million, you’re paying the government 41 percent. That leaves you with about $17 or $18 million, not even. Then you’re taking care of your whole family.”

With gas and food costs up, it sure must be tough raising a family off of a meager $17 million. Dining out at five-star restaurants and pumping fuel into a suped-up SUV will drive you to the poor house alone. No way Jose, no sympathy from this baseball fan. While there are a good number of hard-working families who have fallen on hard times and have lost their homes — in many cases, not by their own making — a part of me looks at Canseco’s attitude as symptomatic of the real causes behind the housing bust. People borrowed money they knew they couldn’t pay back, used the equity in their home like an ATM machine and bought property they really couldn’t afford.

Living the American Dream
Before I get accused of being an elitist, it’s important to note I spent most of my life with a plastic spoon in my mouth. While I may not have had to walk 14 miles up a hill to get to school, my parents did come to this country with $10 in their pocket. Our family of four lived in a tiny 1-bedroom apartment until I was 8 years old. My parents worked minimum-wage jobs as a janitor and waitress, but they saved every dime they earned, and eventually bought their own home and started their own business. We all want to live the American Dream, and I truly believe anyone can achieve it in this country. But before that dream can be lived, it has to be earned.

I’m not going to pretend that I’m the poster child for fiscal responsibility, but it blows my mind when I see people live a lifestyle way beyond their means. I have friends who have $15,000 in credit card debt, but still go out and by a $3,000 flat-screen television. And I’m sure I’m not the only person who knows people like this. We may not be able to predict the future, but we can sure try to prepare for it the best we can.

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.

written by Amy Le on Thursday, April 24, 9:01AM

Amy Le

The recent housing bust has churned out some pretty interesting news stories. After reading about abandoned pets in foreclosed homes and a Wisconsin man offering the title to his $500,000 life insurance plan to anyone willing to buy his home, I thought I had heard it all. That was until my friend sent me a CNNMoney.com article this morning about two real restate agents giving tours of foreclosed homes.

Bus Tour
Instead of sitting on their rears complaining about the bad luck that’s plagued their industry, Barbara and Marshall Zucker are taking their clients to see it firsthand. As they watched the Las Vegas foreclosure rate skyrocket 169 percent from 2006 to 2007 — making Nevada one of the hardest hit states in the nation — the clever couple had noticed that 40 percent of all home sales were foreclosed properties. So in February, the Zuckers bought a 24-seat Ford bus for $40,000, named it the Vegas Foreclosure Express, and began offering locals and out-of-state investors tours of repossessed homes.

The trip is free, but the couple requires riders to sign exclusive-representation agreements covering any property included in the tour. In addition to viewing the sites, they offer onboard finance consulting and educational seminars on home buying.

Out-of-the-box
Now I thought the Wisconsin man’s marketing ploy to attract homebuyers with a life insurance plan was a little off-the-wall. But creating a tour of foreclosed homes is brilliant on so many levels. The quicker the number of foreclosed homes get sold and taken off the market, the sooner home values will climb back up as inventory shrinks. And as for the agents, these are hard housing times, and the opportunity to close a deal on a single home is better than not selling anything at all.

Before the Foreclosure Express hit the road, the Zuckers brokered annual sales of $150 million, worth an estimated $4.5 million in commissions. They have since scored 120 new clients — first-time buyers as well as out-of-state investors — and anticipate netting an additional 15 to 20 sales a month as a result of the tours.

What do you think of Foreclosure home tours, brilliant or bozo idea?

Got hot local housing tips or a story you want to share? Contact Amy Le at openingdoorsblog@homescape.com.