Massachusetts Foreclosed Homes

U.S. Foreclosures Rise 75% In 2007

With mortgage loans becoming increasingly more difficult to refinance and home values declining, the number of U.S. homeowners entering the foreclosure process rose 75 percent in 2007 compared to 2006,  Boston.com reported January 30, 2008.

More than 1 percent of U.S. households were in some stage of foreclosure during the year, up from 0.58 percent in 2006. RealtyTrac, Inc., a foreclosure data company, provided the statistics.

For the year, more than 2.2 million default notices, auction notices, and bank repossessions were reported on about 1.3 million properties.

Read The Boston.com Article

Massachusetts Foreclosures Rise 150% In 2007

Foreclosures in Massachusetts rose nearly 150 percent in 2007, The Warren Group, a publisher of real estate data, reported on January 23, 2008.

Foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts more than doubled in 2007 when compared to 2006, and were up seven times the number of foreclosures in 2005.

There were 7,653 foreclosure deeds in 2007, up 148 percent from 3,086 in 2006, and up 600 percent from 1,092 in 2005. During the month of December, deeds rose 136.3 percent to 683 from the 289 filed in December 2006.

Auction announcements also rose, up 119.3 percent from 6,659 in 2006 to 14,604 in 2007. Last year, auction announcements were up 216.1 percent from the 4,620 filed in 2005. In December, auction announcements increased 66 percent from 661 in December 2006 to 1,097 in 2007.

Read The Warren Group Press Release

Dorchester Protest Halts Foreclosure Eviction

With the help of dozens of "activists," a Dorchester woman facing eviction following the foreclosure of her home was able to stay after the crowd of supporters impeded a constable from removing her and her possessions, The Boston Globe reported January 24, 2008.

The woman, Melonie Griffiths-Evans, had refused to pack, saying that the Lord was on her side.

A community advocacy group, known as City Life/Vida Urbana, which has pledged to prevent postforeclosure evictions, organized the protest on behalf of Griffiths-Evans who did not pay her mortgage.

Two Boston city councilors, Chuck Turner and Sam Yoon, showed up to support Griffiths-Evans. Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office said it also called the companies involved in Griffiths-Evans's mortgage to request a delay in the eviction.

"A spokesman for the company that ordered the eviction, Florida-based Ocwen Financial Corp., said it does not comment on specific cases, but it tries to help borrowers avoid foreclosure. When Ocwen does foreclose, it has a policy of evicting residents to prepare the building for resale."

Griffiths-Evans paid $470,000 in 2004 for the two-family home on Semont Road. She made no down payment.

Read The Boston Globe Article

A Look At Shady Mortgage Deals

Ever wonder how people who could barely pay their rent suddenly had a home loan?

The Boston Globe reported January 20, 2008 about an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General's office into a mortgage broker's alleged fraudulent actions on behalf of borrowers.

"Fake documents, a phantom borrower, and other irregularities were common features of five subprime mortgages brokered by Lyder between November 2005 and June 2006 that were examined by the Boston Globe. Lyder's clients ranged from the barely employed to struggling working-class couples; one had just left a homeless shelter and two others gave up government-subsidized housing to buy homes. They said Lyder arranged loans that they later realized had monthly payments that far exceeded their means. All five loans are now in foreclosure."

With foreclosures going through the roof, industry regulators are focusing more on the role mortgage brokers played in the events that have led to the subprime mess.

Of course, one has to believe that the lenders themselves weren't asking a lot of questions.

"Lyder's clients, naive about the math and mechanics of mortgages, said they trusted her assurances the loans would be affordable and were thrilled she could help them buy a house."

Apparently the borrowers weren't asking many questions either.

Read The Boston Globe Article

Cleveland Sues 21 Banks Over Foreclosure Mess

With foreclosures adding up, the City of Cleveland has sued 21 banks, claiming that the banks' subprime lending practices created a public nuisance that hurt property values and city tax collections, USA Today reported January 11, 2008.

It sounds like a stretch to me.

The lawsuit seeks to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, including lost taxes from devalued property and money spent demolishing and boarding up thousands of abandoned houses.

Cleveland is not the first city to sue lenders over mortgage troubles. A few days earlier, the City of Baltimore sued Wells Fargo, alleging the bank intentionally sold more high-interest mortgages to blacks than to whites in violation of federal law. The city alleges that Wells Fargo targeted black neighborhoods for high-risk and unfairly priced loans. Wells Fargo denies the claim.

Read The USA Today Article

Mass. AG Asks Court To Halt 500 Foreclosures

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked a state court to block Fremont Investment & Loan from commencing foreclosure proceedings against 500 Massachusetts borrowers, The Boston Globe reported January 16, 2008.

"Attorney General Martha Coakley had previously filed suit in October accusing Fremont of predatory and unfair lending practices, and yesterday attorneys from her office told a Suffolk Superior Court judge the state wants to review each mortgage that is subject to foreclosure and try to stop proceedings on any loans they believe were made fraudulently."

An attorney for Fremont said turning over the decision-making process to the AG's office would be "unprecedented."

"Fremont has denied that fraud was widespread or systemic, and its attorneys yesterday said that in some cases loan brokers who worked for other companies, or the borrowers themselves, may have been culpable if some individual loans are found to be fraudulent."

Apparently Fremont has about 2,500 "active loans" in Massachusetts, and it wants to begin the foreclosure process initially on 500 of those loans and more in the future.

When more than 20 percent of your loans in a single state are delinquent something is definitely wrong.

Read The Boston Globe Article

Minorities Hit Hard By Foreclosures

The Boston Herald reported January 15, 2008 that a new study shows that the subprime-mortgage crisis will cost black and Hispanic homeowners up to $256 billion," the worst financial hit for minorities in modern U.S. history."

“'The dream that Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke of has been foreclosed,' Boston-based United for a Fair Economy wrote in a report set for release to coincide with [the] 79th anniversary of King’s birth."

Based on previously released data on the subprime meltdown, the study projected "blacks" will lose $71.5 billion to $121.6 billion on high-cost mortgages taken out over the past eight years. Hispanics will forfeit another $75.8 billion to $128.9 billion.

"41 percent of blacks and 32.8 percent of Hispanics who bought homes in Boston or five other major cities in recent years used high-cost loans. By contrast, only 6.9 percent of whites used such mortgages.

"Blacks got 54.7 percent of all high-cost mortgages issued nationwide, even though African-Americans represent just 13.4 percent of U.S. population.

"Even among upper-income buyers, 54.4 percent of blacks and 48.9 percent of Hispanics used high-cost loans. By contrast, just 16.4 percent of higher-income white buyers received such loans."

An industry spokesperson told the Herald that she rejects the idea that discrimination is wide spread.

Read The Boston Herald Article

MA Foreclosure Petitions Continue To Rise

New data shows Massachusetts foreclosure petitions rose 44 percent in October compared to October 2006, the Boston Herald reported January 7, 2008.

The statistics were released by The Warren Group, a publisher or real estate market data.

"Foreclosure deeds, in which the owner loses the home, also are up compared with a year ago. In November, foreclosure deeds rose 72 percent from the same month a year ago. However, the 638 deeds in November was down from 739 in October."

Petitions totaled 3,040, marking the second month the monthly total exceeded 3,000.

Foreclosure petitions are the first step toward foreclosure, but don’t necessarily lead to homeowners losing their properties.

Read The Boston Herald Article

Massachusetts Joins Mortgage Broker System

Massachusetts joined six other states launching a standardized and mandatory system to more thoroughly license and track the state's tens of thousands of mortgage brokers, the Boston Herald reported January 2, 2008.

Mortgage brokers have come under scrutiny over the past year or two as foreclosure filings grew and housing market troubles worsened. Experts say loose licensing standards made it easy for shady operators (even those with criminal records, according to the Herald) to work in the mortgage business.

"While mortgage regulations vary dramatically from one state to another, the new system creates a uniform application for mortgage brokers and a database that banking regulators, and eventually consumers, can use to track down brokers who try to work in one state after being banned from another. Consumers should have access by next year."

Besides Massachusetts, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Nebraska, New York and Rhode Island have joined the new program. In total, 42 state agencies, including those in Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, have committed to implementing the tracking system by the end of 2009.

Read The Boston Herald Article
Read A Blog Post At Boston.com

Foreclosures Reach Massachusetts Suburbs

Lawrence, Brockton and other Bay State cities are not the only places where home owners are facing foreclosure.

The Boston Herald reported January 4, 2008 that foreclosures have reached the Massachusetts suburbs.

Wealthy communities such as Wellesley and Weston saw foreclosure filings double in 2007.

The data comes from The Warren Group.

"Newton posted a 22 percent increase, with 60 foreclosure filings as of the end of October last year, while Needham saw 26 foreclosure filings last year, an increase of more than 36 percent, Warren Group data shows."

Even pricey Downtown Boston is not immune from foreclosure filings.

"In downtown Boston, which covers pricey neighborhoods like the South End, Back Bay and Beacon Hill, foreclosure filings rose 25 percent in 2007 to a total of 74."

Read The Boston Herald Article