Massachusetts Foreclosed Homes

MA Foreclosures Expected To Increase In 2008

ForeclosuresMass, a provider of Massachusetts foreclosure data for a fee, released its latest Massachusetts Market Analysis Report March 27, 2008, accompanied by its forecast that foreclosure filings will continue at record levels through 2008.

ForeclosuresMass estimates that in 2008 Massachusetts foreclosure filings will increase by at least 15 to 25 percent above the historic highs reached in 2007.

ForeclosuresMass attributes the foreclosure increase to a “perfect storm” of factors. The pressures put on property owners include the effects of adjustable rate mortgages, sub-prime and other ‘exotic’ loans, the distressed lending market, decreased property values, substantially increased gasoline and home heating costs and the slumping economy.

The ForeclosuresMass March 2008 Market Analysis Report shows that foreclosures are up in 282 of the state’s 351 communities, with 74 communities experiencing at least a 75 percent jump in foreclosure filings in the past 12 months. Overall, 31,516 homeowners faced foreclosure in the past 12 months, a statewide increase of 45.6 percent.

Highlights of the ForeclosuresMass March 2008 Market Analysis Report:

• Lenders initiated 31,516 foreclosures statewide against homeowners in the 12 months from March 1, 2007 to February 29, 2008, a year over year increase of 45.60%
• In the past 12 months foreclosures are up in 282 of the state’s 351 communities, with 74 communities experiencing at least a 75 percent increase in filings
• February 2008 saw 2,861 filings, the 4th highest month on record, and 28.47% above February 2007 levels
• January 2008’s 3,230 foreclosure filings were the single highest monthly total in Massachusetts history, and represented a 46.35% increase over January 2007
• Q4 of 2007 was the highest quarter on record; final tally of foreclosures was 8,578, well ahead of Q3 2007, which had set the previous record of 8,175
• In the past 12 months Dukes, Nantucket, Suffolk, Essex, Barnstable and Middlesex Counties all experienced increases of at least 50%. Dukes County experienced a 100% increase (98 v. 49), Nantucket County saw a 64.71% increase (28 v. 17), Suffolk County had a 63.16% increase (3,836 v. 2,351), Essex County filings jumped by 58.59% (4,174 v. 2,632), Barnstable County increased by 54.85% (1,595 v. 1,030) and Middlesex County experienced a 53.09% increase (4,957 v. 3,238)

Download MassForeclosure_March_2008_Market_Analysis_Report.pdf

Lynn, MA Multi-families $200K Or Less

Lynn, Massachusetts presently has more than 50 multi-family properties on the market for $200,000 or less.

Many of these properties are owned by banks or the properties are short sales.

Search for multi-family homes for $200K or less.

Interested In Buying Foreclosed Property?

Buyers Brokers Only, LLC is sponsoring a home buyer seminar on Saturday April 5, 2008 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Best Western (401 Lowell Avenue, Haverhill, MA) in Haverhill.

Learn about every aspect of buying a home: mortgages, pre approval, finding a home (single-family, condos, multi-families, new construction), the multiple listing service (MLS), buying bank-owned properties and short sales, negotiating the best price, home inspections, purchase & sale agreement, the closing, tips and advice from the professionals and an opportunity to ask all your questions.

Space Limited: Please RSVP by filling out the form online or by contacting Alexa by March 31, 2008 at 978.457.4552 or astone@buyersbrokersonly.com. Space is limited to 50 people.

Knowledgeable Speakers:
Richard J. Rosa, Esq., Buyers Brokers Only, LLC: Rich is a real estate broker, lawyer and co-owner of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC. He has practiced law for 12 years, and he is a member of the Massachusetts Association of Buyer Agents.

David S. Kres, Esq., Buyers Brokers Only, LLC: Dave is a real estate broker and lawyer, as well as co-owner of Buyers Brokers Only, LLC. Dave earned the North Shore Association of REALTORS® (NSAR) Rookie of the Year award in 2006 and currently is the president-elect at NSAR.

Robert Barr, VIP Mortgage: Rob is the vice president of sales for VIP Mortgage, located in Danvers, MA. He has 20 years of experience in the mortgage industry and has helped more than 1,000 individuals/families finance their first home.

Jeffrey Stelman, Esq., Schribman & Stelman, LLP: Jeff is a partner in the law firm of Shribman & Stelman, LLP, located in Salem, MA. He has practiced law for 17 years and has conducted more than 1,500 real estate closings.

Josh Amsler, Jackson Home Inspection: Josh works for Jackson Home Inspection in Andover, MA. He has more than 10 years experience as a licensed home inspector and has completed more than 6,000 home inspections. He also is a member of the National Association of Home Inspectors.

Donation: $15 per person. All proceeds going to Rebuilding Together Greater Haverhill, Inc., which helps revitalize homes and neighborhoods for low-income homeowners and communities in need, especially the elderly, the disabled and families, helping them to live in warmth, safety and independence. Please make checks payable to Rebuilding Together Greater Haverhill Inc., and please mail checks to Buyers Brokers Only, LLC, 7 Kenoza Avenue Haverhill MA 01830. Space limited to first 50 people, so please RSVP.

Haverhill, MA Multi-families $200K And Less

Haverhill, Massachusetts presently has more than 35 multi-family homes on the market for $200K or less.

Many of these properties are bank-owned properties or short sales.

Search for multi-families in Haverhill, MA for $200K or less.

November Auction Winners Still Aren't In Homes

Nearly a quarter of 300 winning bidders from a November auction still have not taken title to the properties auctioned, despite representations from the auctioneer that the deals would close within 21 days, the Boston Globe reported March 22, 2008.

"The rules were simple: The high bidder on each property paid a $5,000 deposit, signed a purchase agreement, and arranged a mortgage. The company, Real Estate Disposition Corp., told bidders they would close within 21 days of the auction. But some sales have been delayed for months because the auction company accepted properties from mortgage companies before those companies completed the process of foreclosing on the prior owners. In other cases, bidders say they have received no explanation for the long wait."

For those of us helping clients purchase bank-owned and short sale properties, nothing is a surprise. On most occasions, banks are neither operating in good faith with buyers nor making rational decisions about the sale of properties. It's no wonder so many lenders are faced with a mountain of bad loans.

"In one instance, three friends made the winning bid of $130,000 on a house in Lee. The mortgage company delayed the closing, then sent a letter in February offering to return the deposit. Before the friends responded, the company put the house back on the market for $179,000, then quickly agreed to sell it to someone else."

Real Estate Disposition Corp. apparently holds auctions to sell foreclosed homes that mortgage companies can't sell on the open market, often because the properties are in poor condition.

The article pointed out something that most people don't realize about these multi-property auctions. Most properties being auctioned have a reserve, which means if the highest bid does not reach the reserve price the seller does not have to sell the property.

The company auctioned about 300 properties over two days at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center. According to an article in the Globe at the time, some people bid on properties they never saw. My guess is that the vast majority of those people had no idea what they were getting into.

Real Estate Disposition Corp. plans to auction roughly 170 more properties at the Hynes next Saturday. That ought to be interesting. I think many of these "wanna be" investors don't seek professional advice because they don't want to hear anything that contradicts their dreams of striking it rich.

Below I have attached a brochure I give potential clients that includes basic information about foreclosures.

Read The Boston Globe Article

Foreclosure_Short_Sale_Brochure

MA Bank-owned, Short-sale Properties Reach 6%

According to a post on the Boston Real Estate Now Blog, about six percent of homes for sale in Massachusetts are either bank owned or short sales.

The data comes from Movoto, a real estate analytics firm based in California.

"The scale of the problem ranges, from 17.6 percent of homes on the market in Berkshire County to 3.6 percent in Hampden County. But the share is at least 5 percent everywhere but Hampden and Bristol counties, and it increased since January everywhere but in Hampden and Norfolk counties."

Read The Entire Post

National Foreclosures Reach All-time High In Q4

Foreclosures in the United States reached an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2007, the Boston Herald reported March 6, 2008.

"The Mortgage Bankers Association, in a quarterly snapshot of the mortgage market released today, said the proportion of all mortgages nationwide that fell into foreclosure shot up to a record high of 0.83 percent in the October-to-December quarter. That surpassed the previous high of 0.78 percent set in the prior quarter."

At the same time, more homeowners fell behind on their monthly mortgage payments.

Read The Boston Herald Article

U.S. Foreclosure Activity Rises 57 Percent

U.S. foreclosure activity increased 8 percent in January 2008 compared to December and shot up 57 percent compared to January 2007, RealtyTrac, a publisher of foreclosure data, reported February 26, 2008.

Nevada leads the U.S. in foreclosure activity.

"Despite a month-over-month drop in foreclosure activity, Nevada continued to document the highest foreclosure rate among the 50 states. Foreclosure filings were reported on a total of 6,087 Nevada properties during the month, a 45 percent decrease from the previous month but still a 95 percent increase from January 2007."

For January, California's foreclosure rate ranked second highest, and  Florida ranked third. Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, Georgia, Connecticut, Ohio and Michigan.

Read The RealtyTrac Press Release

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Post Huge Losses

Fannie Mae, the largest buyer and backer of U.S. home loans, lost nearly $3.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007, as a result of home-loan delinquencies and poor bets on interest rates, The Boston Globe reported February 28, 2008.

Freddie Mac was expected to report about a $1.5 billion fourth-quarter loss.

Read The Boston Globe Article