Knoxville Short Sales Category
Foreclosures Still Concentrated In Just A Few States
July 16th, 2009 categories: General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends
For the fourth consecutive month, the country’s foreclosure activity was dominated by a small number of states.
As reported by RealtyTrac.com, more than 50 percent of the country’s foreclosure-related actions in June concentrated in just 3 states:
- California
- Florida
- Nevada
The states rounding out the Top 10 include Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Texas, Ohio, Illinois and Colorado.
Meanwhile, June’s reported foreclosure figures are consistent with the data from earlier this year, suggesting that the foreclosure remedy plans put forth by the government and by lenders can barely keep pace with the national default rate.
Foreclosure-related actions nationwide are up 5 percent from May.
The silver lining in data this negative is that foreclosures are creating tremendous buying opportunities for the right buyers. Because foreclosed homes tend to sell at a discount versus non-foreclosed homes and because mortgage rates are low, home sales are showing strength in a multitude of markets because of ample supply at relatively cheap prices.
Distressed homes accounted for one-third of all existing home sales in May.
Search the complete June 2009 foreclosure report for yourself, including foreclosure heat maps and other trends on the RealtyTrac website.
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5 Tips For Distress Knoxville TN Homeowners
June 20th, 2009 categories: Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Sellers
FIVE THINGS DISTRESSED KNOXVILLE HOMEOWNERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SHORT SALES.
# 1 Short Sale V.S Foreclosure
A homeowner will be eligible for a mortgage sooner with a short sale. Many employers are requiring credit checks on all job applicants. A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge 
to employment. A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items an applicant can have and in most cases will challenge employment.
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Rick Smenner Is The First RE/MAX Agent In Knoxville TN To Earn CDPE Designation
June 20th, 2009 categories: About Rick, General, Knoxville Short Sales, Sellers
RICK SMENNER EARNS PRESTIGIOUS DESIGNATION TO HELP KNOXVILLE HOMEOWNERS IN DANGER OF FORECLOSURE
Rick Smenner of RE/MAX Preferred Properties has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure 
avoidance and short sales. This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.
Short sales allow the cash-strapped seller to repay the mortgage at the price that the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property. With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy. More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.
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Pareto Principle In Action : 80 Percent Of The Country’s Foreclosures Occur In 20 Percent Of The States
June 11th, 2009 categories: General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends
The Pareto Principle is a statistical concept most commonly known as the 80/20 Rule.
It says 80 percent of the effects come from 20 of the causes.
Apparently, the 80/20 Rule applies to foreclosures, too — at least according to data compiled by foreclosure-tracking firm RealtyTrac.
Based on data from May, 11 states accounted for 80% of the country’s foreclosure activity. The remaining 20% was spread across the 39 others.
That’s 80/20 almost to the tee.
The disparity goes deeper that that, though. The top three states in RealtyTrac’s list — California, Florida, Nevada — were home to half of May’s foreclosure-related actions.
Clearly, foreclosures are concentrated in certain geographies.
But, no matter in which state you live, foreclosures still impact you. This is because mortgage lenders are often national companies, lending in all 50 states.
When home loans go bad — in any state – lenders respond by increasing downpayment requirements and by adding new borrowing hurdles. If you’ve applied for a mortgage in the last 18 months, you’ve experienced this phenomenon personally.
On the other side, if you’re a home buyer in a foreclosure-heavy state, you’re finding terrific value versus several years ago. It’s one reason why Existing Home Sales in the West Region are up by 19 percent from last year, for example.
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For The Second Month In A Row, Foreclosures Are Concentrated In 3 States
May 13th, 2009 categories: General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends
For the second month in a row, the country’s foreclosure activity was dominated by a small number of states.
As shown by the latest stats from RealtyTrac.com, more than half of the country’s foreclosure actions from April were concentrated in just 3 states:
- California
- Florida
- Nevada
Those 3 states are home to but 19 percent of the U.S. population.
No matter in which state you live, however, it’s important to understand the far-reaching ramifications of foreclosures.
Although real estate is local, mortgage lending is not. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insure loans in all 50 states and when those mortgages go into default, the government entities often take losses.
This is the primary reason both Fannie and Freddie asked for government aid to the tune of $19 billion and $6 billion, respectively, last week. It’s also the reason why loan fees have increased over the last 12 months — another way to shore up balance sheets is to raise consumer charges.
Furthermore, downpayment requirements are larger than before foreclosures proliferated and private mortgage insurance is more expensive, too.
These are important changes to homeowners in all states — not just the 3 named above. In some cases, they can be the difference between a home loan approval and an underwriting turndown.
Search the complete April 2009 foreclosure report for yourself on RealtyTrac’s website.
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The 3 States That Accounted For 50% Of The March 2009 Foreclosures
April 16th, 2009 categories: General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends
Since 2007, foreclosures have dominated real estate news. You can’t turn on the news or open a paper without some foreclosure-related story.
But for all of the discussion, foreclosures continue to be geographically concentrated.
Adding up the latest stats from RealtyTrac.com, more than half of the country’s foreclosure actions from March occurred in just 3 states — California, Florida and Nevada.
Those 3 states represent just 19 percent of the nation’s population.
Despite the local concentration of foreclosures, however, they remain a national problem. This is because mortgage lenders lend in all 50 states — not just 3 of them — so the impact of mortgage defaults in one region can quickly spread to others.
In part because of foreclosures are higher, the following has happened:
- Mortgage guidelines have tightened
- Downpayment requirements have increased
- Private mortgage insurance has become more expensive
That’s an important set of changes for a would-be borrower. In some cases, it can keep a person from qualifying.
Search the March 2009 foreclosure report for yourself on RealtyTrac.com’s website.
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The Half-Truth Of The Headline “1 In 8 U.S. Homes Are Late Paying Or In Foreclosure”
March 10th, 2009 categories: Buyers, General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Sellers
USA Today ran this 2008 Foreclosures By State heatmap last week, reminding us of a simple truth: Headline statistics can be misleading.
According to data compiled by RealtyTrac, 1 in 8 U.S. homes were in various stages of default or delinquency at the end of 2008. This is a fact and it was widely reported by the press.
However, as the heatmap plainly shows, in stripping out just 35 of the nation’s 3,232 counties, we can decrease the number of foreclosures nationally by half.
In other words, yes, 1 in 8 U.S. homes face mortgage trouble. In your neighborhood, though, the ratio is likely much, much lower. Real estate is a local phenomenon. National statistics rarely apply.
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Some Homeowners Are Eligible For Mortgage Relief. Are You One Of Them?
March 5th, 2009 categories: General, Knoxville Short Sales, Market Trends, Sellers
When the White House first introduced the Making Home Affordable program in February, it was positioned as a mortgage program with two goals:
- To help financially-needy homeowners get mortgage relief
- To help homeowners who’ve lose equity qualify for today’s low rates
Wednesday, in a much-anticipated announcement, the U.S. Treasury introduced new details about Making Home Affordable.
It also created an ”Am I Eligible For Making Home Affordable” form on its website.
In the press release, the Treasury detailed the President’s original blueprint. Namely, it provided explicit loan modification instructions that will assist up to 4 million delinquent homeowners and their respective mortgage servicers.
The modification guidelines are a thorough 17 pages long and leave little question about the loan modification process, and how it must be carried out.
But for as much ink committed to helping delinquent homeowners, the Treasury gave surprisingly little guidance to the estimated 5 million homeowners for whom deteriorating home equity has rendered refinancing impossible.
For these Americans, the Treasury instead offers a basic Q&A and directs homeowners to call Fannie Mae and/or Freddie Mac to confirm their eligibility. The “refinance plan”, in summary, says that a homeowner who has paid his mortgage as agreed and whose home value is “about the same or less” as the amount owed on his first mortgage may be eligible.
That’s about as much as the Treasury could say.
If after browsing the website, you still have questions about the Making Home Affordable program, call your mortgage lender with specific questions.
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