LoudounForeclosures.com Is Now Mobile-Friendly

If you've ever pulled up LoudounForeclosures.com on your PDA/cell web browser, you've probably said to yourself "Man, this looks like crap and isn't very functional!" Well, no longer. As of today, you can get a PDA/cell web browser friendly version of LoudounForeclosures.com (and LoudounScene.com) via MoFuse.

Mofuse is a service that takes web site and blogs and creates a PDA/cell web browser-friendly version that is simple, functional and loads very quickly. And no, it's not just for iPhones (I have a Blackberry and it works great). The posts come up only as headlines hyperlinked to the full post. The posts are formatted to fit within your particular screen for easy viewing, pictures and all.

MoFuse even integrates "Email", "Bookmark on del.icio.us" and "Share On Twitter" buttons at the bottom of each post. The navigation is simple with a "Next" as well as a "See full HTML" button at the bottom of each post.

There is absolutely no software for you to download nor do you need to register for the service. All you need to have is the url of the mobile version of the site.

To get the url to the mobile version of LoudounForeclosures.com, click on this button:

And to get the url to the mobile version of LoudounScene.com, click on this button:

(You can also find this button at the top of the first right-hand column on each page of LoudounScene.com)

If you run into any issues or concerns while using the mobile version, please let me know so I can contact MoFuse about it.

In Case You Didn’t Know About LoudounScene.com…

In case some of you did not know, I also write a sister blog - LoudounScene.com - that covers the general Loudoun County real estate scene, market statistics and more. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do so when you have a moment. Would love to hear your feedback and comments about either/both.

Thanks!

Danilo

New Bank of America Rules for Short-Sale Negotiations

If you're trying to negotiate a short-sale with Bank of America, you may be in for a rude awakening. According to a post by Dameon Russell of Century 21 Landmark Group in California, Bank of America has tightened up their policies regarding short-sales, specifically with their junior liens (2nd+ trusts).

Bank of America stated that short-pay offers for release of lien are to be declined unless the offer is equal to or greater 10 percent of the oustanding balance. And this is only the starting point/minimum - the amount may be greater in some situations.

In addition, the "offer" has to be cash and it's due at closing. No promissory notes in lieu of cash or dividing the sum into some cash and a promissory note.

In addition (excerpt from Dameon Russell's post):

They [Bank of America] now clearly state that they fully intend to pursue the balance anyway.  Important also to note that the 10% figure is not automatic, meaning this is a MINIMUM starting point.  They are now also requiring the verbiage on the HUD, line # 505, to not include the word "settlement"; it must say offer.

Apparently, using the word "settlement" potentially curtails their ability to pursue the balance of the debt in the future.  Whereas, if an offer of 10% is accepted by them, they want to be absolutely certain it is understood that the remaining balance is NOT forgiveable and that they reserve all available recourse to collect that debt from your client after C.O.E.

IF, the cash offer to BofA for release of lien is equal to or greater than 85%, they will consider that a "settlement" and the balance forgiveable.

Note that this policy is retroactive to July 1 so if you have a short-sale negotiation currently going on with Bank of America with a junior lien involved, you will be affected. Check with your agent and/or loss mitigation contact at Bank of America for more information.

Foreclosures/REOs Comprise Nearly 20 Percent of US Inventory

RealtyTrac just released a report which shows that nearly 1 in 5 homes on the market in the US are foreclosures/bank-owned. The report also states that US foreclosure filings are up 8 percent from June to July and up 55 percent from a year ago.

The worst hit states are California, Nevada, Florida and Ohio. California happens to have 3 of the 4 metropolitan areas with the highest rate of foreclosure-related filings.

Here's a heat map showing the level of foreclosure activity across the US (click on image to enlarge):

Photo credit: RealtyTrac

Loudoun County Foreclosure/Bank-Owned and Short-Sale Statistics - July 2008

With all the hype and talk about foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties, especially in Loudoun County, you’re probably wondering what that segment of the real estate market is up to. Let’s look at the statistics to find out…

Supply/Inventory

• The number of foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties that came on the market in July 2008 was 318. This is an 8 percent increase from June 2008 (318 versus 291).
• The number of foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties that came on the market in July 2008 was 45 percent more than in July 2007 (218 versus 175). This statistic in itself does not look very good, but let’s continue looking at buyer demand and then look at the overall picture.
• New foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale listings comprised 47 percent of the total new listings in Loudoun County in July 2008

Demand

• The number of foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties that went under contract (aka sold) in July 2008 was 299. This is a 12 percent increase from June 2008 (299 versus 263). This is a key statistic because July is usually slower than June when it comes to buyer activity and shows that buyer demand for these types of properties is up.
• The number of foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties that sold in July 2008 was 440 percent higher than in July 2007 (299 versus 68). This shows a huge year over year improvement that has been the general trend in Loudoun County so far this year.
• Foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties comprised 54 percent of the total number of homes sold in Loudoun County in July 2008

Although inventory is up, buyer demand for distressed properties has risen tremendously helping to absorb these new properties/listings and stabilize the market. For example:

• In July 2007, the ratio of new listings to buyer demand was 5:2 (for every 5 new listings, 2 went under contract/sold).
• In July 2008, the ratio was almost 1:1.

Although we haven’t seen the flow of foreclosure/bank-owned and short-sale properties slow down, buyers and investors are out in full force buying them up. The fact that buyers and investors are out is great news for not only the distressed property market in Loudoun, but the overall Loudoun County real estate market.

In a nutshell, despite increased inventory, the distressed property segment of the market is showing improvement. It’ll be even better once we see new inventory start to plateau and eventually go down while buyer demand stays strong. And if Loudoun County gets involved in buying up foreclosure/bank-owned properties like Fairfax County is going to do, that’ll be even better.

Related Articles

Foreclosure/REO and Short-Sales Selling Like Hot Cakes

Loudoun County Top 10 Places To Buy Foreclosures

Loudoun County Real Estate Market Statistics - 1st Half 2008 vs 2007

Loudoun County Real Estate Market Looking Up! (Come Check Out The Stastistics)

Loudoun Real Estate Inventory Levels Well Below National Average