Fewer Olathe, Kansas Homes go to foreclosure?

Fewer Olathe, Kansas Homes go to foreclosure?

Nope.  

Nationwide, the number of foreclosure notices filed in November plunged 21%, the biggest month-over-month drop ever recorded. Filings fell 14% compared with November 2009.

Why should YOU care?

The number of Americans who actually lost their homes to bank repossessions plummeted even more steeply -- to 67,428. That was off a whopping 28% from 93,236 in October. Repossessions are down a third since September.

Ever heard of “Robo-Signing”?

A loan servicer, or lender, applies signatures electronically to documents they never see, and affix an electronic Notary stamp at the same time.

Many times the documents are found to be incorrect, even fraudulent....Doesn’t even slow down the system.

Robo-signing exposed sloppy industry practices that critics charged violated state laws and regulations. Some lenders froze the foreclosure process for all their loans until they could check whether their procedures were flawed and make any needed corrections.

The robo-signing moratoriums were responsible for the lion's share of the decrease in November filings.

For most borrowers in foreclosure, it will be a temporary reprieve.
In judicial foreclosure states, ones where courts are involved and where banks are most vulnerable to scrutiny over their foreclosure practices, filings dropped substantially more than in states where courts do not usually participate in foreclosure actions.

There were 34% fewer auctions scheduled in judicial states, month-over-month, compared with a 7% decline in non-judicial states.

Already, the banks have begun to restart the foreclosure process. Bank of America announced last week that it was phasing out its moratorium.

The temporary freezes likely won't benefit many homeowners, most will still lose their homes.  Many homeowners will use the extra time to negotiate loan modifications or do a short sale but not in any meaningful way.

Most experts agree we will see an acceleration of foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2011. Conditions will return to what people now refer to as a "normal market" during the second quarter.

While interest rates are near 30 year lows, it’s a great time to sell your Olathe home, and go hunting for the perfect Overland Park real estate purchase.

RE/MAX sells more homes than any other real estate company.

For a reason...should we talk?

Let us know what you think or add to our blog by writing a comment. Do you have a real estate question for the Real Estate Wizards? Email us at RealEstateWizard@DowellTaggart.com

Blog post written by the Dowell Taggart Team of RE/MAX Best Associates

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