Charlotte Real Estate, Foreclosures, Short Sales

California based IndyMac has been seized by U.S. banking regulators on Friday after withdrawls of panicking depositors brought about the third largest banking failure in U.S. history.  As a mortgage broker, I brokered many loans with IndyMac for Charlotte real estate.  IndyMac had a large subprime, low documentation line of products.  "Back when subprime was cool", these loans were very hot. 

Subprime loans should not be mistaken for "bad loans".  Many borrowers who wanted to become homeowners qualified for subprime loans due to challenged credit.  It does not necessarily mean that a spouse going through a divorce, a person with medical bills not reimbursed, or a victim of identity theft should not have the opportunity to become a homeowner.  It DOES mean when given a second chance, do the right thing.... pay your mortgage.  Charlotte real estate homeowners have struggled with option/Alt-a loans.

IndyMac will reopen fully on Monday as IndyMac Federal Bank under Federal Deposit Insurance Corp supervision. The FDIC, which will seek a buyer for IndyMac, estimated the cost of the bank's failure to its $53 billion insurance fund at between $4 billion and $8 billion.

What Happened to IndyMac?

IndyMac grew rapidly during the housing boom.  When the housing bubble began to burst, investors ran away from mortgage-backed securities.  This caused the bank to steadily lose money on it's existing pool of non-performing assets (foreclosures) and not be able to successfully fund new loans.  IndyMac, with assets of $32 billion and deposits of $19 billion, is the fifth bank to fail this year.

If you are interested in bank owned Charlotte real estate and surrounding area properties, search our database now for incredible deals being offered.

Despite families splashing in the neighborhood pool, kids riding their bikes and people walking their dogs, a legal battle is waging in Rock Hill's Mabry Park Subdivision in western Rock Hill South Carolina.  Homeowners are suing Cornerstone Development, the Rock Hill company that developed Mabry Park and two adjacent subdivisions along Rawlinson Road. 

The lawsuit was filed almost a year ago and is still unresolved.  The following are the complaints from the homeowners:

• Properly maintain common areas;

• Remove construction debris;

• Fill in open pits that turned into pools of stagnant water;

• Repair ruts in the road caused by heavy construction trucks; and

• Build enough parking spaces at the pool and clubhouse.

The homeowners believe that the pool and common areas.  On  weekends, cars park on both sides of the road, making it difficult for traffic to pass through.  According to the homeowners, There are three parking spaces at our pool for 480 homes, and two of them are handicapped

Cornerstone's response, filed last November, denies any wrongdoing suggested by the allegations.

The complaint asks for a ruling from a master-in-equity judge, but no court date has been set.  Neighbors are hopeful for a resolution, but aren't sure how long it will take.

The complaint asks for a ruling from a master-in-equity judge, but no court date has been set. Neighbors are hopeful for a resolution, but aren't sure how long it will take.

Charlotte Area Builders Struggle with the Housing Crisis

One major builder who has struggled during the current foreclosure crisis is Beazer homes. 

The Beazer foreclosures are concentrated in 10 developments, each of which has a foreclosure rate of 20 percent or higher. Together they contain about 1,150 homes and at least 280 foreclosures.  In Beazer's Brookmere subdivision, according to homeowner Veronica Wilkes, "...31 homes were built on her street.  Thirteen have foreclosed".

Beazer built 155 homes in a section called Stewarts Crossing between 1999 and 2001 in northeast Charlotte.  Fifty-two of those homes have foreclosed.

Foreclosures are up 123%  this year from the same time last year and we aren't done yet.  This mortgage mess madness is causing record number foreclosures across the company.  Despite what you may hear on the news, a lot of lenders are doing all that they can to keep homeowners in their homes.  We currently work with a number of banks that have requested loss mitigation services from our firm.  Instead of letting the home go to auction because the homeowner has not responded to phone calls and letters, they are contracting us to contact the homeowner at home at least three times prior to public auction.  Once during the day, once during the evening and once on the weekend in homes of modifying their current loan to a more comfortable payment.  Sometimes the loan papers are signed, sometimes not.  If the homeowner is not interested, we are getting the go ahead to do a short sale agreement on the spot.  The lender DOES NOT want the home.  Charlotte area real estate brokers can provide a valuable service to either help our current housing situation and/or a homeowner in default of their loan.

Over 50% of People Searching for a Home are Looking for a Foreclosure

According to CEO of Trulia.com, over 50% of people searching for a home are looking for a foreclosure.  Why? Why not?  They are now being priced to sell by the lenders and many of the homes are close to move-in condition.  A good inspection by a general contractor and cosmetic work can be a great investment for a first-time homebuyer or investor.  We are now seeing a larger amount of high-end homes going into foreclosure as well.  Move-up buyers can take advantage of a great deal if they can sell their home. 

Short Sales May be Easier to Do

In the coming months, short sales may be easier to negotiate with lenders.  In the past, they have been relunctant to work deals with real estate brokers to avoid the home going to public auction.  By our calculations, more than 94% of homes go unsold at public auction at our courthouse downtown in Charlotte.  Why?  Because many home buyers and even investors do not want to buy a home unseen.  You can get a better deal after the home goes into foreclosure.  Not only can you inspect the home, but the bank would then  be committed to the home and paying holding costs associated with the home.  Contact our office at (704) 559-5988 for information on buying a foreclosed property.

A North Carolina state senator and her former domestic partner have defaulted on a $1.3 million mortgage on a New Hanover County home.  With a monthly mortgage payment of $7,156, Senator Julia Boseman and her domestic partner Melissa Jarrell are facing foreclosure.  The home is scheduled to be auctioned June 25th at the county courthouse in Wilmington, North Carolina.  There are currently $4700.00 in back taxes owed on the property as well. 

Big Resets Scheduled for 2009

"The folks who say the housing market will stabilize anytime soon must be smoking some really strong stuff."
- Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington.

Major resets of Option ARMs and Alt-A loans will cause further foreclosures and problems in the housing market. Sub-prime lenders could offer adjustable or teaser rates to those with bad credit. Teaser rates made up 23% of the U.S. mortgage market in 2006.  This is in comparison to only 8% in 2001.  There is a second leg of foreclosure crisis ahead of us for 2009.  

Alt-A loans were given to applicants with credit scores of 620-700.  The loans given to these borrowers included interest-only and no documentation loans.  There is an estimated ninety percent of borrowers who were granted an Option ARM in 2006 with little or no documentation. 

Lenders will need to find a way to get ahead of their current real estate owned and the second wave of foreclosures.  Some lenders such as Ocwen Financial are now outsourcing loss mitigation duties to Realtors before the home goes to public auction.  Ocwen is contracting local Realtors to offer alternatives to the homeowner facing foreclosure.  These practices are being put into place to hopefully curb unneccesary foreclosures with homeowners who are not contacting their lender.

Charlotte area real estate foreclosures are up along with Charlotte area short sales.  Homeowners are trying to sell their homes prior to public auction.  The percentage of homeowners taking action is still relatively low.  Charlotte active real estate for sale has increased to over 31,000 for last month.  Lenders will be turning to a method of selling their real estate owned property that is much faster than traditional real estate to include home auctions.  

If you would like information on any upcoming bank-owned auctions, please visit this link and register for the information.