Posted on 12/06/2006 6:24:53 PM PST by GodGunsGuts
Hundreds of Georgians lost their homes Tuesday.
The houses, taken from debt-laden homeowners, were sold to bidders on courthouse steps statewide.
The increasingly busy monthly auctions show that not all of the residential market is in decline.
Foreclosures are rising.
More than 115,000 properties across the country were in the foreclosure process in October — up 42 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, a California company that tracks foreclosures.
Foreclosures in Georgia are up a stunning 99 percent in the past year...
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
"1. Colorado 1 out of 337 homes (117 % increase) '
We're number one! Ummm, wait a minute.
What is the employment situation like in Georgia right now?
LOL
BTW, do you have any idea what areas are being hit hardest in Colorado?
Georgia unemployment rate is 4.7%
National average is 4.1%
"you have any idea what areas are being hit hardest in Colorado?"
Not really, but my impression is that it is the lower price markets actually, the ones that people barely, and did not really qualify for, under realistic lending rules.
Hmmmm, interesting, especially since property there isn't as outlandish as here in Arizona, for example, yet we aren't even on the top ten list here.
and all.....so help a dummy...if a home is on the foreclosure list that means the owner is seriously in arrears. Typically,probably to the point of action or sale or closure. So say a 150 k home is involved in one of these foreclosures and this auction is held and this very 150 k house in included, what are the next buyer benefits ? Can the home be bought for 100 k if that is the highest bid ? Why of the original owners down payment or the money down as it applies to the balance? TIA
The big problem in Colorado is mortgage fraud. A lot of the fraud involves illegals also. Not in the article below, but in the news recently were details of a fraud ring that was manufacturing documents to obtain FHA loans. The applicants were all illegals.
From an article online today:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/real_estate/article/0,1299,DRMN_414_5191248,00.html
A large percentage of filings are concentrated in the "foreclosure belts" of Adams and Weld counties, north Aurora, and northeastern Denver neighborhoods such as Montbello and Green Valley Ranch.
Some upscale neighborhoods are virtually untouched
In some cases, people are offered more than the house is worth in exchange for a "gift" donation. The phony buyer collects the gift and never makes a mortgage payment.
In other cases, homeowners who think they are refinancing their mortgage really are signing quitclaim deeds, so the person becomes a renter in their own home.
These stats are meaningless. If you go from one to two you have a 100% increase but not a big problem.
Here is one article on illegal immigrant mortgage fraud in Colorado:
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/7newsinvestigates/10418387/detail.html
7NEWS Investigates Mortgage Loans Issued To Illegal Immigrants
Justin Goodman's Family Says He Would Be Alive If Not For Loans
DENVER -- Colorado's housing foreclosures are nearing a record, driving down prices and damaging neighborhoods and one reason is mortgage fraud.
A hit-and-run death has led 7NEWS investigator John Ferrugia on a trail to what may be a ring involved in setting up illegal immigrants with fraudulent mortgages.
Daniel Martinez-Ruiz is an illegal immigrant charged this month with using phony documents to purchase property. His wife Conception Hernandez is charged with similar crimes and is out on bail.
7NEWS Investigators first learned about them and the questionable loans after they began investigating the death of Justin Goodman, who was killed in 2004 by a hit-and-run driver at 88th Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
The man who killed him and who is now serving time in prison is Roberto Martinez-Ruiz, another member of the same immigrant family.
So, how could he and his family get mortgages to buy homes?
"There's lenders out there that will do a completely fraudulent loan to get them a house so that they can stay here," said John Vizzi.
Vizzi is in the real estate and mortgage lending business and he is the uncle of Goodman.
7NEWS' investigation has found that the immigrant family used phony documents, and in apparent collusion with realtors and lenders, received fraudulent loans to buy two homes in Thornton which were backed by F.H.A. loans.
"My nephew would definitely have been alive today if they hadn't made those loans," said Vizzi.
The immigrant family applied for a loan to buy a house on East 77th Avenue in Thornton. Records show that Martinez-Ruiz and Hernandez made the application.
But 7NEWS investigators have learned Martinez used a phony name on a fraudulent alien card because he had no credit and documents show that Hernandez used a fraudulent Colorado driver's license.
"John, the reason this case got brought to our attention is because of you and the family of the hit-and-run case," Adams County district attorney Don Quick told John Ferrugia.
Quick has now charged three members of the family and a realtor with several felonies.
"In this case, the buyers themselves are charged as being part of the scheme," said Quick.
7NEWS has learned that part of the scheme also involves phony W-2 forms and pay stubs from a Colorado cleaning service.
Golden Eagle Cleaning was set up by Daniel Martinez, again with fraudulent documents, as income verification to obtain the loan, Ferrugia said.
But Hernandez claims it wasn't the family who produced the fraudulent financial documents, but the realtor and lender.
The lender's name is William Romano.
7NEWS investigators learned it is Romano whose name appears on the loan application and who accepted the fraudulent documents.
But was it Romano who actually produced the phony W-2s and check stubs?
When approached by 7NEWS investigators, Romano said he didn't know anything and he was clearly not anxious to discuss his work. Romano said he did not make loans to illegal immigrants.
"The lender's responsibility at the end of the day is to make sure the underlying documents are sufficient and accurate," said Quick.
Because of 7NEWS' investigation, Quick is now investigating Romano and the realtors he has dealt with.
"In this case, we know a number of people who were involved in those documents. We're still pending the investigation to determine if it's a broader net than that," said Quick.
Vizzi said this case is about a lot more than just questionable loans.
"That to me is part of the reason why Justin Goodman today is dead," said Vizzi.
Romano is only under investigation. He has not been charged with a crime, although the real estate agent who dealt with the illegal immigrants has been charged.
The point is how mortgage involving illegal immigrants works, Ferrugia said. It is clear that everyone in the chain of illegal activity gets paid and there's no law that makes anyone in the chain -- the realtor, the lenders, the FHA, directly responsible for insuring documents used in the transaction are legitimate.
In this case, foreclosures on these houses cost taxpayers a total of about $140,000 because the FHA protected the lenders.
This is only one of thousands of such cases costing taxpayers millions in the state of Colorado alone. Most of it simply goes unnoticed because no government agency has time or the mandate to investigate.
Read the paper work. Or at least glance at it. (If you don't know English, have someone you know at the closing. If you are here illegally , go home!)
I believe so, especially if the mortgage holder doesn't think they're going to get a significantly better deal further on down the road.
Buyer's down payment (if any)? Gone.
The difference between the mortgage loan balance due and the sale amount, to the best of my knowlege (not that I actually know what I'm talking about) will be either covered by mortgage insurance (PMI) or eaten by the bank.
In the latter case, I think that theoretically the bank can come after the original mortgage holder for the difference, but that's kind of silly - if they had that kind of money, they wouldn't have gotten foreclosed in the first place.
Yes, I've been told too.
I live in Georgia and I have looked at the purchase prices and loans amounts for properties comparable to mine in my vicinity (all the recorded documents are available online), and I have been amazed to see how many people do not opt for 30-year, fixed rate loans. They may not qualify for them. In any event, people get all kinds of interest-only, ARM, and piggyback loans. A few of my neighbors even borrowed every penny of their purchase price plus closing costs, and got ARMs to boot. If you are certain you will sell before your payments jump I can see getting riskier financing, but otherwise, why roll the dice and risk foreclosure and ruining your credit rating?
thanks and I look forward to other comments of confirmation. Seems if an ole boy was sitting
on an extra million,foreclosures would be great cash buys
all things considered.
" bought for 100 k if that is the highest bid ? "
Only if there is no reserve (minimum amount that can be accepted)
I have to disagree. I live in northern michigan. we have no illegals. Yet forclosures are EVERYWHERE!!! This is about our economy being in recession. layoffs everywhere and no jobs to have.
5 years ago when all was booming everyone went out and bought a home that they COULD afford with their income. But when your job just goes away and so do all other jobs you are forced into forclosure.
The economy is spooky here right now!!!
I am trying to sell my house which is worth at least 20 thousand more than what we're asking just to move somewhere where we can actually make a living!
I agree with you completely! Best of luck on your relocation efforts :o)
I've heard tales that in the 1930's, folks who actually had a little bit of money could buy whole towns.
I used to handle foreclosures for a large bank. Essentially, the minimum amount the bank will take for the property depends on the loan type.
FHA loan - bidding will start at the total debt, which includes the principal, interest, attorney fees, securitization fees, taxes and any force-placed insurance that was neede during the foreclosure.
VA - Often a total debt bid also. Sometimes there is a buydown.
CONVENTIONAL - varies. Sometimes it's based on a BPO (Real Estate Brokers Price Opinion). Sometimes it's closer to total debt.
New buyers don't get to see the condition of the house inside, so they are at a distinct advantage. Some borrowers throw a tantrum when they are losing the house and mess it up bad inside. I've seen houses where the fixtures were gone, copper piping was gone, and walls were full of holes.
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