The idea is to set aside $1.5 billion in foreclosure initiatives for homeowners in Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, California and Florida. All have seen at least 20% declines in home values in the past year.

So far, so good. The $1.5 billion is part of Obama’s larger $50 billion Home Affordable Modification Program and will be used to create an “innovation fund” that state agencies can tap for various efforts to reduce foreclosures they deem “preventable.”

Some of those plans include helping homeowners going through unemployment, or simply underwater on their mortage, or even those with multiple mortgages and home equity lines of credit. In other words, people who are in a world of hurt and could use the money.

Here’s where the problem comes in. The treasury estimates there are at least 1.5 million homeowners in these five states that meet the broad criteria set out above. It further estimates the cost of modifying their loans at around $12,000 each.

Let’s do the math, shall we? At 12k a pop, $1.5 billion will only provide help for around 125,000 homeowners ($12,000 x 125,000 = $1.5 billion).

125,000 homeowners will surely appreciate the help, but that is a far cry from 1.5 million that are desperately in need of help.

To be fair, Obama has acknowledged that not everyone will be helped under this latest plan – nor is it necessarily advisable that everyone who took out a ridiculous loan should be allowed to get it modified.

“I’ve got to again repeat — government can’t stop every foreclosure,” said the President. “There’s not enough money in the Treasury to stop every foreclosure.”

Of course, let’s hope that the modifications actually make it to the people who need them most and not to simply irresponsible borrowers who helped create the collapse and have managed to find loopholes to avail themselves of the bailout.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama’s Newest Initiative Helps … Well, A Few

Smoke and Mirrors in the Real Estate Market

Regardless of who you choose to listen to, there is a big smoke and mirrors game going on behind the scenes in the real estate world. On one hand, they want to paint a real picture, but the more important part of news is to hide the REAL figures inside of articles, to keep consumers buying and try to restore confidence to a failing housing market.

Looking at the headline at the National Association of Realtors news release, one may just get the idea that home sales are on the rise! When you get a few paragraphs deep however, you see that 33% of existing home sales are distressed homes, or property that in foreclosure of one method or another!

Distressed properties, which declined to 33 percent of all sales in May from 45 percent in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price because they generally sell at a discount relative to traditional homes.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Distressed Property Accounts for 33% Of May Home Sales

Foreclosure News Headlines are Deceiving!

If you are like myself and prefer to browse until you find something interesting to read, you would have completely missed the new foreclosure report for May. The RealtyTrac headline is: US Foreclosures Decrease 6% in May , Sounds all peachy right?

Get into the second paragraph however and the truth starts to unfold…

May foreclosure activity was the third highest month on record, and  marked the third straight month where the total number of properties with foreclosure  filings exceeded 300,000 — a first in the history of our report,” said  James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “While defaults  and scheduled foreclosure auctions were both down from the previous month,  bank repossessions, or REOs, were up 2 percent thanks largely to substantial  increases in several states, including Michigan, Arizona, Washington, Nevada,  Oregon and New York. We expect REO activity to spike in the coming months as  foreclosure delays and moratoria implemented by various state laws come to  an end.

No End in Sight – Expected to Get Worse!

Between Obama telling us that he expects nationwide unemployment to rise above the 10% mark, and real estate experts telling us that the next big wave of bank foreclosures is right around the corner with the ending of foreclosure delays and foreclosure moratoriums (I know, wrong spelling – I’m human) what exactly do we have to look forward to?

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Surprising News – Foreclosure Rate Still Setting Records!

What About the Foreclosure Rescue Plan

If you watch any of the network news channels, you may actually believe that the economy is turning around and getting better, but have you talked to your friends and neighbors? While the news networks are reporting increases in new mortgages and sales figures, what they are not telling us is that they are bogus numbers! Lets see… the Obama Foreclosure Plan takes effect, millions of homeowners, upside down in their home loans apply for refinance, and since the rescue plan involves getting a new mortgage… NOW you can see why the mortgage rate goes up! They aren’t new home sales, or existing home sales, they are refi’s!

When Will it Hit Bottom?

This really depends on which news network you listen to, but many are claiming it already has! Not! According to RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio, the drop in home values may be slowing a bit, but its likely that banks and lender seizures will increase in the coming months! “Lenders and servicers are beginning foreclosure proceedings on delinquent loans that had been delayed by legislative and industry moratoria,” Saccacio said.

Just to add to this, the unemployment rate in the US is showing no signs of slowing… no jobs = more foreclosures!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

So Much for Progress – Foreclosure Rate Reaches Record High!

The court injunction — which loan experts say appeared to be the first court-ordered stop for an entire state in the nation — stops judges in SC from finishing the foreclosure process on properties whose loans are guaranteed by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae or any other mortgage company that has signed on to a federal assistance program.

RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm, says the ruling could affect up to 5,000 South Carolina homes facing foreclosure.

Read the full story on the AP Wire, or see if you qualify for a mortgage loan modification now.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

South Carolina Homeowners Get a Stay from Foreclosure

Credit Card Companies Suck!

Lets not beat around the bush on this one… from annoying phone calls at all hours of the day, with the latest and great offers, to the volumes of junk mail we get in our mailbox every week, the Credit Card lenders are predatory as hell, and for many consumers, the thought of rolling over your unsecured debt for 6 months on a no interest card is very tempting! What they bury in the fine print however, is that with one small technicality like being 1 day late on a payment, your rate balloons and all terms are null and void, thus putting you into quite a pickle that may take years to get out of!

Credit is Just One Big Circle

Think about this for a second… Where do the credit card companies get the money to accommodate the “Unsecured” debt piling up on your credit card statement? They get it from the banks. As a matter of fact, most credit card companies are simply direct, or spinoff credit companies, partially or wholly owned by the same banks that issue the cards!  One of, if not the largest credit card lender is who? Citibank.  Next comes MBNA, which is owned by Bank of America. Do these two names ring a bell? Both are receiving taxpayer money as part of the foreclosure bailout!

Will Credit Card Reform Freeze Lending Further

If the credit card companies, or the banks, stop issuing cards to consumers or close credit accounts of those who are at risk of defaulting, the end result is more and more consumers defaulting on home loans, which once again starts the same cycle of tightening credit!

Its a catch 22 situation and have no doubt, we will have to deal with it one day anyhow!!

How many of You Live off Credit Cards?

I know there are many… in fact, we do too, in order to keep as much cash as we can in the bank! One day, it will bite us all in the ass!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Credit Card Reform will Add to Foreclosures!

Foreclosure Crisis Reality

The truth and reality is… as soon as Obama took office, many lenders placed a voluntary moratorium on foreclosures to give the new administration time to work out a plan that would help homeowners. Well, the foreclosure moratorium ended and as expected, the numbers are rising again!

From the RealtyTrac report:

March Activity Up 17 Percent From February, 46 Percent From March 2008

To put this into perspective, We the People, are being fed only bits and pieces of news from all sources, to try and paint a rosy good picture on a serious issue that’s not going away with a simple administration change, and tossing billions of dollars at it!

Bad Foreclosure News On the Horizon

Whether we all want to believe it or not, the ONLY way to stem this foreclosure crisis is by building wealth at the community level! Dumping billions of dollars into the banking and insurance industry was only meant to keep the investors (aka China, World Bank) happy during the time it took to reverse the foreclosure trends.

I am not an expert in the banking industry by any means… but I predict we are about to hear some very troubling news about home foreclosure rates!

What do you think?

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Foreclosure Crisis Ready to Explode Again

5 Ways to Avoid Being Scammed

If you are in trouble, the last thing you need to worry about, is whether the foreclosure prevention service you just found, is actually trying to help you, or just get some of the hard earned money, you can not afford to spend!

1. Contact your Local City or Town Council First!

   Many local leaders have recognized the scams that are growing faster than you or I could imagine, and they are starting to take action by holding local foreclosure prevention workshops, geared to inform homeowners of what you can do on your own, versus paying a fee to have it done for you! Open Google and search for foreclosure prevention workshops in your area!

2. Know ALL Fee’s Before You Sign Anything!

   It can be very tempting when one of the new Foreclosure Prevention Service companies tells you that for a flat fee of $749, they will help you get your mortgage reduced by hundreds of dollars every month! What they may not have mentioned yet however, is that they are simple there to help you complete the paperwork, before it needs to be submitted to an Attorney for actual filing, which results in an additional fee, usually much higher than theirs! Know ALL fees up front!

3. Calculate the Cost Versus Savings First!

   Many of the new Foreclosure Prevention Services out there, charge a fee that often range from $750-$1200 to review your individual situation and help you apply for a loan modification. Once you add in theirs and the Attorney fees, the initial cost may be much more than you could ever save!

   In many cases, your loan is only going to be modified for 2-3 years, so if you are only saving $100 / month on your home mortgage, yet paying $3000 or more in preparation and filing fees, you will end up losing money in the longrun! This does not even include any additional costs that can be applied by the lender!

4. Research the Business and Its Previous Customers!

   As mentioned above, these new Foreclosure Prevention Services are springing up in scores every day! Make sure you ask them how long they have been in business and if its only a short time, ask them what type of background they have in the foreclosure prevention industry! In many cases, the same people who contributed to the failure of the mortgage industry, have changed gears and are now claiming to be specialists in helping your prevent foreclosure on the same loans they serviced originally!

5. Do it Yourself Foreclosure Prevention!

   Just like taxes and legal representation, you CAN handle the entire foreclosure prevention process yourself! Start by calling your lender and see what they need from you first! You may just find that with a few hours of your own time, you can get it done yourself! Unlike legal representation and taxes, there are not hundreds of loopholes and intricate details to deal with in negotiating a new mortgage! If your lender is not cooperative with you, continue bugging them EVERY DAY, until they comply!

The bottom line to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of a foreclosure prevention scam, is to be informed and know your options!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

5 Ways to Avoid Getting Scammed by Foreclosure Prevention Services

With the Obama Foreclosure Prevention Plan ready to be delivered to the people this morning, the one main question we are patiently awaiting an answer to:  Will the Plan Save my Home?

Cost of Foreclosure Plan

Are you Ready? $50 Billion Dollars!

Details to Follow

The unveiling of the Obama Foreclosure Plan comes just one day after he signed into law a $780+ billion dollar stimulus bill! Wall Street took no notice of the newest economic recovery stimulus and markets plunged on Tuesday anyhow! Later today, we will outline every phase of the new plan… and look at just how and who it will benefit!

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Obama’s Mortgage Foreclosure Plan set to be Delivered Today!

Although this increase was only a modest increase from the month previous, the increase demonstrates that despite recent attention paid to reducing the foreclosures, the financial issues in the real estate and mortgage industries are only deepening.

While there are an increasing number of mortgage assistance programs being developed at both the state and federal level, many of these efforts are only giving borrowers the opportunity to pay back their missed payments instead of lowering the monthly payments through interest rates and helping stop foreclosure. In essence, these programs could be a short term fix and ignoring the larger problem of interest rates that are too big for the borrower to afford. Lenders are claiming that they are restructuring their mortgages to offer lower or temporary fixed interest rates to reduce balances to help people save their homes for now.

Florida, California and Nevada had the highest rate of home foreclosures, which was not surprising with their real estate and mortgage industry histories. All three states showed record price increases and saw a large number of homes sold to investors versus primary residence owners. Nevada reported one out of every 167 homes was in a stage of foreclosure in January alone.

California is suffering the largest number of foreclosures with more than 57,000 on file. Florida trailed shortly behind with 30,000 filings of its own. Unfortunately, other states are now also seeing an increase in foreclosures, including:

Maryland 430 percent increase in foreclosure filings

Virginia 634 percent increase in foreclosure filings

Rhode Island 279 percent increase in foreclosure filings

Of course, these three states have relatively low foreclosure filing rates to begin with, but these percentages show a startling trend towards increasing foreclosures in the area. Although Virginia has the highest rate of increase here, their numbers are still a quarter of the foreclosures that are seen in Nevada.

Lending laws and foreclosures are greatly varied from state to state, influencing the foreclosure filings significantly. However, with record filings being issued, many of the influences from non traditional mortgages are starting to show in markets nationwide. Some of these non traditional mortgages include subprime or hybrid adjustable rate mortgages that have mortgage rates that reset much higher often utterly unaffordable rates after two or three years with the lower rates. For this reason, borrowers are caught off guard and will default after just a few months after the rate reset. Interest only loans and option adjustable rate mortgages are also contributing factors to the foreclosure problems.

Although these non-traditional mortgages have all but disappeared from the market now, their effects are still being seen throughout the current real estate marketplace. They will lead to more increases in foreclosure filings in the future. Many say that the effects from these mortgages wont be straightened out until the end of 2009 at the earliest.

If you are in a home selling situation and are close to loosing your home to foreclosure you do have house selling options. Contact your local home buyer or local real estate investor see determine what option is best for you. Local home buyers existing in every major city in the nation and they purchase homes off all sizes, price range and condition.

Post from: Obama's ForeClosure Plan Website

Foreclosure Rates are Climbing When Will They Stop