Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Low mortgage rates and low prices were all expected to fuel the recovery of the housing market. Although foreclosure activity has slowed down in the first half of 2010, monthly reports show an increase in foreclosures from last month.

The online marketplace for foreclosure properties RealtyTrac, in its ‘Foreclosure Market Report’, shows that 325,229 houses received foreclosure filings in the country. This number includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. This indicates a 4 percent increase from June’s numbers. This is one more month in which foreclosures have exceeded the 300,000 mark as it has happened for the last 17 months straight.

James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, explained the latest foreclosure activity by saying: “Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month.”

Making the list of states with higher foreclosure filings were Nevada, Florida, and California, among others. In Nevada, one in every 82 houses received foreclosure notices, thus topping the state foreclosure list for the 43rd month in a row. In Florida, one in every 171 houses was foreclosed, similar to California where one in every 200 homes received filing.

Banks foreclosed on 92,858 U.S. properties last month. This is a 9% increase from the prior month. Similarly, Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on 135,248 U.S. properties in July, down up 2% from the previous month.

According to RealtyTrac’s reports for July, REO total was the second highest monthly total since it began tracking REO activity in April 2005.

Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, Forclosures, Foreclosed, foreclosed homes, foreclosed homes for sale, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures, foreclosures for sale

Freddie Mac reported a 79% increase in REO inventory year over year. They reported 34,699 in the second quarter in 2009, and 62,178 in the second quarter in 2010.

 Additionally, a net loss of $4.7 billion was reported for the second quarter ending in June 30, 2010 , partially offset by a $4.3 billion improvement in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI). The net loss for the quarter that ended March 31, 2010 was reported to be $6.7 billion.

The FHFA (Federal Housing Finance Agency) is said to have requested an additional $1.8 billion from treasury in government aid. This will be in addition to the $60 billion in federal aid that Freddie Mac has already asked for.

According to Dow Jones Newswire, sister company Fannie Mae posted its smallest quarterly loss in three years last week. Both companies were placed under conservatorship in 2008 to prevent potential implosions at the height of the credit crisis. Freddie has asked for over $60 billion in federal aid, while Fannie's has asked for $85 billion.

--- Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff North Fulton County REALTORS Vanderhoff Real Estate (770) 331-1206 --- Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale ---

Labels: Bank owned properties, Foreclosures, foreclosures for sale, freddie mac, REO

Bank of America Corp. wants out of a secret U.S. sanction imposed during the financial crisis, but regulators are keeping the 15-month-old penalty in place as they evaluate whether the giant lender has satisfied all of their requirements, said people familiar with the situation

The question of when the nation's largest bank by assets can be free of the confidential memorandum of understanding is currently the subject of negotiations between bank officials, the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, these people said.

It is a "reasoned disagreement," said one person familiar with the discussions.
As long as the memorandum is in place, Bank of America is subjected to intensified scrutiny from regulators and restraints on certain moves. The Charlotte, N.C., lender, for example, isn't allowed to raise its dividend as long as the memorandum hasn't been lifted, said people familiar with the agreement. It would also have to run other large decisions by regulators who, housed at the bank's headquarters, now have more oversight on day-to-day operations.

Regulators' reluctance to release the agreement quickly is yet another signal that U.S. minders are shortening the leash as they work to prevent future blowups at the nation's biggest banks. Regulators now are faster to slap banks with penalties and slower to set them free from crisis-era constraints, said people familiar with the U.S. actions.
The "pendulum," said one person close to the bank, is swinging from "the permissive side to the highly restrictive side." Regulators now "are super vigilant about everything."
The Fed and the OCC, which regulate Bank of America's holding company and banking units, declined to comment.

Lifting the sanction is a priority for Bank of America's new chief executive, Brian Moynihan, as he attempts to shed the problems of the crisis and repair the bank's strained relationships with regulators.

Another benefit of lifting the sanction would be freedom from the memorandum's psychological stigma; it remains the most serious procedural action taken against Bank of America as a result of the financial crisis.
Such memorandums, which are rarely disclosed to the public, typically require banks to address specific problems, and companies that don't deal with deficiencies can be given harsher penalties.

People close to the bank thought Bank of America would be free by now, saying the bank has done everything asked of it by regulators. But one person familiar with the discussions said the bank hasn't completed all the requirements.
Regulators aren't opposed to lifting Bank of America's agreement at some point, but people close to the bank said Bank of America has been told that this won't happen until regulators are satisfied that required changes made to governance, risk, capital and credit are permanent and can work over time.

The uncertainty surrounding the prospect of new industry capital requirements and a shaky U.S. recovery also are factors as regulators urge patience, one of these people added
Regulators surprised Bank of America executives when they presented the memorandum in May 2009. The action followed a downgrading of the bank's ratings by the Fed and the OCC and repeated tussles with regulators over the bank's risk controls, capital levels and the purchase of troubled securities firm Merrill Lynch & Co.

The memorandum required immediate changes to the bank's governance, risk and liquidity-management policies. The bank promptly engineered an overhaul of its board, appointing seven new directors, and made a number of internal changes, ranging from how it classifies credit to risk- and liquidity-management controls.

Shedding the memorandum would sever one of the bank's last crisis-era constraints. Bank of America paid back $45 billion in U.S. aid in December and earlier this year settled an SEC lawsuit claiming that shareholders weren't alerted to ballooning losses at Merrill.
The bank, one of its current officers and former CEO Kenneth Lewis still face fraud charges from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo related to a lack of disclosure around the Merrill losses

--- Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff North Fulton County REALTORS Vanderhoff Real Estate (770) 331-1206 --- Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale ---

Labels: Bank Of America, Bank owned properties, Foreclosures

--- Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff North Fulton County REALTORS Vanderhoff Real Estate (770) 331-1206 --- Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale ---

Labels: Bank owned properties, best time to buy a house, Foreclosed, Foreclosures, home buying

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
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Vanderhoff Real Estate
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Labels: Bank owned properties, Foreclosures

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
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Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosure, homes

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
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Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosure, Foreclosures, Real Estate

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosure, Foreclosures

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, for sale, foreclosure, Foreclosures, lender owned

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Alpharetta, Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosed properties, Foreclosures, Johns Creek, milton

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank owned properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties

A thousand Atlanta homeowners who expected to lose their houses this week were given new hope Monday by one of the nation's largest banks. Wells Fargo gave word it is pulling homes from Tuesday's foreclosure lists.




Atlanta community leaders have been battling Wells Fargo for months, saying the bank needs to modify mortgages rather than foreclose on homes. Monday, the bank took a big step in that direction.



That means instead of seeing their homes sold on the courthouse steps, the homeowners will get another chance to keep their houses.



"The question we're going to have to look at is now that we've pulled those homeowners off the list how do we modify those loans so they are not back on the foreclosure list in the future," said Senator Vincent Fort.



The homes were scheduled to be auctioned on the courthouse steps Tuesday.



"It's a good first step, of course it's not the whole ball of wax," said Sen. Fort.



For six months Sen. Fort and others protested and petitioned Wells Fargo and Wachovia, which it owns. The protestors were arrested on criminal trespass charges at a Wells Fargo branch back in August.



Last week Sen. Fort said bank officials met with him for the first time and decided to put on hold many of Tuesday's scheduled foreclosures.



"Stopping the foreclosure isn't enough it's making sure people can get terms they can stay in the home," said Sen. Fort.



So the homeowners will temporarily avoid foreclosure.



Sen. Fort said the big question is what will happens next and what kind of payment plans and loan modifications the homeowners can get.



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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
---
Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: avoid foreclosure, Bank owned properties, Foreclosures, wells fargo

Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures, lender owned

Labels: Bank owned properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures, REO

Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures

Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed homes, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures

You think it’s hard selling a house these days? Try unloading a subdivision.

And not just any subdivision, but one with few if any completed homes and a weedy patch where the swim-and-tennis center was planned.

That’s the reality many Georgia banks find themselves in amid a foreclosure crisis that has claimed not only individual homes but also entire failed developments.

These idled, “zombie” subdivisions can be found across metro Atlanta, but they’re most prevalent in outer-ring suburban areas. Selling them has proven tough, with some properties sitting on the market for months on end without even a nibble.

The fallout has been stark.

Banks that backed these projects are taking it on the chin, recording huge losses as they foreclose on property and make sales at a fraction of the original loan price.

In the past year, 16 Georgia banks have failed, more than in any other state, largely because of residential real estate losses. Dozens more are struggling.

Residents who bought in these troubled developments, meanwhile, are seeing their home values plummet and in many cases are still waiting for promised amenities such as swimming pools to be built.

To say the market has been sluggish would be an understatement. The main problem is sheer volume – a staggering 150,000 vacant housing lots across metro Atlanta are available, more than a decade’s supply at current absorption rates.

The median sale price for empty lots has plunged from $57,000 at the height of the housing boom in 2007 to $30,000 this year, according to Smart Numbers, a Marietta company that tracks the local real estate market.

“It’s going to keep going down, because we have too many lots, and there’s not enough demand,” said Steve Palm, the firm’s president.

The hardest hit areas are on the region’s fringe, Palm said, such as Bartow, Jackson and Newton counties, where there’s tons of supply and few sales.

Sitting in front of a computer at his home office, Palm pulls up a color-coded map of metro Atlanta showing lot supply by U.S. Census tract. An ominous arc of dark reds and browns encircles Atlanta.

“This is the ring of death,” he said.


It’s “depressing”

A turnaround couldn’t come soon enough for residents of WaterLace, an upscale subdivision in south Fayette County where construction stopped after only a handful of homes were built.

Nearly 400 homes were planned for the 600-acre site, which includes a picturesque lake. But the project shut down last year and has become a suburban ghost town.

Winding streets and cul-de-sacs are lined with vacant lots. The unfinished clubhouse sits at the end of a dirt path, surrounded by chest-high weeds.

It’s not clear who will finish the job, or when.

The project’s developer, Stephen Macauley, went bankrupt last year. The lender, Security Bank of Macon, tried to sell the property through an Atlanta real estate company, but the bank failed two weeks ago. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is now responsible for selling the property.

Jeff Hood, 39, moved to WaterLace last year with his wife and two children.

“We were promised these amenities and they’re not here. There was going to be a pool, a clubhouse, a walking trail,” said Hood, an attorney. “It’s kind of depressing seeing all the land. Some of the property is undeveloped. It’s an eyesore, all the weeds.”

Don and Stephanie Williams, who paid $475,000 for their home at WaterLace, hope a buyer will come in and finish the development. For now, they’re trying to enjoy the peace and quiet that comes with living in a failed subdivision.

“We have about 12 to 13 families out here, they are all great people,” said Williams, standing on his front porch on a recent sweltering afternoon. “We have all bonded together. We are in this together.”


Bankers’ tough choice

The flood of distressed subdivisions is unprecedented and has given banks numerous headaches.

Is it more cost-effective to complete half-finished homes before selling or to put them on the market as-is? Should they sell lots in a distressed market or hold onto them until prices rebound?

Complicating matters, subdivisions often were financed by more than one bank. And different lenders frequently disagree on what steps to take when problems arise.

“Every bank has a different model,” said Robert J. Romano, executive vice president with Coldwell Banker NRT Development Advisors. “Some want to hold until the market returns, some price to move [property,] ... and some just dump them.”

While the supply of lots remains at an all-time high, the pool of buyers willing and able to jump into such a distressed market is small.

The players include large national builders healthy enough to construct new homes and real estate investment companies with the resources to hold onto lots until the market turns around.

The market remains relatively strong in some spots, experts say, including affluent pockets of north Fulton and Forsyth counties.

Banks take different approaches to disposing of distressed property. Some sell lots and homes through real estate agents, and a growing number list foreclosed properties on their Web sites.

A few banks are throwing hundreds of lots from various subdivisions together and asking investors to make bids on some or all of the holdings.

Some banks eager to unload property are dumping huge quantities of vacant housing lots at fire-sale prices that have dipped as low as 20 to 30 cents on the dollar.


Crying foul

Synovus, the second-largest banking company based in Georgia, has been aggressively selling troubled assets, including many lots in the Atlanta area. Richard Anthony, the company’s president and CEO, said Synovus sold about 1,000 lots in the second quarter alone.

While the company has sold lots through auctions and bulk sales, the best prices have come when its bankers go out into their communities and sell property to local builders and developers, Anthony said.

But some Georgia banks are crying foul, saying the playing field is far from even when it comes to disposing of distressed property like vacant lots.

Large banks that have received federal bailout funds are better able to sell property at sizable losses, which pushes down prices for everyone, said Joe Moss, at Security Exchange Bank in Marietta.

“We don’t have the ability to take asset write-offs against taxpayer money like these larger banks have,” Moss said. “That’s really affected the market.”

Another victim of the crisis: home owners who bought in subdivisions that later failed.

Opportunistic companies are buying up remaining lots at a fraction of their original value, meaning they’re able to build new homes and sell them at lower price points.

The original owners may grumble at the erosion of their property values, but that beats the alternative, said Eugene James, division director for MetroStudy in Atlanta.

“It’s better to have some neighbors and have the development built out than have it look deserted,” James said. “Unless you prefer there being only five houses in a 300-lot development, so you can go and hit some golf balls.”

Those charged with selling failed subdivisions face a huge challenge.

Consider Jennah Village, a small, 28-lot subdivision in south Fulton County that fell into foreclosure before any homes could be completed. Five half-built homes sit beside empty lots.

The homes have generated some interest, but no one has even looked at the lots, said Logan Cook, the project’s real estate agent.

Cook is selling the property for First State Bank of Stockbridge. The small Henry County lender is struggling with a portfolio of bad real estate loans that reached $87 million this spring.

Here’s how Cook describes the current market: People looking to buy foreclosed property are turning first to finished homes, which are the easiest to sell. Partially built homes are next in line, followed by empty lots.

The 22 lots Cook represents at Jennah Village are listed for $25,000 each, down from an original asking price of around $40,000.

But no buyer has made an offer, and until one does it will be unclear what they’re really worth

Labels: Bank Owned, Bank owned properties, foreclosed land, foreclosed properties, foreclosure, Foreclosures, subdivision, vacant homes, vacant lots

It’s a day many Georgia Tech fans have looked forward to since the lonely walk out of the Georgia Dome following last year’s 35-point loss to LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl: The Jackets open practice for the 2009 season today. Many questions have been asked during the offseason. Can Jonathan Dwyer top last year, when he won the ACC’s player of the year award? Will the offense work as well in Year 2, after a year’s worth of game film has been compiled? And, most important, will Tech win the ACC? Despite surprising many by going 9-4 in his first year, coach Paul Johnson said he’s painfully aware that the team accomplished only one of its goals last season: beating Georgia.

“I tell them every day what they’ve done. ... Nothing,” Johnson said. “We didn’t win the league. We didn’t go undefeated at home. We had all kinds of goals we didn’t get. To get where you want to go, you have to work. Hard work. They worked this summer, so we will see how fall camp goes. I think they worked. They are hungry.”

Here are five issues that need resolving by the time Tech opens the season against Jacksonville State on Sept. 5 at Bobby Dodd Stadium:


Who will replace the big three on the defensive line?
Not many teams must replace three starters off the defensive front, especially three who were drafted by NFL teams: Michael Johnson (Bengals), Vance Walker (Falcons) and Darryl Richard (Patriots).

Returning starter Derrick Morgan is slotted at one defensive end, with Robert Hall on the other side and Jason Peters and Ben Anderson at the tackles.

Despite losing an aggregate 113 tackles and 16 sacks from the departed trio, neither Johnson nor defensive line coach Giff Smith seem worried.

“The biggest thing I want my guys to understand is to not to try to be Michael, Vance or Darryl,” Smith said. “Play within yourself and the scheme. Execute your assignment, and when the time comes to make your play, make it. Don’t try to make it all the time.”

Smith said he expects to see 353-pound redshirt freshman T.J. Barnes, listed second team on the depth chart at tackle, step up this month.

“I want him, like Tommy Hanson with the Braves, to throw the prospect label off and get out and perform,” Smith said. “He showed spurts in the spring, but nowhere near on the consistent level. I want him to play like he’s capable of playing.”


Will the passing game improve?
Johnson has said his teams will probably never throw for 300 yards a game. But he said if they throw for 150 yards a game, chances are they’re going to win.

The Jackets averaged 99.2 yards through the air last season and their passing efficiency stat, in which Johnson and assistant coach Brian Bohannon put a lot of stock, was ninth in the league.

Johnson said the Jackets left a lot of touchdowns on the field last season. Look for the competition at the wide receiver positions to be intense this month. Wide receivers coach Al Preston said they want to find the most consistent players, and he’d like to have three to four who are interchangeable.

“Don’t give us great plays and then flatten out on us forever,” Preston said.


Who will return kicks?
One of the reasons Tech led the ACC in yards per game last year was because it often had farther to go than other teams.

The Jackets ranked 10th in the conference in kickoff returns (19.6 yards per attempt) and ninth in punt returns (6.7).

The answer to improving those stats may have been sitting on the bench last year because of suspension: Jerrard Tarrant.

“Most people don’t know, but Jerrard is one of the most athletic guys I’ve ever met in my life,” Dwyer said. “With him returning punts, it’s going to change the whole game for us. Big asset for the team. He’s hungry. He’s going to be shocking the world a lot this coming season.”

Johnson said the team worked specifically on returns in the spring and will continue to focus on them in camp.


Can they sharpen offensive execution?
There were two key areas where Tech did not do well statistically last year, and the coaches have said it’s all about execution, which translates to concentration.

One was scoring inside the 20-yard line. Tech was 10th in the ACC last season, converting 76.9 percent of its chances. In 39 trips, the Jackets scored 30 times (18 touchdowns, 12 field goals), but they also led the league with three fumbles and twice turned the ball over on downs.

The other area was penalties. Tech was eighth in the league with 63 penalties for 570 yards.


Who will start?
If you think you know who is going to start at each position, think again.

Unlike last year, when at times some units had to use multiple walk-ons, there’s enough depth at most positions.

“I don’t think there is a group that doesn’t have competition, and that’s good,” Johnson said. “There’s going to be competition in the secondary, defensive line certainly. Offensive line, we kind of pieced together last year. We’ve got 12 guys competing for five spots.

“It’s night and day, especially in some key positions. Running back, there’s a lot more depth. Secondary [there’s] more depth. A-back, we’ve just got more depth. We’re just better all around.”

Don’t count on a starting lineup until just before the opener.

Labels: Bank owned properties, Collage Football, competing against foreclosures, Football, foreclosure, GA Tech, Georgia Tech, Yellow Jackets