The Washington Post
With home prices at historic lows and rental rates on the rise, a growing number of investors with cash to spare are seeking lucrative returns by gobbling up foreclosures in distressed markets across the country and turning them into rentals.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/housing-downturn-spurs-a-boom-in-foreclosure-to-rental-conversions/2012/04/24/gIQAFWUZeT_story.html?hpid=z2
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined slightly in March, was virtually unchanged in April. The Index now stands at 69.2 (1985=100), down slightly from 69.5 in March. The Expectations Index declined to 81.1 from 82.5, while the Present Situation Index improved to 51.4 from 49.9 last month.
Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved in April, with those claiming business conditions are “good” increasing to 15.3 percent from 14.3 percent. However, those claiming business conditions are “bad” edged up to 33.5 percent from 33.2 percent. Consumers’ appraisal of the job market remained mixed. Those stating jobs are “hard to get” declined to 37.5 percent from 40.7 percent, while those stating jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 8.4 percent from 9.0 percent.
http://www2.realtoractioncenter.com/site/R?i=P6nSEjfrh-oMmj9teJGwbg
San Diego Union Tribune
An estimated 35 percent of the U.S. home-loan defaults in late 2010 were considered strategic, increasing from 26 percent in March 2009, based on figures from the University of Chicago’s business school.
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http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/14/why-people-walk-away-home-loans/
Fraudulent foreclosure prevention providers are coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of today’s loss mitigation culture, according to the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (HPF).
The nonprofit group, which helps distressed homeowners through the group’s HOPE hotline, says the number of mortgage foreclosure scams grew nearly 60 percent in 2012. The scammers, they say, are able to capitalize on the hype surrounding homeownership preservation as federal programs are being modified to help more and more borrowers.
HPF said it’s unknown whether all of the reported instances were truly fraudulent, but the agency still forwarded all of the complaints to the appropriate regulators and law enforcement agencies.
About half of the scams involve an attorney or individual claiming they can offer special legal services to distressed borrowers. HPF says, in fact, the services they offered are already provided by nonprofits for free.
HPF put out a warning nationwide, saying no one searching for a home-saving remedy should pay upfront fees to a firm offering assistance.
San Diego Union-Tribune
The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is getting heat from California congressional memebers over a pilot plan to sell 600-plus foreclosed homes in Riverside and Los angeles counties to investors in bulk on condition they will convert them to rentals.
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http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/10/more-push-back-demarco/
