Anita Acacio- Preventing Foreclosures

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

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/

Mercury News
Next to filing for bankruptcy protection, nothing wrecks a borrower’s chances of qualifying for a home loan like a foreclosure.  And, some lenders may not look favorably upon borrowers who were able to successfully complete a short sale either.

Making sense of the story

• Although more than 4 million homes have been lost to foreclosure in the six years since the housing market began its descent, it’s a reality that the former owners will have to contend with the repercussions of foreclosures and/or short sales.  However, the passage of time makes all the difference.
• The mortgage-lending guidelines followed by the majority of banks prohibit lenders from making loans to people with foreclosure or short sale in their credit history, often for years.
• Still, some homeowners who were foreclosed upon when the market first started to skid are now looking to buy another home and are getting approved for new loans.
• The likelihood of a borrower with a real-estate related blemish on their credit history being approved for a new loan depends on several factors, but largely on whether the borrower had a foreclosure or a short sale.
• Generally, borrowers who have a foreclosure in their credit history can expect to wait between two to seven years before a lender will even accept their loan application.  The waiting periods stem from guidelines most banks must follow in order to sell their loans to purchasers such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
• If a buyer with a past foreclosure is seeking a government-backed mortgage, the waiting period can vary before they can qualify.  The Federal Housing Administration, which insures roughly 30 percent of new loans, requires former homeowners to wait three years from the date of their foreclosure before they can qualify for a loan guaranteed by the agency.

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http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_20241918/past-foreclosure-means-waiting-years-new-loan

Fannie Mae’s latest quarterly National Housing Survey focuses on the state of homeownership aspirations among Americans across all demographic groups. The survey finds that despite the recent housing crisis, most Americans continue to believe that owning their home is preferable to renting it. The data also indicate that while financial constraints and employment concerns may be keeping potential home buyers on the sidelines in the near term, future improvements in employment and personal finances, a pickup in interest rates in response to stronger economic growth, and stabilizing home prices may move Americans to act on their aspirations in coming years.

• Across all education levels, Americans say owning makes more sense than renting.  This belief is held consistently across all demographic groups.

• Nearly two-thirds of current renters say that they will buy a house at some point in the future.

• Non-financial factors such as safety and quality of local schools continue to be the top reasons for buying a home across all income groups.

• African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to cite various benefits, such as buying a home as a way to build wealth, homeownership as a symbol of success, and civic benefits.

Attitudes about homeownership as an investment, financial constraints, and mortgage accessibility may mean that more Americans choose not to act on their aspiration for homeownership, thus potentially leading to lower homeownership rates.

• The margin of Americans believing homeownership has the highest investment potential has declined over the past several years.

• At the same time, the perceived safety of owning a home as an investment has trended downward, reaching a low of 63 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011.

• In turn, groups with higher levels of education and higher incomes are more likely to think buying a home is a safe investment.

More info

The New York Times
Fewer homeowners have been falling behind on their mortgage payments over the last two years, yet even with the improvement, a significant number still are delinquent or in foreclosure.

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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/11/realestate/mortgages-paying-on-time.html?_r=1&ref=realestate