Mensanto: (September 30, 2010 9:35am)

Corvin. You are right of course. The plaintiff in the foreclosure case should be the one charged with the 50% tax, since the plaintiff is always claiming to be the owner of the note. It is difficult to get the attention of lawmakers with this, or any other idea.

corvin: (September 29, 2010 6:54pm)

Mensanto, Thats a great idea! How will we find the "holder of the note" ? And, isn't it the pretender servicer who should be charged the tax? The one who refused the sale? And, if US Treasury owns 50% of GMAC and all of Fannie Mae and the note is held in Trust, do we tax ourselves or tax the trust? Do holders of MBS written against the trust lose again by the tax? Did they not already suffer a huge loss due to the decline in value of MBS and CBS?

Mensanto: (September 29, 2010 5:51pm)

NEW SOURCE OF TAX REVENUE FROM REAL ESTATE DECLINE I am an attorney working in today's real estate market. Wells Fargo bank refused to accept an offer to sell a home to my buyer in a short sale for $320,000. A year and a half later, The bank sold the same home to my same buyer for $220,000. This caused a drop in the value of all of the real estate in the area. Banks do this repeatedly, causing a downward spiral in home prices, and a burden on the taxpayers who ultimately pay to reimburse the banks for the losses. Please recommend to lawmakers that when a bank refuses a short sale offer, and then later sells the property for less as bank-owned foreclosed property, that a 50% tax on the difference is charged to the holder of the foreclosed note. This will generate significant new tax revenue, will stop the downward spiral in home prices, and will relieve the burden on taxpayers for reimbursement of the bank's losses.

corvin: (September 28, 2010 9:18pm)

Tri City has it right. And, it’s about time that you both take a clear look at the lawless foreclosure processes that are employed around the country. There are dozens of sites on the net to obtain the info. A secondary inquiry worth the effort is to take a close look at the Reform Wall Street Act recently passed by our friends in Washington. H. R. 4173 Did you really want the FED in charge of every banking transaction in America? Did you really want the banks to administer TILA and RESPA claims? Light reading = 848 pages

5pence: (September 28, 2010 5:36pm)

Grayson is a great guy. Thanks for the link. This is what Fannie is up to. The big question is, how do we unwind the "crime pays" psyche after the bailouts & the continued corruption? Start by realizing that the banks are the enemy and treat them as such. "Grayson, U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D- Jacksonville, and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank also have asked Fannie Mae to explain why the government-owned mortgage giant is retaining the services of four Florida law firms under investigation for allegedly "fabricating or backdating" documents in foreclosure cases. "We are disturbed by the increasing reports of predatory 'foreclosure mills' in Florida working for Fannie Mae servicers," Frank, D-Mass, wrote in a letter also signed by Grayson & Brown. "Why is Fannie Mae using lawyers that are accused of regularly engaging in fraud to kick people out of their homes?"

BROKER: (September 28, 2010 5:19pm)

Have you forgotten that Lennar has incorporated a transfer tax, due and payable when the Buyer of their NEW Homes in Calif. sells to the 2nd Buyer of the home?

Appraiser Micro: (September 28, 2010 5:12pm)

The free market does take care of the REO supply, just as soon as the price tag comes down enough to match the going affordability factors for potential buyers in that area. In moderate priced housing, the low point of housing price is often times aligned with reasonable rental affordability. Rentors are eager to buy, but are not eager to pay more than they are currently affording. With homeowners being displaced into the rental market, longer term rentors can find that buying is actually cheaper in heavy REO markets. The floor price can be relative to quality and value in use comparisons to the immediate rental market which may be in competition for the available consumer pool.

Appraiser Micro: (September 28, 2010 5:01pm)

Dear JoeColorado. Have you taken the time to read through the vendor agreement and individual work order engagement protocols thoroughly? High pressure, high risk, signatory issues, - pass.

kenalbrecht: (September 28, 2010 2:24pm)

Interesting story out of Florida http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-foreclosure-court-ruling-20100928,0,6850408.story

Valuequestor: (September 28, 2010 1:53pm)

Just some more data for people to chew on. These are rough stats from San Jose to Salinas Valley region so please don't nit pick. I've found that neighborhoods where foreclosures (REO Properties) are less than 1/3 of the market are about 40-50% down from peak values. The tough areas where foreclosures are running hot and heavy, REO's represent 2/3 or more of the market, values have fallen 60% to 65% from their peak. Its a huge loss in the Salinas Valley Towns, south of Salinas proper.

barryl: (September 28, 2010 12:45pm)

great, your the cameraman, now all we need is the cast!

5pence: (September 28, 2010 12:41pm)

Brian and Frank, who won the camera? I keep looking for the FedEx truck

barryl: (September 28, 2010 12:04pm)

We need lower thresholds before the implementation of soylent green providing: 1. The plating is => welldone. 2. Dinner is served with chilled coconut juice to remedy constipation.

barryl: (September 28, 2010 11:47am)

right on!

loppy: (September 28, 2010 11:39am)

Pardon the analogy but the market is "constipated" with pending foreclosures. There is trememdous pressure looking for relief. It won't go away, it needs to be allowed to pass... Then we can go about cleaning up the mess.

barryl: (September 28, 2010 11:03am)

expidited foreclosure process... wtf, what happened to all the free sh-t? man can't live on coconuts alone!

TheRistowGroup: (September 28, 2010 11:02am)

Thanks for the Google.com/places tip!

gcall: (September 28, 2010 10:12am)

Foreclosures are "bad" and a big deal for our entire industry. With you in need to get government out of it Brian but not as to methodology. Many, many studies that show repeated foreclosures destroy market value--here in AZ has been a major factor in depressing our market. The right cure is to stop the foreclosure mania--instead of ramping it up as Fannie and Freddie are doing with some new guidelines re postponing foreclosures. Need to let market place work with short sales. Biggest hang up there has been valuation as banks want an appraisal to take money out front door but use worthless BPO to bring money in back door with short sale valuations as they become the "dreamers re value instead of customer. Get the bugs out of the system, let the free market sell off the inventory at market rate instead of foreclosure rate and nationally we retain much more real estate value than taking us through a second dip/blood bath by clearing inventory with inept REO departments.

TriCityHomeTeam: (September 28, 2010 9:36am)

As REORealtor1 stated, the "Foreclosure Mills" in Florida, as well as California and New York, have proven to be horrific abusers of the law. It's not whether the homeowner did anything to lose their home with these sleazeballs- They don't care. And don't think that if a foreclosure proceeding was filed that it means the homeowner defaulted. Many of the cases before judges are ones where the homeowner actively tried to mitigate, and often were only behind on payments by no more than 90 days. As TBWS reported long back, it wasn't in the banks' interest to modify loans, so they ignored their clients. The "Foreclosure Mills" use falsified and fake documents, faked signatures, provide falsified statements, fake filings, lie to judges, and on and on. There's ample reports of this! Give these attorneys the power to make a buck with little to no oversight and they run amok in the legal proceedings. I'm all for expediting foreclosures. But we need this better regulated than it is now.

Evil Genius: (September 28, 2010 8:42am)

GaryP: My biz plan and guidelines are portfolio. No Govie laws prohibiting stated income. Private investment on a large scale. Goernment: No Brains, Just Headaches. Watch for New Generation Lending

Evil Genius: (September 28, 2010 8:13am)

And as far as foreclosures are concerned. Zero fraud tolerance, period. If a borrower stated a higher income then they made, get them out of the property. If that borrower was coerced by a bad broker, get the broker out of the business. If the lender made the bad loan, take the freaking property back. Sooner or later, this will all be over and done with. What's the delay? Political correctness? You make a mistake? You fix it! Zero tolerance! Move on! And BTW, there's nothing wrong with a stated income loan, for self employed. But substantiate the income with CPA letters, bank statements, decent scores. But wage earners have proof of income. Get it! Self employed stated just needs to show stability. Cash flow. This system is all Fo'Do'd. Start over. Let the banks and investors take their lumps. Zero tolerance. BITE BACK! http://realestatemarbles.com/newgeneration

Evil Genius: (September 28, 2010 8:03am)

So much of this current turmoil we find ourselves in has been attributed to "sub-prime." Sub prime has been around for a very long time. The investors knew the risk and charged higher rates to offset some of the risk. This was not a sub prime issue. This was an "Alt A" issue. The sub prime investors jumped on the Alt A bandwagon. If sub prime had remained the niche product it once was, (lower scores, bank statements for income, etc.)then I submit that we would not be calling this a sub prime mortgage crisis. Alt A was the culprit. 100% financing to $1MM, with a 620 score and stated income. What was who thinking? Those that allowed those products to exist are the ones who should be eating it now. There are alot of people out there that can afford a monthly mortgage, but have a credit score that has been hurt by this economy. More checks and balances in underwriting, but isolated low scores should be acceptable risk. And minimum 5 year terms to allow time to raise scores.

Mandy: (September 28, 2010 7:45am)

Hey I just got Think Big Work Small from Remax Gold. Thanks but I work for Century 21 are you doing anything in that format? How did they get info?

jcollins: (September 28, 2010 7:08am)

751 fico and Freddie,,, do you think it has anything to do with if you have a low score two things are good assumtions. 1. they probably do not have enough for the down payment (not paying their bills (on time or in full) 2. low down payment FHA. There are a few others. but, does it really matter.

ehilliard: (September 28, 2010 6:54am)

Here in Jax, Fl we call it Home Made Wine!, Any how, rather than take back a home that might or might not sell fast, get the income docs, make the payment something they can afford for 12 months, put the rest on the back and when the market comes back, the banks can raise the payments back up and home owners, are well HOME OWNERS!

Lwood: (September 28, 2010 6:48am)

As a Wholeseller I liked to do NO RATIO loans, cause there was no fudging involved that would come back and bite you later with a 'buy back'...fwiw.

REORealtor1: (September 28, 2010 6:39am)

We are seeing the fallout from "foreclosure mills" in Florida- paperwork forged, papers signed with dates that make no time line, signatories who are supposedly responsible for quality control never reviewing the package. As an REO Realtor I see the sad faces of people who have tried for over a year (or two) to do a loan mod, had a temporary job loss but never was granted a loan mod. Then, those that get one end up with the exact same payment or more which is not what they expected- and that becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. The biggest problem is that there is no forgiveness of debt. These loans need to be reduced by 30% to make them work. I still suspect that the banks can use the judgements as an asset thus allowing them to borrow more money to lend. If so it would make sense to foreclose even thought it is the costliest and least truly profitable option over the short sale or loan modification.

joecolorado: (September 28, 2010 6:33am)

I need some help as I need some feedback about a group based in California called Consolidated Analystics. They have been canvassing my colleagues and I in Colorado and I would like to know of any experiences with this group from other appraisers.

GaryP: (September 28, 2010 5:47am)

Your comments about "liar's loans" made me ask myself the question when the geniuses in DC would realize that they threw the baby out with the bath water in regards to them making full doc loans law. I suppose that thay are clueless to the fact that stated loans served a useful purpose for S/E borrowers. The fact that these programs were abused was totally overlooked in their rush to legislate UW'ing guidelines. What I often see is that a lot of highly qualified borrowers are unable to get a loan simply because they have a really good CPA or a busness model that is able to take advantage of a lot of tax loopholes. Again, just like the population growth that I mentioned earlier, we are creating built up demand that will eventually be dealt with. Will we always be in a situation where being self employed excludes home ownership for a large part of our population? I'm frequently left telling S/E borrowers to tell thir CPA to back off for 2 years and then come back to see me.

GaryP: (September 28, 2010 5:38am)

I missed yesterday's discussion but here's my take on reduced new home sales. The last thing that we need rigt now is more inventory. Even with incentives, why would a buyer pay significantly more for a new home than a 2-3 year old foreclosure? Besides, until HUD does something about the builder's "preferred lender" programs, it's not really good for the consumer or the industry as a whole. More multifamily construction? Go figure! All those people that we can't qualify because of FICO, foreclosures, recent unemployment and short sales have to live somewhere, right? In addition, the population of the US continues to grow even as home sales decrease. Not everyone is living in the parent's basement. Ultimately this is going to lead to the next housing boom. The only question in my mind is how many years down the road is that. We, as an industry, need to keep that in mind as we structure our business model for the future.

Jimmy Mac: (September 28, 2010 5:32am)

It's called "White Lightnin' or Corn Squeezinz" you hillbilly! You don't want them revenuers to know what you doin! Have a great day from the deep south!