Elkhart County Foreclosures for Feb. 2009

Elkhart County had 108 properties scheduled for Sheriff's Auction for the month of February. At last count, 73 of those properties actually went to the sale as 35 were cancelled (3 of them I personally got cancelled). Of the 73 properties that went back to the bank, 40 were from Elkhart, 21 were from Goshen, 4 were from Bristol, 4 were from Nappannee, 3 were from Middlebury and 1 from Millersburg. There was 1 property in Elkhart that had less than $50,000 owed on it, all of the rest of the properties had more than $50,000 but less than $200,000 owed on them.

Looking ahead, right now there are 84 properties scheduled for March and a whopping 169 properties already scheduled for April.

St Joseph County Foreclosures WE 2/28

This week in St. Joseph County there were 59 properties scheduled for the Sheriff's Sale. The last count that I had, 52 actually went to the sale as 7 were cancelled. All 7 of the cancelled were from South Bend. Out of the 52 that I showed that still went to the Sheriff's Sale, 38 were from South Bend, 7 were from Mishawaka, 5 were from Osceola and 2 from Granger. Only 2 properties had more than $200,000 owed on them, one was in Granger and the other was a business located in South Bend that really did not have to get to this point but the bank would not work with the business--it's a shame when banks do not work with people. There were 6 properties that owed less than $50,000 on them, all of those were from South Bend.

Most Affordable Cities to Buy a Home

This top 10 list was compiled by CNN. For all of my Midwestern readers, pay attention to this list! Out of the 10 cities on this list, only1 is not in the midwest! That's right, only 1 city! What does that mean? It means that now is a great time to buy if you or someone you know is wanting to buy a home in the midwest. Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan is surrounded by these cities, meaning we are right in the mix as well.

10 Most Affordable Cities to Buy a Home
Indianapolis, IN $103,000
Warren, MI $125,000
Youngstown, OH $73,000
Detroit, MI $90,000
Grand Rapids, MI $102,000
Syracuse, NY $88,000
Dayton, OH $90,000
Akron, OH $90,000
Cleveland, OH $100,000
Scranton, PA $85,000

Best and Worst Housing Markets

This is a list compliled by Forbes that shows, in their opinion, the 10 best and 10 worst housing markets. What I found interesting, since we are in the midwest, is where the midwest housing is. I will post another list here shortly about the 10 most affordable markets to buy in, done by CNN, that in a way-mirrors this list. The midwest is in the worst markets, but also in the most affordable on the other post. Check out how many are in the midwest in the worst markets.


10 Best Housing Markets
New York City
Washington D.C.
Charolette, N.C.
Portland, Ore.
San Diego
Denver
Boston
Dallas
Los Angeles
Seattle

10 Worst Housing Markets
Las Vegas
Phoenix
Detroit
Minneapolis
San Francisco
Chicago
Cleveland
Atlanta
Tampa
Miami

Produce The Note!

Here is an interesting tactic to use to delay foreclosure on a home, and it appears to work. Ask the mortgage company to produce the note that you signed when you got your mortgage to prove that you owe them the money they say you owe. It is only a stall tactic to stay in the house awhile longer, but it is very interesting. Here is a news clip that was done by ABC News in Florida:

Obama's Foreclosure Plan

Yesterday, President Obama introduced his $75Billion, three part plan in an attempt to halt the soaring rate of foreclosures. It seeks to encourage refinancing of home that are worth less than what is currently owed on them and gives incentives to lenders to do so as well.

Called the "Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan", it seeks to provide low-cost refinancing for as many as 5 million homeowners. If it works as planned, it would help delinquent or at-risk borrowers get their mortgages modified so that no more than 31% of their income is tied up in their mortgage. It also provides financial incentives to lenders and even a new insurance program to promote more mortgage modifications.

Banks joined 2 voluntary efforts during the Bush administration, Hope for Homeowners and the Federal Housing Administration's FHA Secure, but these efforts resulted in very few homeowners actually being helped. Hope for Homeowners helped less than 1,000 people. If banks do not comply with this new program, they may be forced into it by new legislation that would give bankruptcy judges the right to modify loan terms of mortgages, which is currently forbidden. Banks are against this legislation warning that it will bring uncertainty for lenders, who will respond by restricting already tight mortgage lending.

Under the new plan, borrowers who have stayed current on their mortgages but have been unable to refinance to lower their interest rates because their homes have decreased in value, may now have the opportunity to refinance into a 30 or 15 year fixed rate loan. Eligible loans would now include those where the new first mortgage (including refi costs) would not exceed 105% of the current market value of the property. Complete eligibility details will be announced on March 4th when the program starts.

This plan is not designed to lower the amount of debt owed on a home, only to make the payments more affordable by lowering interest rates for those that are in higher interest loans. It is also going to be available only to owner occupants, not 2nd or 3rd vacation homes or rental homes etc.

St. Joseph County Foreclosures 2/19/09

There are 37 homes scheduled for foreclosure in St. Joseph county Indiana for 2/19/09. Of those 37, 28 of them are in South Bend, 7 in Mishawaka, 1 in Osceola and 1 in Granger. There is one property in South Bend that is owed $890,000 which I believe is a commercial property of some sort as it is on Lincoln Way in an area where there is no high end housing. That was the only property over $200,000 this week.

There were 3 properties, all of them in South Bend, that were under $50,000 owed.