Foreclosures Up 25 Percent From A Year Ago

Nev., Ariz., Fla. Continue To Have The Highest Rates; Bailout Changes Not Helping

(CBS/AP)  The number of homeowners caught in the wave of foreclosures in October grew 25 percent nationally over the same month in 2007, data released Thursday showed.

More than 279,500 U.S. homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice in October, an increase of 5 percent over September, according to RealtyTrac Inc. One in 452 housing units received a foreclosure filing, such as a default notice, auction sale notice or bank repossession.

More than 84,000 properties were repossessed in October, RealtyTrac said.

In Ohio, one out of every 417 homes received a foreclosure filing last month. The state's foreclosure activity rose nearly 6 percent from September but was down 30 percent compared to October 2007, the report said.

A nasty brew of strict lending standards, falling home values and a tough economy is filtering through the housing market. By the end of the year, the company expects more than a million bank-owned properties to have piled up on the market, representing around a third of all properties for sale in the U.S.

The collateral damage in the financial markets forced the government to pass a $700 billion financial rescue package last month. The plan was initially to buy bad assets from banks, but Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday that the rescue package won't purchase those troubled assets.

That plan would have taken too much time, he said, so instead the Treasury will rely on buying stakes in banks and encouraging them to resume more normal lending.

"The problem now is: How do you stem the tide of foreclosures if you're not doing anything to address it?" Fox Business News anchor Alexis Glick told CBS' The Early Show. "If you're not purchasing troubled assets ... what leeway do you have to say to the banks and financial institutions, 'You have to do something about lending.' They, right now, have no real guidance or oversight to say it's a must."

Some of the largest U.S. banks sharing in the $700 billion government bailout of the financial industry tried to assure skeptical lawmakers Thursday they are using the money to make more loans and help financially strapped homeowners avoid foreclosure.

Experts say efforts to curb foreclosures are too slow, to sporadic and reach too few homeowners, reports CBS News correspondent Ben Tracy.

"It's like having a boat full of water that is leaking all the time and each one of these programs is like giving someone a cup to bail it out," Guy Cecala, of Inside Mortgage Finance, told CBS News. "We need to be using buckets."

On Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston said the government may let more borrowers qualify for a $300 billion program designed to let troubled homeowners swap risky loans for more affordable ones. The program was launched Oct. 1, but there are concerns that lenders won't participate because they have to voluntarily reduce the value of a loan and take a loss.

In RealtyTrac's report, three states - Nevada, Arizona, Florida - had the nation's top foreclosure rates. Nevada posted the nation's highest rate for the 22nd consecutive month in October.

In Nevada, one in every 74 homes received a foreclosure filing last month. Arizona saw one in every 149 housing units receive a foreclosure filing, and in Florida it was one in every 157 homes.

Other states in the top 10 were California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois and Ohio.

However, RealtyTrac noted that, while California had the highest total number of foreclosures in October, the rate in that state was down 18 percent from the previous month.

James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, said new laws requiring delays in the foreclosure process have reduced the volume of foreclosure filings in several states. In California, lenders are now required to contact borrowers at least 30 days before filing a default notice. A similar law in North Carolina gives borrowers an extra 45 days.

"While the intention behind this legislation - to prevent more foreclosures - is admirable, without a more integrated approach that includes significant loan modifications, the net effect may be merely delaying inevitable foreclosures," Saccacio said. "And in the meantime, the apparent slowing of foreclosure activity understates the severity of the foreclosure problem in these states."

Among cities, Las Vegas had the highest October foreclosure rate among the 230 metro areas tracked in the report, with one in every 62 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Four Florida metro areas ranked in top 10 - Cape Coral-Fort Myers was second, Miami third, Fort Lauderdale eighth and Orlando 10th. California also had four metro areas in the top 10: Stockton fourth, Merced fifth, Riverside-San Bernardino seventh and Modesto ninth.

The remaining member of the top 10 was Phoenix, which came in sixth.

[bhappy2-2]

I''ve said it before and I''ll say it again: If the government really wants to help the economy they would give the 700 billion to the citizens. We would pay off our mortgages, invest in new vehicles, possibly start our own businesses and thereby help the banks, the automobile manufacturers, the local stores, the local workforce and, most of all, the U.S. economy. But, if they did that, their buddies wouldn''t be able to waste 700 billion on themselves while continuing to foreclose on all these houses, etc. This whole bailout is one big fiasco. No one benefits from it except the banks, their incompetent managers and the government. The citizens are, once again, screwed.

[tbuckl]

2008 Preamble to Declaration of Independence
We the rich hold these truths to be undeniable; that all rich people are created above all others & that from our superiority is created by our God, that we derive our rights inherent & inalienable, above anyone else, we decide what the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness is; that to secure our position to these ends, our token government is instituted by the rich, deriving their just powers because they have the armies and from the consent of the rich; that whenever any person shall become destructive of our rules, it is the right of the rich to destroy, alter or to abolish any rule, law that interfere with the rule of the rich, & to institute new definitions at will and without notice , laying ours foundation on the backs of the not rich. We shall organize our powers in such a form, as to keep all non-rich at bay and shall protect our safety & happiness by force should the poor rise up due to the heavy yoke around their necks.

[tbuckl]

Perhaps the Government would think different if all the home owners who are loosing their homes were to blockage thier houses and take a stand, Use any and all force nessary to hold law enforcement off. One or two homeowners would not make a difference, but if 1 mil home owners put up a resistance then the police force would not have the man power to remove us all. If we band together, the Government will have to deal with us. Stand alone and they will take us one by one just like Nazi did. If it is the banks policy to rip us off, make us homeless while enjoying the bailout money for vacations, then take our homes and sale them for less than what we owe, it should be the policy of the citizens to repeal any and all government official attempt to effect this national swindle upon us. Again Thomas Jefferson saw that these tyrants would continue to rise up and we would need to forced them back down in order to maintain our liberty.

[tbuckl]

He said, "I sincerely believe, with you, that banking establishments are more dangerous than standing armies; and that the principle of spending money to be paid by posterity, under the name of funding, is but swindling futurity on a large scale." The Preamble to his original draft of the Declaration of Independence, he wrote, "We hold these truths to be sacred & undeniable; that all men are created equal & independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent & inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, & liberty, & the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these ends, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government shall become destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, & to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles & organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety & happiness."

[tbuckl]

Hasn''t this government and the banking system proven to be destructive? Do the people now have a right to alter or abolish it and institute a new government? Thomas thought that "Rebellion to tyrants is Obedience to God." He further said, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots & tyrants." Perhaps we have reached that point where it is time to refresh the tree of liberty and deal with these tyrants now destorying American. Now that I have said my thoughts about this swindle, showed myself as a Son Of Liberty should I stand out front of my home and wait for the black van to pull up and take me to Guantanamo Bay?

[kellyharris5]

WE HATE BUSH AND EVERY EVIL *** LIKE HIM! www.theseriouspolice.com

[credibility2]

No one should get any help for their bad and ignorant choices. Many of these choices were the result of greed and living beyond one''s means. Make the debt, pay the debt. Can''t pay it, then don''t make it. No one is helping the vast majority of homeowners who made the right choice and are doing the mature and responsible thing in paying their mortgages on time, while struggling themselves. No one cares about these responsible individuals, only the bottom-feeders and slackards.

[andylance1]

The FDIC detailed a plan yesterday to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures in the next year by offering financial incentives to companies that agree to sharply reduce monthly payments on mortgage loans.

This FDIC plan to help struggling homeowners survive in their own homes is an excellent idea. Paulson should be ashamed for opposing this.

Sheila Bair at FDIC is a compassionate conservative and Henry Paulson at Treasury is a former Wall Street shark. This is a perfect example of both the best and the worst of Bush Administration appointees.

[jehovahwtnss]

Why are all these posters blaming the politicians for people not being able to pay their mortgages? when the blame clearly lies with the "loan shark" methods practiced by the banks. {low initial interest "tempter" loans etc}

[perk235]

Regarding bailouts, we all seem to forget the first bailout of this admistration: the airlines right after 9/11.

Remember how the surplus was used to keep the airlines afloat immediately after 9/11?

[olderthnadam]

republic76,

You do mean "welfare moms" and not "welfare mom''''s," right?

Are you an elementary school dropout?


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Posted by whatithink10 at 06:36 PM : Nov 13, 2008
==============================
What are you, the grammar police? Arrogant a$$.

[olderthnadam]

I have a question. If the federal government is promising to buy bad loans then what incentive do banks have to try to refinance troubled mortgages? Unless the government insists on only paying current market value it will be a disincentive. Secondly if the banks don''''t actually own the mortgages but have sold them down the line who do you deal with? Do they have an incentive to refinance? How can mortgage owners plan to make money on empty houses for sale in a severely depressed market with very few buyers and loss of value of 40%-60%.If they are not hoping that their loan will be bought at full value by the government then wouldn''''t they be better off to refinance at an affordable payment and keep the original buyers in the house if possible.

[chachi2008]

I don''t understand why "The Government" doesn''t set up government accounts for these corporations to make withdraws from after providing solid evidence for what the funds will be used for. They must also make it a requirement for companies to provide written and signed receipts after money has been spent....Simple enough isn''t it?

[cfin5]

Paulson''s a NEOLIBOCON. A CFR globolist for short.

[freefla]

Today my 37 year old single mom hairdresser told me she is buying her first home. It was a bank owned foreclosure that initially sold for $250,000 and she is getting it for $125,000. This "housing crisis" is simply a correction of overblown housing prices to what they should be. Banks which helped create this crisis should not be rewarded.

[whatithink10]

republic76,

You do mean "welfare moms" and not "welfare mom''s," right?

Are you an elementary school dropout?

[seafang]

So who cares; nationwide it is about one house in 61 that is in foreclosure; not exactly a national disaster.

Hey; if you can''t afford a $100,000 house and a crooked banker offers to buy it for you anyway, with a nothing down no interest loan; which he plans to sell the fanny Mae anyway, so the taxpayers can worry about it; then why not have him give you a $500,000 house instead, because it is just as easy to not afford that, as a $100,000 house, so go for it and fanny mae will buy that deadbeat loan too.

Most honest homeowners are doing just fine.

[easeup-2009]

Quit whining ***

I''''m describing your ''''Puke hero3es accurately

******** -s a drug addict
Hannity does resemble a plump manatee &
Lielly is a phone sexx pervert

Posted by cause_y at 04:01 PM : Nov 13, 2008

You better log off--mom''s gonna be home soon & you haven''t even started your spelling homework.

[gop_will_win]

However, there are some excellent buys in the stock market right now

Posted by jgg0002 at 03:22 PM : Nov 13, 2008"

Yeah cletus - that''''s exactly what that ******** Cavuto was saying a few months back when he and his ilk were screeching that the Dow would hiit 50,000 by Dec 08



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Posted by cause_y
========================
Buy stocks when the DOW hits 8,000 again wait and sell when it hits 8,800.

[easeup-2009]

Gluebottle - evidently I know far more than you seeing as assh00les like you and those economic "geniuses" you listen to like the drug addict Luch ******** the plump manatee Sean Hannity, the phone sexx pervert Loofah Dildoe Lielly etc were claiming that Chimpy''''s tax curts would drive the DOW to 50,000 by December 2008

At this point, it''''s more likely that the dow will hit 5000 than 50,000

Posted by cause_y at 03:20 PM : Nov 13, 2008

Why do you myopic sheep try & make fun of the names?


Are you in the 6th grade or something?