Ohio foreclosure statistics

Reprinted article from The Ohio Supreme Court regarding foreclosure filings for 2011.  I wouldn't read too much into this, this is still a lot of foreclosures and there are a lot, lot more to come in my opinion.  Best thing that can happen to really make this trend change is for economy to continue to improve.

March 14, 2012
Ohio Foreclosure Filings Drop 16 Percent in 2011

After experiencing a drop in the number of Ohio foreclosure case filings for the first time in 15 years in 2010, that number declined even further in 2011 by 16 percent, according to data released today by the Supreme Court of Ohio.
For 2011, common pleas courts across Ohio reported 71,556 new residential and commercial foreclosure case filings to the Ohio Supreme Court, or 13,927 fewer foreclosure cases than 2010.
The Ohio Supreme Court began collecting foreclosure data in 1990, and for 14 consecutive years through 2009 the number of foreclosure new filings rose. Not since 2006 have the foreclosure filings been in the range as the numbers recorded for 2011.
Only two counties saw increases in the number of year-over-year foreclosures in 2011. Coshocton County reported 317 foreclosures in 2011 compared with 163 in 2010 for a 94.5 percent increase. Guernsey County reported 198 foreclosures in 2011 compared with 188 in 2010 for a 5.3 percent increase.
On the other end of the spectrum, 75 of Ohio’s 88 counties reported double-digit decreases in 2011, and 10 counties reported 30 percent or greater declines.
Cuyahoga County continued to lead the state in the number of foreclosures with 11,544, although this figure represents a 10 percent annual decline, which followed a 9 percent decline in 2010.
Information contained in the reports is provided to the Ohio Supreme Court on a monthly basis by all county common pleas courts.
By collecting case data, the Ohio Supreme Court attempts to assist in the efficient administration of justice by measuring the pace of incoming litigation for case management purposes. The Ohio Supreme Court does not examine or analyze larger social and governmental trends that may contribute to or influence changes in the number of foreclosure case filings. The foreclosure data submitted by common pleas courts does not break down the number of residential versus

Ohio's Share of Foreclosure Settlement

Jury is still WAAAYYYY OUT on if this settlement will actually help anyone.  I have two initial thoughts:

1.  The most important part of this is the money that will be used, in conjunction with federal incentives, to write down the principal balance of mortgages.  This will allow homeowners to actually refinance or sell their homes creating market turnover that is desperately needed to get the housing market going.

2.  I hope that you don't need to be in foreclosure in order to get these benefits.  There are lots of homeowners that are completely upside-down on their mortgage, but still make their payments on time.  Otherwise, there is an incentive NOT to pay your mortgage in order to get these benefits!   

Tell me what you think!


Ohio will receive $335 million in benefits as part of a landmark $25 billion settlement with the nation’s five biggest mortgage companies announced today.

The settlement will be used to help keep struggling Ohioans in their homes, to demolish thousands of blighted properties, and to compensate some of those who lost their homes to foreclosure.

“Although this settlement is of historic proportion, we know it does not solve the mortgage crisis,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine in announcing the settlement. “It is a start. It is a first step.”

The deal is the biggest settlement involving a single industry since a 1998 multistate tobacco deal.

Under the agreement, five lenders — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial — will reduce loans for nearly 1 million households. They will also send checks to about 750,000 Americans who were improperly foreclosed upon. The banks will have three years to fulfill the terms of the deal.

Ohio’s share of the settlement will be divided approximately this way:

--$102 million will come in the form of loan modifications to homeowners who are delinquent or in the foreclosure process, possibly allowing them to remain in their home or sell the home in a short-sale.

-- $90 million will benefit homeowners who  are "under water" on their mortgages, that is, owe more on their home than the property is worth. 

-- $44 million will compensate former homeowners who were foreclosed upon between Jan. 1, 2008, and Jan. 31, 2011. The amount of payment will depend on the numbers who apply, but is expected to be about $2,000 per home.

-- $97 million will come as a direct payment to the state, most of which the attorney general’s office will use to demolish abandoned properties around the state.

“The time has come to shout, ‘Tear down these houses, tear down these buildings,” DeWine said.

35% of ’11 residential sales were ‘distressed’

Not much of a surprise here in Central Ohio. The strong communities aren't as affected by this. It is more of a statistic in areas where middle class and lower class folks live - the one's that have been most affected by the economic recession.

35% of ’11 residential sales were ‘distressed’

Foreclosure rates plunge in 2011 - Jan. 12, 2012

Don't get too excited by the following article. I believe that there is still a tremendous backlog of loans in default in Ohio that the lenders have just not proceeded forward. There is the robo-signing issue, Courts requiring pre-foreclosure certifications of documents, more loan modifications and other attempts at diverting foreclosure and other factors slowing the process. Gradually this year and the next, the banks will have exhausted all loss mitigation efforts and have to proceed with foreclosing on the backlog of default mortgages in Ohio.

Foreclosure rates plunge in 2011 - Jan. 12, 2012

Vacant houses swamping city

Vacant houses swamping city

This is the type of problem facing many cities in the Midwest and beyond. Columbus has actually fared better than most in the real estate collapse. However, this problem, although maybe not to this extreme, is moving into the suburbs and other developments where foreclosures are prevalent. Vandalized homes can't be sold by the banks and are eventually left to continue to fall into disrepair until no one wants them and no one will pay to demolish them. Sad state of affairs.

Home prices down for 6th straight month

Home prices down for 6th straight month

New Year's Resolution is to revive this blog with a business/current event bent, but I will try to mix business with pleasure when possible. Unfortunately these types of articles cannot be ignored due to my legal practice area. Expect more articles with this same headline over the next couple of YEARS!! Anyone who predicts a quick recovery of the housing market is kidding themselves.

Forecast for homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages or sell their homes is MORE PAIN in 2012.

Number of troubled mortgages on rise again

According to this article from CNN Money, its bad news for housing again.  The number of delinquent mortgages tipped up slightly which was a reversal of an almost two year trend of percentage of delinquent mortgages improving slightly.  While we are talking about 0.12 percentage points, this is bad news.  

I believe that the mortgage percentage are an excellent indicator on how the economy is affecting the middle class.  It is the middle class that has a bulk of the mortgages and it is also the middle class that bears the brunt of this bad economy.   It is not at all uncommon in my experience to be working with people that are trying to pay their mortgages each month and any setback means a missed payment.   The amount of taxes these people pay is a secondary concern for those just trying to pay their monthly bills.   I think most of these folks, assume that they are paying the same taxes as the rich and would be shocked to see the disparity in tax rates.  This can especially be true for middle class business owners that are beset by business related taxes and expenses on top of their personal obligations.   

If our politicians cannot come together and make the middle class the object of US economic policy, then I think it is akin to Nero playing the fiddle while Rome burned.  I am primarily speaking to Republicans, who, while trying to be heard and make policy, continue to lead the way in stonewalling, filibustering and flat out stopping any attempts to compromise over any issues.  Most of this is done by kowtowing to the far right tea-partiers instead of forcing them to come towards the middle.  

Meanwhile on the Republican campaign trail, its all about teaching creationism in public schools, crazy eyes, gay marriage and "birthers"....really vital issues to most of the middle class.....  we're all doomed!!!!!

Mortgage Foreclosures are going to get a Second Look. Wha-What ?!?

In the latest in the ongoing saga of the Feds vs. Banks on the subject of the foreclosure mess, it was announced that the 14 Largest Banks are going to be required to send letters out to any customers that had a foreclosure in progress in 2009 and 2010 that they can request a review of their file by an independent auditor to see if there were any mistakes in the foreclosure and if they are entitle to any financial compensation from those errors!

WOW!.  This is not good new for the banks.  On the one hand in may allow them to move forward on foreclosing on loans currently in default.  On the other hand, the can of worms this could open up for the banks is monumental.  We are talking potentially millions of loans that are subject to these letters.  The numbers could be mitigated that a lot of those customers were defaulted out of court proceedings then, and will still not have any interest in reopening that chapter of their lives, BUT what if they do?

The article says that the Banks will hire independent auditors to review files after the letters go out.  This could jump start the economy with how many independent auditors they could have to hire in order to make this a meaningful process!!  The reviews are to be completed in 120 days.   OK, so that means the umpteen million foreclosures that went on over the last 2 years will be reviewed for violations in that time frame?  How is that even going to be possible?  I don't know.

 As much as I am mired in the world of the foreclosure by representing debtors, working with servicers, bankruptcies, etc., I think the only way to get out of this mess is to move forward.   Do whatever it takes to get the wheels of the foreclosure machine moving again so that the Banks can get the bad loans off their books, the Courts can get through their dockets, the homes can get integrated back into the market and we can all cut our losses and begin rebuilding!  It is not going to be pretty, there will be lots of pain, but the longer that things stay tied up, the longer it is going to continue to screw up the housing market.




It is probably good news for lawyers in my profession if we can use this to help our clients or get new clients that may have been wronged by the banks before and are now getting another bite at the apple.  However, I  have to balance my business interests out with the long term effects of this on the larger economy.  Something the Big Banks never even considered when they were raking it in and raking their customers over the coals!!

Yeesh!

Yet Another Reason Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters Rule

I was trying to decide whether to write about the latest housing news (actually a "victory" for the good guys!), or a charity golf tournament that I would actually like to play in (for more than the beer and free hotdog).  Then I came across a story I had to comment about.

By now, it should be no surprise that I have a bit of a thing for Foo Fighters and their fearless leader Dave Grohl - seen here in full caveman rocker mode.    Well it seems that someone finally sought fit to spread their hilarious tour rider out to the interweb, courtesy of smoking gun.  I hope this doesn't turn out to be fake, because I have seen a few different versions of it at different sites, but given what I know about Dave Grohl and the band's general sense of humor, it seems legit!!

This is a masterpiece of Tour Rider journalism.  It is sarcastic, pays homages to the excesses of 70's Rockers, contains hilarious coloring book pages and some valuable lessons on roadie hygiene and the pitfalls of "sweaty meats". 

Each band member takes a funny turn at teaching the venue catering staff some great tips and makes it fun to learn by providing mazes, puzzles and band image clip art to color!  Just so we know that Foo Fighters haven't lost their edge, they also require a rock-band-worthy amount of alcohol!  What are the guys and their guests drinking? Lots of the usual suspects Coors light, Guinness, Corona, local microbrews, wine and champagne, Jager, Crown Royal, Sky Vodka and mixers.  Regular guy drinks (if regular guys are getting hammered before they go on!)  I also like that they request that the family room be "near, but not necessarily next to the band room".  The whole thing is also sprinkled with random gems like "Chewbacca did not get a medal at the end of Star Wars, which is a travesty!" 

Basically, I've got my ticket to the show at Nationwide Arena in September and can't f'***ing wait!!  The new album, Wasting Light, is an instant classic.  It is recorded old school and sounds incredible.  Their best offering yet and that is hard to do.  Full album review coming soon, I just can't stop listening to it long enough to write about it yet.  

Peruse the excerpts of the Tour Rider including the hilarious Catering Visual Enhancement and Activities in addition to the written excerpts linked above.  It is a great look into the life of a touring rock band and provides unique insight into the minds of the one of the biggest best rock-bands out there. It is also comforting to know that my favorite band is also one of the cleverest.  LONG LIVE FOO!!!

Still reaching for some good news about housing? Here it isn't!

I just finished reading another article desperately seeking good news on the housing front.   The other day, there was one about the fact that "new build" building permits for May were up from year ago.  I can attest to that as a local builder has ramped up construction on the final phase of my subdivision after about a six year standstill.  That's decent news, although I really can't see the benefit of putting more new homes into the marketplace in most cities right now.  

Today's article began by boasting how foreclosure notices fell to their lowest level since 2006!  What they are measuring is the required default notice that is sent by the bank at the beginning of the foreclosure process.  If the bank does not send this notice out, it can't proceed (in most jurisdictions) with the foreclosure.   If anyone thinks this is good news they are not thinking straight.  What this is a strong indicator of is that the Banks (B of A, Wells Fargo, etc.) have had to grind their foreclosures to a halt in some places.  I have had more than one client tell me that a representative of their Bank told them that "After further review, the Bank has decided that it is not in their best interests to foreclosure on your home."   This is after my client have not paid their mortgages in over a year.   It is no longer worth it to the bank to foreclosure because they don't want to own the home and can't sell it if they did.  This is now causing urban blight and other problems in certain cities and is guaranteed to affect the housing market negatively for quite a long time.

Sorry about this depressing topic, but if no one talks about it, it will NOT go away.  Feel free to leave a comment with your well thought out solution to the whole mess!!

Next entry will "upbeat"...back to music maybe, it makes everything better.!

Free Falling.. Housing Prices Are...Free Falling

Well another week, another horrifying story about the housing market.  An AP Report on the housing market stated that the latest Standard & Poor's index showed housing prices at their lowest since 2006.  I am not surprised one bit by this news.  In my law practice I see hundreds of title reports each month for houses destined for eventual foreclosure.  Most of these are in metro areas like Cincinnati, Cleveland, Toledo, Akron and Columbus.   It makes sense because how can you sell an existing house for anything close to value when the banks have hundreds of foreclosed homes on the market at discounts of 20%, 30% or even 50% in some cases?   Previously released numbers boasting that home sales were steadying or even rising in the area look only at volumes of sales, not price.  The truth is, that many of these sales are being done at huge discounts which drives these indexes down.

 
This problem is only going to be compounded by the fact that thousands of foreclosures have been delayed by the largest lenders due to the "robo-signing" scandal and lawsuits by Attorney's General seeking to halt foreclosures.  Once those matters are settled - oh maybe this year sometime - the foreclosure floodgates will open and even more homes will be added to the glut of REO properties.  

In the meantime, maybe you're "lucky" enough to pay your mortgage down so that you have equity in your home.  Otherwise, join the growing mob and see if you can get yourself a HAMP Mortgage modification and prepare to stay where you are for the next 5 - 10 years until your house is no longer underwater!

Mortgage Default Industry

Here is a little peek into my world.  I am a lawyer, attorney (at-law if you're being formal), counselor or whatever respectful name you care to use.  I have certainly been called other things, but that comes with the territory.  For most of my professional career, I have worked in what is called the Default Services Industry.  Here in the rust belt, it has been one of the few growth industries in town.  Default Services deals with all aspects of defaulted mortgages, foreclosures and the subsequent disposition of the collateral - the house.  My experiences have allowed me to work as and work with lenders, borrowers, debtors, landlords, title agencies, realtors, investors and homeowners. 

While I am grateful for these experiences, it has not been the most uplifting of careers as of late.  A recent article in USA Today http://usat.ly/lOHPgu discusses the great news that people who defaulted on the mortgages, but no other debts, are good credit risks going forward.    I would enjoy hearing anyone else's interpretation of this information, but I'll tell you this is a great example of where our economy really is.  The article's point is well taken and a sign that in the future, as many people will have foreclosures as have good credit!!  

Check back for my perspective on the ongoing saga of the biggest problem with the economy that has the broadest effect on real people - the housing and real estate crisis.  I will be a frequent blogger on this issue so feel free to join in.