Foreclosure help
Foreclosures rose 35 percent in the first quarter of 2007 compared to last year, according to RealtyTrac.

Foreclosures can be a disaster for consumers, forcing them to leave neighborhoods they love, ruining their credit and setting them up for long-term financial pain. However, foreclosures can be avoided.

The following resources can help consumers turn their financial lives around and avoid foreclosure:

• Department of Housing and Urban Development
(800) 569-4287

• Homeownership Preservation Foundation
(888) 995-HOPE

• National Foundation For Credit Counseling
(800) 388-2227


Many middle class Americans are not making it in this country. Losing thier homes and gaining bad credit.

Guess what that means - it's a good time to buy real estate!

Guess what that means - it's a good time to buy real estate!

I was thinking the same thing!

:D

I was thinking the same thing!

:D

Want a condo? I got a few on the water for just over 500,000 - killer view of the city too

Yep - I'm just about to buy a new house, so it suits me fine. You should see how much new construction builders are begging. They've reduced base prices by over $30,000 in the past 2 months & are throwing in all kinds of upgrades for free

Many of the foreclosures are related to sub-prime lenders who have targeted people who really don't have the income to buy the house they want. I really hope we are not going to bail out lenders who have made a practice of loaning money to people without verifying their income, as some of the reports I have seen have said was going on.
I do feel sorry for people who were sucked into such schemes to an extent, but I also realize that everyone has a duty to look after their own interests and not to believe every huckster who comes along and tells you that you can afford something you clearly can not afford. People who are surprised when the payments go up after a couple of years because they didn't understand the terms of the mortgage they were agreeing to made a basic mistake. Don't sign anything you don't fully understand. If it is to difficult for you to understand, hire a lawyer to explain it and to represent your interests. If you are going to swim with the sharks, at least have a Barracuda on your side.

Want a condo? I got a few on the water for just over 500,000 - killer view of the city too
in the bay area? no thanks...the commute would kill me.

i am not surprised about the foreclosures thing being up. not long ago someone on here stated that people buying their own homes was at an all time high to a point i made. touche, but unknowing to me or them, these same people can't even afford to make the payments. not surprised. when the top employer in america is wal-mart.

the hopusing industry is a big rip off. real estate is a rip off.

being an insider for a awhile in the building houses, or repairing them i can say it is a rip-off.

i MODEST sized home can be built in my area before profit for about 20,000 dollars. after the contractors and real estate agents get their cut that same house will cost you well over 100,000 dollars.

Wow, $100,000 sounds damn cheap to me. Where I live (and it's not in the city!), a modest sized town house runs about $300,000.

Guess what that means - it's a good time to buy real estate!

Yes, if you have that much cash.

Come on Dhrama, I am sure you are good frinds with a few real estate agents who can get you a good deal.

Come on Dhrama, I am sure you are good frinds with a few real estate agents who can get you a good deal.

I know a couple people who work at banks which is how I got the house I just bought in February. It was a foreclosure.

I am speaking from recent personal experience. If you want a foreclosure, have the cash.

The banks don't like selling foreclosures to another person with a mortgage.

Or you can wait for the banks to sell the properties off in bulk and try to buy them in auction, but you will still likely need cash.

Many of the foreclosures are related to sub-prime lenders who have targeted people who really don't have the income to buy the house they want. I really hope we are not going to bail out lenders who have made a practice of loaning money to people without verifying their income, as some of the reports I have seen have said was going on.

A large % of mortgages are made without income verification. This is a standard practice and is called no-doc, low doc loans. They have a higher interest rate (slightly higher) and are very common. Almost every self employed person goes the no income verification route.

No doc loans that require at least 20% down and at least a 700 credit score are really not much higher risk and are perhaps only 0.2% higher interest rate. The risk is 5% down, low credit score, no doc loans.

i MODEST sized home can be built in my area before profit for about 20,000 dollars. after the contractors and real estate agents get their cut that same house will cost you well over 100,000 dollars.

A house costs one hell of a lot more than you stated. Here's what I approximated from the houses I've been involved in:

Labor costs - 20,200
Builder - 12,000
Joiner - 1,200
Slater - 2,200
Plumber - 700
Plasterer - 2,000
Tiler - 500
Painter - 1,600

Materials 50,000

Fees/Hire - 7,050
Valuation - 150
Insurance - 500
House Plans - 400
NHBC fee - 500
Scaffold / add'l tools - 500
Utilities - 5,000


My calculations come to 77,250 to build a 4 bedroom 2,500 sq ft house. Then you have to buy the lot which will usually range from 20,000 up to 300,000 (can go into the millions in prime locations). This still doesn't take into account the costs for an architect, landscaper, for the broker for selling it, and the costs of the developer. Additionally one doesn't have that kind of money just lying around, so you have to take out a loan in order to pay for that, which adds additional costs.

Yes, if you have that much cash.

If you make 50-60,000 a year you can buy a house - check out Bank of America's ACORN Program.

A house costs one hell of a lot more than you stated. Here's what I approximated from the houses I've been involved in:

Labor costs - 20,200
Builder - 12,000
Joiner - 1,200
Slater - 2,200
Plumber - 700
Plasterer - 2,000
Tiler - 500
Painter - 1,600

Materials 50,000

Fees/Hire - 7,050
Valuation - 150
Insurance - 500
House Plans - 400
NHBC fee - 500
Scaffold / add'l tools - 500
Utilities - 5,000


My calculations come to 77,250 to build a 4 bedroom 2,500 sq ft house. Then you have to buy the lot which will usually range from 20,000 up to 300,000 (can go into the millions in prime locations). This still doesn't take into account the costs for an architect, landscaper, for the broker for selling it, and the costs of the developer. Additionally one doesn't have that kind of money just lying around, so you have to take out a loan in order to pay for that, which adds additional costs.
that's the difference between the bay area & BFE WV.

but how many young families need a 4 bedroom, 2,500 sq ft house?

but how many young families need a 4 bedroom, 2,500 sq ft house?

*raises hand*

Where else am I supposed to put the bar, pool table and stripper pole???

you get a big azz laugh from me on that one.

and windwip is right. i bet i can get a house built for 20 grand here. before profit. but it has to be a MODEST sized home. not some yuppie ranch.

and i'll repeat. what else can you expect about the foreclosure rate now when the biggest employer in america is wal-mart?

Foreclosures are up because people are unrealistic about their earning potential versus their expenses. I was in the bank a few weeks ago negotiating a lend for a purchase. It took just a few minutes on the phone prior to the visit for a credit check. That check gave me access to 4 times what I make in a year. It is ridiculous. I need a fraction of that for my purchase. None the less, money is that easy to come by.

Also the "I want it now, I'll pay for it later or perhaps never" is a common attitude in our society today. The loan agent at the bank said most housing purchases by young people will not be paid off till near their retirement because they have made themselves real estate poor.

Buying beyond our means is what we are all about. There will come a reckoning and it won't be a nice one. We give our kids too much and they expect to buy at the level their parents have been working for their whole life.
You can only be in one room at a time.

Just think how much your real estate will be worth after Bush legalizes those 20 million illegals and then opens the borders and lets 100 million more come in (like he's talking about doing).

If you're holding RE over the next few years, yer gonna be a very rich person.

*raises hand*

Where else am I supposed to put the bar, pool table and stripper pole???

Those stripper poles are seriously popular with women now after Oprah did a big thing about them on her show.

Can I borrow your pool boy, along with the pole? You can keep the sambuca. :cool:

Just think how much your real estate will be worth after Bush legalizes those 20 million illegals and then opens the borders and lets 100 million more come in (like he's talking about doing).

If you're holding RE over the next few years, yer gonna be a very rich person.

Lung how would that raise your real estate prices?

Lung how would that raise your real estate prices?

Regardless of what most americans think of illegals, they're just people like you and me. They are, for the most part, very family oriented people (especially Mexicans and Central Americans) and have the same basic desires in life as americans -- such as raising a family, sending the kids to a good school, attending church and owning a home.

Although it is quite possible to own a home as an illegal (some do) most don't because they prefer to stay low-profile, in fear of La Migra and ICE.

Once legalized, they will be snapping houses off the market like saltine crackers. Entire neighborhoods will be changing overnight and more white flight will take place -- all of these are good for the real estate market.

It's a changing world -- learn to change with it and you got it made.

On edit: I probably should point out that when a person is legalized, due to america being a family oriented country, that person is allowed to bring his/her entire immediate family into the United States ... brothers, sisters, padre, madre etc etc. So, legalizing 12 million results in 5 times that living here with no fear of being deported.

Do the math.

You cannort build a house for 20,000, not unless it is a very small shack

So supply and demand once again. Okay, thanks Lung.

Foreclosures are up because people are unrealistic about their earning potential versus their expenses. I was in the bank a few weeks ago negotiating a lend for a purchase. It took just a few minutes on the phone prior to the visit for a credit check. That check gave me access to 4 times what I make in a year. It is ridiculous. I need a fraction of that for my purchase. None the less, money is that easy to come by.

Also the "I want it now, I'll pay for it later or perhaps never" is a common attitude in our society today. The loan agent at the bank said most housing purchases by young people will not be paid off till near their retirement because they have made themselves real estate poor.

Buying beyond our means is what we are all about. There will come a reckoning and it won't be a nice one. We give our kids too much and they expect to buy at the level their parents have been working for their whole life.
You can only be in one room at a time.

I agree with all of this.
People try to hard to keep up with the Jone's per say.
They get their paycheck and it is gone before they even got it but do they use it for bills no they go out and order out and spend. So then they rob from peter to pay Paul, or use one credit card to pay the other..I have never got this concept.
For me I will save for something I really want and when I have enough then I will buy it.
I don't have someone I can run to if I get into trouble. I want to keep my house and I have less then a year on it and it is paid off.
Go accelerated bi weekly and a 10% top up each year takes a 25 yr mortgage to a 5 year mortgage. I know not everyone can do that. I was lucky and had a grandmother that gave me My inheritance early so that I would always have a place to live and never have to worry.

So supply and demand once again. Okay, thanks Lung.

Yup ...

There's a reason a starter home in California is $700K ... 35 million people will do that to the market :D

You cannort build a house for 20,000, not unless it is a very small shack

Correct -- The price of lumber alone says you cannot build much for 20K ... maybe an outhouse.

*raises hand*

Where else am I supposed to put the bar, pool table and stripper pole???
i have those in the living room:thumbs:

it's good to be a single guy.:)

Correct -- The price of lumber alone says you cannot build much for 20K ... maybe an outhouse.

Well, maybe you can. I think Ivan is just gonna cut down some trees from a near by forest and use them. Borrow those trees. yup

I agree with all of this.
People try to hard to keep up with the Jone's per say.
They get their paycheck and it is gone before they even got it but do they use it for bills no they go out and order out and spend. So then they rob from peter to pay Paul, or use one credit card to pay the other..I have never got this concept.
For me I will save for something I really want and when I have enough then I will buy it.
I don't have someone I can run to if I get into trouble. I want to keep my house and I have less then a year on it and it is paid off.
Go accelerated bi weekly and a 10% top up each year takes a 25 yr mortgage to a 5 year mortgage. I know not everyone can do that. I was lucky and had a grandmother that gave me My inheritance early so that I would always have a place to live and never have to worry.

Congratulations shorty. In my experience it is unusual for one as young as you to be so careful with money. Quite often it gets blown on things that depreciate such as expensive flashy cars. I think real estate is one of the best investments one can make for financial security.

Well, maybe you can. I think Ivan is just gonna cut down some trees from a near by forest and use them. Borrow those trees. yup

At $4 (or more) per gallon of gas, that chain saw must might turn out to be a pretty expensive tool ... :D

But, IIRC, Ivan is in West Virginia ... great place to live and I wish him all the luck in the world no matter what he builds.

I sure miss Charles Town ... go Mountaineers.

At $4 (or more) per gallon of gas, that chain saw must might turn out to be a pretty expensive tool ... :D

But, IIRC, Ivan is in West Virginia ... great place to live and I wish him all the luck in the world no matter what he builds.

I sure miss Charles Town ... go Mountaineers.

Actually, from the pictures he has posted, the area where he lives looks wild and beautiful. It did sound like they were building up the area though. :( Might not be any nearby trees to chain saw.

Correct -- The price of lumber alone says you cannot build much for 20K ... maybe an outhouse.
1000 sq ft isn't exactly an outhouse. it's a rather spacious 2, or cozy 3 bedroom, no family room. maybe only 1 bath....and a slab or crawl space.

1000 sq ft isn't exactly an outhouse. it's a rather spacious 2, or cozy 3 bedroom, no family room. maybe only 1 bath....and a slab or crawl space.

I apologize for testing your sense of humor.

I apologize for testing your sense of humor.
i keep that in the safe until after my second cup of coffee.