Richard Rosa

The Boston Herald reported January 25, 2009 that a Dallas-based auctioneer, Hudson & Marshall, will auction off more than 100 bank-owned Massachusetts properties at the Boston Quincy Marriott Saturday January 31, 2009.

Another 28 Western Massachusetts properties will be sold January 27, 2009 at the Sheraton in Springfield, MA.

Successful bidders must make a $5,000 deposit in cash, cashier’s check or certified funds for each property. All properties are sold "as is." I don't recommend these auctions for first-time home buyers.

Read my previous post about some other multi-property auctions in Massachusetts over the last 18 months. Some successful bidders may still be waiting to move in.

Read The Boston Herald Article

A Dorchester, MA mortgage broker who helped home buyers who were credit risks secure subprime loans has pleaded guilty to forgery, larceny, and other criminal charges, the Massachusetts Attorney General's office reported January 13, 2009.

Nicole Lyder, age 34, pled guilty to charges of forgery (6 counts), larceny of bank credit by false pretenses (5 counts), uttering a false document (6 counts), and making or publishing false or exaggerated statements (4 counts).

Following the change of plea to guilty, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Christine McEvoy sentenced Lyder to serve two years in the house of correction, committed, and two years in the house of correction, sentence suspended for three years and to begin from and after the committed time. Essentially, Lyder will be on probation for three years from the time she is released from jail.

Lyder was held for 285 days awaiting trial because she couldn't make bail, and now that she has pleaded guilty, she will be eligible for parole in approximately three months.

The government's investigation focused on mortgage loans that Lyder assisted home buyers in securing from Fremont Investment & Loan, Inc. The Massachusetts Attorney General's office sued the California company in 2007, alleging predatory lending practices. That case is still pending and the company denies the allegations.

In addition to her misconduct with respect to these subprime mortgages, Lyder also engaged in fraudulent activity in order to secure an automobile loan for a $63,000 Landrover that she purchased. In July 2007, Lyder submitted fraudulent bank statements to Sovereign Bank in order to secure financing for the vehicle by altering a bank statement belonging to one of her former mortgage clients, making it appear as if it were her own bank statement.

According to The Boston Globe, among Lyder's clients, one left a homeless shelter and two others gave up government-subsidized housing to buy homes. No word whether these home buyers will be prosecuted for their roles in obtaining these fraudulent loans. The clients later realized they could not afford their monthly payments and eventually had foreclosure cases brought against them.

Read The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office Press Release

Merrimac, Massachusetts home sales declined from 30 single-family home sales from January through September 2007 to 19 sales during the same period in 2008, a 36.6 percent decline; however, the median price of a single-family home increased 5.8 percent from $359,000 (2007) to $380,000 (2008).

During the same period in 2006, the median price for a single-family home in Merrimac, MA stood at $345,000. In 2005, the median home price was $365,000

Merrimac, MA
Single-family Market Data
Jan. 1st through Sept. 30th
Year No. of Sales
2005 48
2006 33
2007 30
2008 19

Year Median Price
2005 $365,000
2006 $345,000
2007 $359,000
2008 $380,000

Year DOM
2005 105
2006 195
2007 192
2008 131

Search for homes in Merrimac, MA and surrounding communities.

Many home buyers have been convinced that bank-owned properties or short sales are the best bargains.

It's just not true.

Bank-owned properties, sometimes referred to as real-estate owned (REO), typically need a substantial amount of work. Most people think that work means fresh paint and new carpets, not exactly. These properties have a lot of deferred maintenance and many times have been damaged by the last owners.

Sometimes pipes freeze and there is water damage. Other times the properties have been broken into by vandals. Damaged walls and ceilings are not uncommon. Fixtures are often missing.

For those individuals willing to do major rehab, many bank-owned properties have the potential of providing a good return on investment; however, buyers need to have cash or a rehab loan to make the repairs and upgrades. The best deal in the world is not any good, if you don't have the cash to make repairs and upgrades.

An article on Boston.com explains some of the pitfalls of attempting to purchase short sales. A short sale refers to a property where the sellers still own the property, but they can't sell it for enough money to pay off the mortgage(s) and costs of sale.

Many buyers choose to walk away after a couple of months of waiting for a lender response.

In the current market, there are plenty of good deals, without the hassles of a REO or a short sale.

The photo above was taken inside a bank-owned multi-family property.

Read The Inman News Article on Boston.com

The Massachusetts Division of Banks January 7, 2009 opened its on-line database of Massachusetts foreclosure notices to the general public.

The web-based resource (www.mass.gov/dob) allows the Division to study trends and better focus foreclosure examination efforts.

The Division of Banks opened the database to local public safety and code enforcement officials several weeks ago, enabling municipalities to better respond to public safety hazards associated with vacant foreclosed properties. To date, public officials in 122 cities and towns have registered for the database.

By providing public access to the database, anyone with an interest in tracking and understanding foreclosure trends in their neighborhood can now do so at the tip of their fingers. Community organizations and regional housing agencies will be able to use the tracking feature to better focus their relief efforts or to study trends and allocate their funds accordingly.

Under Chapter 206, An Act Protecting and Preserving Home Ownership, which was signed by Massachusetts Governor Patrick in November 2007, the regulatory oversight of the non-bank mortgage industry was significantly increased. Among other things, Chapter 206 mandates the development of a statewide foreclosure tracking database. All mortgage holders are now required to electronically file foreclosure petitions and records of sales involving one-to-four family, owner-occupied properties with the Division of Banks.

The electronic submissions allow the Division of Banks to efficiently process and maintain this information in a web-based database, making select foreclosure property information easily available to members of the public who register to access it.

The Division can now closely monitor trends among brokers and lenders whose loans have high frequencies of foreclosure. The database is also built with a functionality to track the entities responsible for maintaining foreclosed properties. The database lists the foreclosures throughout the state line-by-line and includes the amount and date of the sale, community and foreclosing entity. To protect the privacy of the individuals and families whose homes are in foreclosure, the database will not make consumer names or property addresses available to the general public.