Are you upset about declining home values in your neighborhood. If you are you are not alone.
The other day I was asked by a neighbor to do a “Market Value” on her home because she is a senior and is thinking about selling her home and moving to a retirement community.
When I completed the “Market Value” I was shocked to see the lower value of homes even in my own neighborhood.
I remember 15 years ago several neighbors decided to put additions on their homes and we used the same contractor and were very happy with the results. Each year we saw our home values increase as a result of our home improvements.
Today is a different story. There are 3 homes on my own block which are listed as “Short Sales” and another 3 homes in the neighborhood that are bank owned foreclosures.
On a personal level I feel very sad about the current affairs of my neighbors and my neighborhood. I also realize that home values will continue to decline in my neighborhood just like other neighborhoods and there is little I can do about it.
I do have confidence that the home values will eventually stabilize and we will see the real benefits to home ownership in the near future.
| Discussion: No Comm
You canput “Lipstick on a Pig” but it will still be a “Pig”. This is what the government is doing with the toxic assets.
They have now changed the name from “Toxic Assets” to the term “Legacy Assets
What is a Legacy Asset? Well according to Wiki, “Legacy Assets are those assets which are less productive (outdated) and in some cases least productive overtime, they are just on the brink of being a liability overtime.”
What does Toxic Mean? Well according to Wiki, “Toxic means capable of serious injury and even death from poison.”
It really doesn’t matter which word you use when describing these bad loans. The way I see it is they will continue to be a liability to our economic and financial recovery and may even cause serious injury or death to the current way we function as a society.
As I listen to Treasury Secretary Geitner and President Obama talk about the New Plan for the toxic assets I am reminded of Monte Hall of Let’s Make a Deal. It appears the New Plan involves a partnership with the government and the Private Sector. The Government would buy up $700 billion dollars worth of toxic assets while assumming the majority of the risk (93%) versus (7%) risk to the Private Sector. Sounds too good of a deal to pass up if I were an investor.
But wait I am reminded of another toon in the back of my head regarding this plan and it is..
Mick Jagger singing “Sympathy for the Devil” .Even the first lines in the song are kind of chilling, “Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of Wealth and Taste.
It seems the Government is about to enter into a relationship with the “Devil” himself to solve the toxic asset problem with the banks. As I see it we need to stabilize the housing market and find investors for these toxic loans but does it have to be with the Devils on Wallstreet ? It seems to me that it was Wallstreet that got us into this mess. Its time they started to be part of the solution but as I see it they are the only ones going to make a profit in this new plan.
1. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans: Homeowners who have loans with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are allowed to modify their loans provided the remaining balance on the mortgage does not exceed more than 5% of the current “Market Value”. I think many homeowners will not be able to modify their loans under this program because home values are declining at a faster rate than the cap rate of 5%.
2. Voluntary Lender Program : The plan wants to give ” $1,000.00 cash” incentives to lenders who modify loans. A lender must be willing to reduce the current mortgage to 31% of the homeowners gross income. For example, a person who makes $50,000 per year has a monthly gross income of $4,1,66.67 . According to this plan, 31 % of the monthly gross should be a persons mortgage. In this example the mortgage payment should not exceed $1,291.67 per month. The maximum mortgage a person would qualify for based on this scenario is $241,616.31 (based on 5% Interest, 30 year Amortization) .It is unclear if this monthly amount includes Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance. If taxes and Insurance are not factored in then the maximum mortgage would be less. Now let’s assume this same person has an existing mortgage balance of $300,000 and has a subprime rate of 7% . The monthly payment on this loan is $1,984.33 . The difference in payment between $1,984.33-$1,291.67= $692.66 per month or $8, 311.92 loss in 1 year to the lender. The new plan will only reimburse the lender $1,000.00 so the net loss to the lender in 1 year is now $7,311.92 . Does this sound like a good plan for the lender? I do not think so, and therefore I do not see this volunteer program working very well.
3. Plan calls to change the Bankruptcy Code: The third part of the plan will allow a judge in bankruptcy court to help modify the loans with lenders. The bankrutcy judge would be allowed to force the lender to lower the principal balance owed on the debt in order to make the monthly mortgage payments more affordable for the homeowner. I think the courts will overburdened with people attempting to modify their loans and this plan will not be successful.
While Obama tries to help homeowners from loosing their homes to foreclosures he admits many will not be helped with his plan. Those not being helped are people who are unemployed, those who have second homes, or those people who took advantage of the system to begin with and according to Obama will not be bailed out.
The North Shore communities of Evanston, Skokie and Lincolnwood are the first suburbs north of Chicago. Each one of these communities have homes in different stages of foreclosure.
| Active Listings | Evanston | Skokie | Lincolnwood |
| Single Family Total | 289 | 312 | 113 |
| Short Sales | 33 | 48 | 10 |
| Bank Owned | 15 | 23 | 02 |
| % of Total | 17 | 23 | 09 |
| Condo Total | 520 | 276 | 34 |
| Short Sales | 31 | 37 | 02 |
| Bank Owned | 11 | 16 | 01 |
| % of Total | 08 | 19 | 11 |
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