Thomas Janos

Looks like the number of foreclosures is going up again. The reports from RealtyTrac has shown that 358,000 foreclosure notices were received by homes, Nationwide in August 2009. They are reporting a 18 percent increase over last August 2008. It is also the fifth straight month that the number of foreclosure notices were over 300,000.

Here in Minnesota the report is that 3688 homes received notice of foreclosure in August 2009 making the new year to date total 25235. The number of Bank Owned Properties for August 2009 was 551 for a total of 4373 year to date. That is giving us a total of 1 house in every 625 that are in foreclosure. Even though it foreclosure rate dropped from July 2009 it is still a 70 percent increase over August of 2008.

There is also starting to be a increase of defaults on the commercial market as well. I was out showing commercial properties on Tuesday to one of my clients and there are a ton of empty lease units out there. Lease rates are declining and incentives are increasing. I was also supprised by the number of commercial properties that are willing to sell units on a Contract For Deed. I think this is because of the lack of available credit. It is difficult for most commercial property owners to qualify for a mortgage, which is impacting the current market just like it is for residential properties.

If you have questions regarding foreclosures or any other realestate matters please contact us today.

The Janos Group
Real Estate Affiliate Services, Inc.
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-407-7803

The statistic numbers listed above were obtained by RealtyTrac and are not gauranteed by The Janos Group.

Are you still sitting on the Fence?

As many of you know the $8000 tax credit ends on December 1st, 2009 which means you MUST be fully closed on your home by November 30th, 2009, so if your still sitting on the fence waiting to buy a home you need to get busy and buy now.

I am sorry to say that I would recommend that you DO NOT waste your time looking at Short Sale Properties, if you wish to get the tax credit, as many of them can take up to two or even three months just for the banks to decide if they will accept your offer. This may not give you enough time to get everything completed in time for you to close on your house prior to the December 1st deadline.

Remember there are many items that need to be completed in order for any closing to be completed on time, IE... all mortgage paperwork, appraisal, inspections, underwriting of mortgage, title searches, updated credit and employment checks, title work, etc. All these items can often take 30 days or more to complete, and must be finalized in order for the closing to take place.

Homebuyers looking to get the tax credit can still look at Bank Owned Properties and "Normal Listings", and often still get those closed in time for the tax credit but you need to act NOW!

There are still rumors floating around that Congress MAY extend the tax credit but as usual with the Government, you never know, and can you afford to hold out and hope for the best?

So get busy and get off the fence and call us today.

The Janos Group
ReMax Specialists
4910 Highway 61
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-407-7803 Office
651-407-7804 Fax
Tom@TheJanosGroup.com
www.TheJanosGroup.com

For those that live in our area and missed the yearly Hugo Good Neighbor Days last weekend or had a great time there like the rest of us... Well, they are doing it again this weekend, June 12th and 13th.

Due to weather conditions last weekend they decide to play it again so be sure to come out and support the community and have a good time.

I have had two people contact me this week asking about modifying their mortgage. The reason I decided to bring this to my blog was because both were mislead by past advice and luckily they thought to look into it more before committing. One was going to work with a company from another state and pay them before they did any work. I am not an expert in this area of real estate but here are a few points that I have ran across in the past.

There are a few points I would like to make for homeowners in trouble trying to get a modification of mortgage.

• DON"T pay anyone in advance to assist you in the modification because they have not performed yet and I do beleive it is illegal for them to do so.
• DON'T work with a company that is in a different state as their laws may differ then ours.
• If you are low on cash and living paycheck to paycheck, find a part-time job.
• DON'T put off calling your lender when you discover you will have difficulty making your monthly payments.
• If your credit is not up to par, try and repair it before you refinance your loan. Seek assistance if needed.
  
• If your loan is modified, your interest rate may be a little higher due to your poor credit.
  
• DO talk to an attorney if you feel that there is a need to do so.

Once you have received a modification, make your payments on time to improve your credit.

You can also get the modification completed on your own but it will take a lot of work on your behalf and you MUST keep calling the mortgage company over and over and over again even if they refuse you the first time.

Prior to calling for a modification you need to do your homework and have a workable plan that you can afford to live on and your lender would be willing to accept. You must PROVE to them that your plan will keep your loan as a performing loan as it is a commodity for them.

You should work on your finances BEFORE contacting your lender. This means you need to know how much income you have coming in every month, what the total amount of your monthly bills and if they can be adjusted. I recommend creating a full financial report with all your assets, and debts listed. This includes your fun and enjoyment expences ie... cable, internet, cell phone, etc.

There are many nonprofit counseling services that you can contact to help you put together this financial report at no cost. Many of these counseling services will be willing to work with you and your lender.

You will need to devise a plan to submit to the lender on how you propose to pay off the loan, again the counseling service may be able to assist you with this plan.

Now your finally ready to contact the lender and tell them what your financial situation is and what your plan to repay the mortgage is. When you submit this plan the negotiation can begin.

A few sites that can assist you are listed below.

Consumer Credit Counseling: http://www.cccsstl.org

National Foundation for Credit Counseling: www.nfcc.org

US Dept of Housing and Urban Development: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/sfh/nsc/faqlm.cfm

Well we are coming up to a year now that we have offered our Home Buyers and Sellers the ability to search for homes and competition homes with the ListingBook Program and they love it.

If you have never tried ListingBook for your property searches you are missing the boat. It has many features that most websites do not have that makes the home search easier and more efficient.

ListingBook is a free account and loaded with powerful and helpful tools you will not find in any
other service. It is extremely easy to use. There is PDF Files and Web Seminars for training if needed.

We have clients that are not Tech Savy when it comes to computers and they are usually up and searching with in 15 minutes or so.

With Listingbook buyers can easily:

• Find any home in the Multiple Listing Service- just like we do!
• Make an informed decision and find your dream home quickly.
• Receive automatic notification of price reductions and new listings.
• Use Post-It Note or IM features with me that saves time on phone calls and emails.
• Updated listings every 10 minutes instead of once a day like all other websites.
• Full photo and virtual tours viewing.
• Full property information.
• Daily Morning Report that you will get via email every morning that will notify you of all new listings, price reductions, weather, and more. (A true time saver).

With Listingbook sellers can easily:

• Stay informed about new listings and price changes in your neighborhood.
• See how many people are interested in your home, and get measurable results of my marketing efforts to get your home sold.
• Daily Morning Report that you will get via email every morning that will notify you of all new listings and price reductions in your neighborhood, weather, and more

For your free account please contact us and we can get you set up. Again there is NEVER any cost to you for this great program and it only takes us about 5 minutes to get your free account set up.

The Janos Group
Remax Specialists
4910 Highway 61
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
651-407-7803
Email: Tom@TheJanosGroup.com
Website: www.TheJanosGroup.com