Comments on: Is REO inventory hidden in the shadows?

By: Sean O'Toole

Sean O'Toole — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:37:55 +0000

Cash is trash – I’ll put 10 ounces of gold on my being right within 5% on the number of remaining REO’s in CA. We can go address by address if you want, I’m ready.
Maybe your national numbers are right, I don’t know as I don’t have national data. But for CA, there is no question, the REO inventory is manageable and expected, not hidden in the shadows.

By: Cash is Trash

Cash is Trash — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:10:20 +0000

What completer and total fucking lies. Shadow inventory stands at over 600,000 residential properties (nationwide) as of 2 months ago. Bleeding over a half million jobs a month, the foreclosure trend will only continue, and home purchases will only decrease. Since the bankster bailout allocated 23.7 trillion dollars to billionaire bankers, they have plenty of $$ to clean up these homes, or just sell them as is. They aren’t listing property to try and keep a bubble inflated. Housing prices will only continue to fall, probably bottoming out somewhere around late 2010 or early 2011 after another 7 or 8 million US jobs are lost, and the homeless begin squatting in all the REO property. At that point when a million or so REo properties are all listed residential real estate prices will have their final plummet to what they should be.

By: Shawn Kormondy

Shawn Kormondy — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 05:20:00 +0000

A little more inventory wouldn't hurt. These bidding wars are frustrating for first time home buyers. More inventory equals more transactions and happy clients.

Just putting it out there.

By: DBillet

DBillet — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:31:31 +0000

I am a member of a group of investors who buy at the foreclosure sales in LA County. We have seen a sharp rise in the "Opening Bid" for foreclosure properties. They used to discount the properties much more in an effort to not have to take them back in house as a REO.

We are also seeing more homes that are occupied, due I think to the freddiemac.com recommendation that borrowers stay in their homes in order to negotiate with their lender for a recast of the loan.

I am trying to understand why the banks are pricing them such at the foreclosure sales now so that they end up keeping them again.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:12:26 +0000

I agree with this post. I know someone who stopped makeing payments on his home over a year ago. It’s officially in short sale but the bank won’t accept any offers, the price has consistantly been reset every three months. From what I’ve heard this is quite common right now. How many pre-forclosures and shorts sales are sitting stagnet and not moving forward? These are the true shadow inventories.

By: Sean

Sean — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 17:26:59 +0000

I agree with both prior posts that that delinquent and in foreclosure properties represent the possibility of substantial future inventory.

Also, what about all the folks who want to sell, but not at current prices. I think there is significant pent-up inventory there as well.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:48:43 +0000

The real shadow inventory are homes with borrowers not paying their mortgage and the lenders not foreclosing. My nieghbor has not paid since Jan 2008 and still no trustees sale. They have repeatedly asked for a loan mod and been denied, yet no trustees sale. It has been scheduled and postponed many times. Why? I think the lenders are doing this to cook their books and to simultaneously manipulate the housing market in as covertly suggested by the Fed

By: Tyrone Johnson

Tyrone Johnson — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 02:05:08 +0000

I thought someone would make a reference to the homes that SHOULD be in foreclosure, but are not....

i.e....What about all of these people who say they haven't paid their mortgages in 6 mos? 9 mos? or even a year waiting for the NOD? (and they haven't received one....YET!)

If the banks know they will soon be able to sell the homes for 93% of book value to the taxpayer, (via the soon-to-be-released PPIP...thanks Timmy!) I can't imagine why they would do ANY foreclosures in the meantime...

That is the shadow inventory I was thinking about...

Once the PPIP is in place, I would imagine there would THEN be a surge in NODs / foreclosures, because at that point the banks wouldn't be worried about taking the mark-downs when the house resells, but getting a non-performing asset off their books for 93% of book value...

By: Chris Sorensen

Chris Sorensen — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:05:32 +0000

Agreed, with a few caveats. I will e-mail you. The DOC does have authority over the outsourcing companies.

By: Sean

Sean — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 01:35:58 +0000

Chris – I’d be happy to participate, but know that the State can’t do much when it comes to real solutions. The problem is that they can’t enforce much on these federal institutions, other than adding delays to the foreclosure process (which is handled under State law). It should be pretty clear at this point that adding delays isn’t a solution, and it’s not clear there’s much else they can do. That said, feel free to send your contact details to info@foreclosureradar.com and we can discuss further if you’d like.