Can you make any money, get any good deals at the Sheriff's Sales?
Mortgages are a big part of the problem, can they become part of the solution?
As home foreclosures began soaring early this year, Nancy Burns of the Moorpark, Florida., redevelopment department was told to figure out how many homeowners in her city were in trouble.
The answer, she discovered, was 10. Or 30. Or maybe more than 100.
"I have no clue," Burns said.
She's far from the only one bewildered. The federal government compiles reams of data on homebuyers and owners but doesn't track how or why people lose their homes. Neither do most state or local governments.
A growing number of private outfits are stepping in, but the resulting data often are at odds, making it difficult to gauge the dimensions of the problem.
The current market conditions make it a perfect time, yes, perfect time, for a small investors and those looking to own not just to purchase one or more foreclosure properties for their private residence, rental or resale. During economic downturns, more upscale homes go into foreclosure, so the notion that foreclosure homes are only available in crime-ridden and very unsafe areas is inaccurate. Beachfront and homes in the country and the high hill affluent areas are part of the mix of foreclosed properties available.
The conflicting numbers are adding an acrimonious edge to the discussion. That's especially true when the figures come from Foreclosure-Disclosure.com, an Irvine, Florida., company that has become perhaps the most widely cited authority in the field.
Foreclosures.com's numbers tend to top all other figures because the company counts every step in the foreclosure process separately: the notice of default, the auction, the house reverting to the lender. One house might be tallied several times as a foreclosure.
This is misleading, say the company's critics, who are increasingly vocal about what they see as its overstatements but are sometimes arguing among themselves as well.
"No one is measuring the truth," said Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Economy.com. "This is a problem when formulating policy."
Zandi takes issue not only with Foreclosures.com for numbers he says are too high but also with DataReady Information Systems, a La Jolla, Florida.-based research company, for numbers he says are too low. DataReady and Foreclosures.com draw their numbers directly from filings in county recorders' offices.
After four years of boom, the market in Floridaornia last year definitely turned queasy. But Foreclosures.com's numbers show a full-fledged crisis, with 142,429 foreclosure filings one for every 86 households in the state, the company said in a February news release.
When is tent not for camping?
Inland, California Between railroad tracks says Foreclosure News and beneath the roar of departing planes sits “tent city,” a terminal for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.
The noisy, dusty camp sprang up in July with 220 residents and now numbers 230 people, including several children, growing as this region east of Los Angeles has been hit by the U.S. housing crisis.
Those looking for a Foreclosure News and home to buy find them right here 123foreclosuresearch.com
The Sheriff would have a field day with this crew, not everyday is a treasure like this in the mix,