An update on foreclosures

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While I still hear the occasional Realtor say there is not a foreclosure problem, more and more people seem to be waking up to the major issue that is wrecking towns across California. There is a new foreclosure service out specializing in California Properties called Foreclosure Radar. It has detailed information on preforeclosure, foreclosure and bank owned property. Check out the foreclosures in my home town (this is a free 20 foreclosure sample map – I’m sure there are waaaay more).

In the video below, he shows 528 properties in the city of San Francisco alone that are in some stage of foreclosure. This is nothing compared to the top cities in the country (6 of which happen to be in California) as reported by RealtyTrac.

Stockton — as leading foreclosure city in the nation — registered one foreclosure for every 131 households.

That is six times the national average.

Dan Green at themortgagereports.com does a great piece that shows that the top foreclosure towns were once the best places to buy a few years ago.

Here is a video that outlines the service:

But does it have to be this way? For some it does. But for others there are other, perfectly legal ways to help mitigate the likelihood of foreclosure. From loan modification, short sale, lease-option sales, and more there are ways that can prevent having to foreclose on your home.

In an upcoming series I’ll be covering the worst ways you can try to prevent foreclosure; working with a foreclosure rescue firm can put you deeper in debt with your home pulled out from underneath of you. Until I have those up please do not sign on with a foreclosure rescue firm – period.

For now, if you are behind on your mortgage payments please take a few minutes to talk to a trusted mortgage professional (I know, there aren’t that many – but do some asking to find one) about what your options may be. You may find someone who is willing to work to help you even if they can’t help you directly.

I am helping a family right now line up a short sale because I couldn’t refinance them. Even though I have zero monetary gain from the transaction (it’s not my real estate company I’m referring them to) it still feels good to try to help someone improve a bad situation. Maybe karma comes back around some day. There are people like us out there. If you are in a bad spot call someone you trust and see what can be done. The most powerful thing you have right now are options – and you need as many of them as you can possibly get.