… because without sales of homes in distressed areas the “recovery in the housing market stops. It’s frozen,” according to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.

He elaborates (via CNNMoney.com):

“That obviously can have — we believe and others believe — a very negative and detrimental impact to our economic recovery efforts and the housing markets in states that have been hardest hit.”

Of course, foreclosures are a last resort — loan modifications, short sales and all other rescue options should be exhausted before sending properties to the auction block. Additionally, the documentation process needs to be as accurate as possible, which is an issue that several major lenders are addressing right now during the “foreclosure freeze.”

Despite the “freeze” from some lenders, foreclosures are still for sale throughout the nation. And most of them are available to purchase for significantly less than market value.

The fact of the matter is that foreclosures need to happen “for there to be a full housing recovery” and because they are “an important part of ensuring longer-term stability in the market is to enable properties to be resold to families who can afford to purchase them.”

To search foreclosed homes for sale in your area right now click here.

Yes!

The “foreclosure freeze” and subsequent “robo-signing” scandal has unfortunately scared away many would-be buyers and investors from pursuing otherwise fantastic deals in the distressed real estate market.

Here’s the deal: Bank-owned foreclosures — also known as Real Estate-Owned (REOs) — that are still on the market and currently for sale are safe to buy.

These properties have been repossessed and their titles are for all intents and purposes, clean. If there is any doubt, the banks and/or lenders will pull them off the market to investigate the individual situations.

Sure, some banks such as Bank of America temporarily put the breaks on all foreclosure sales to err on the side of caution, but even it has started to get the important process moving once again.

And what if, in a rare instance, you purchased a bank-owned property that happens to be the subject of a “wrongful foreclosure” case? As long as you and the lender have title insurance, which is typically mandatory in all home purchases, you still keep the house.

Bankrate.com explains:

“To the extent that a borrower who was foreclosed upon has recourse, it’s against the foreclosing lender, and they can seek monetary damages. But the property’s gone…. The current owner who got title insurance — they get to keep the property. They’re a good-faith purchaser.”

The moral of this story is relax! Don’t be scared of searching and purchasing foreclosed homes directly from lenders/banks. Bank-owned foreclosures/REOs are indeed still for sale, and more than likely, available at significantly reduced prices.

Proceed with confidence! And you can start today on Foreclosure.com — CLICK HERE.

… according to Richard Smith, CEO of Realogy Corporation, the nation’s largest provider of housing services:

To search foreclosed homes for sale in your area right now click here.

While the recent “foreclosure freeze” that many major lenders recently adopted to avoid inaccurate/unlawful home seizures was a sigh of relief for many in distress, it could have the reverse effect on those who are looking to carve out their own small slice of the American Dream.

The National Association of Realtors^® (NAR) today issued a press release, warning that “a prolonged review process would have a damaging impact on many communities and hinder the nation’s economic recovery.”

Basically, the self-imposed moratorium that JPMorgan Chase and Co., Bank of America Corp. and Ally Financial Inc (formerly known as GMAC) placed on selling foreclosed homes could stall an already soft housing market and, in the process, deter would-be buyers from making purchases now and in the future.

NAR President Vicki Cox Golder makes the case for a speedy thaw:

“As the leading advocate for homeownership issues, we understand that many lenders need a time-out to review their actions to ensure that homeowners are not improperly foreclosed on and that the lenders are following regulations and state laws. After that, the foreclosure process must resume quickly to return stability to families, the housing market and the economy.”

The report cites “uncertainty,” “anxiety,” and “possible remorse” among buyers as the primary reasons to get this situation resolved as soon as possible. Of course, NAR understands that the rights of borrowers who are in default need to be protected, but there are certainly valid foreclosures that should move ahead and shouldn’t be “lumped in” with the mortgages are suspect.

It’s a fine line.

Our fearless Foreclosure.com leader, Brad Geisen, was recently interviewed for an extensive article on short sales for NPR.org.

Brad, who has more than 25 years of experience in the real estate trenches, is often called on for his take on the latest real estate trends and issues.

Here’s the excerpt:

“‘The No. 1 biggest factor as to why short sales aren’t going through is flat-out disorganization,’” says Brad Geisen, CEO of Foreclosure.com, a Florida company that specializes in providing statistics on distressed property and software for lenders.

It’s almost impossible to pin down the percentage of initiated short sales that are completed, Geisen says, but the national average probably hovers at 10 percent to 15 percent.

Bank staff and real estate agents have been staggered by the mountain of mortgages gone bad — the scope of which few people anticipated before the housing bubble burst in 2006, Geisen says.”

Brad actually spoke in great detail about how organization is the key to moving inventory quickly and getting short sales approved as quickly as possible.

Banks just weren’t prepared for the avalanche when it came sliding down the mountain, which is what he meant with the “disorganization” remark. The situation has since improved drastically and continues to do so as new technologies emerge and more people are brought in and trained to handle the workload effectively.

In fact, Brad is even leading the charge on the “organization” front, developing a robust back office platform that simplifies the complex HAFA short sale and deed-in-lieu processes. It’s offered through QuickSale.com. And you can learn more about its awesomeness right here.