Ever wonder what it looks like on the other end of the line?

New York Times today published an article, “Voices of Foreclosure Speak Daily About Desperation and Misery,” which details the massive customer call center that lending giant Bank of America has assembled in Simi Valley, Calif., to handle the deluge of inquiries from distressed homeowners nationwide.

More than 4,000 employees, many of whom have to be at their desks as early as 5 a.m., field about 50,000 calls per day, according to the report.

To date, the bank, which handles 20 percent of all home loans in the United States, claims that it has made more than 700,000 loan modifications in the last two years, “including 85,000 under the [Home Affordable Modification Program].”

That’s a lot of calls. And it appears that largest mortgage service in the nation is increasing its troop levels significantly to “ease a wave of more than two million foreclosures.”

To contact Bank of America about an existing mortgage or any other issue you can find important numbers right here.

Rolling Stone reporter Matt Taibbi recently authored an expose on the curious case of the “rocket docket,” which he describes as a “super high speed housing court” that is presided over by retired judges who “clear cases and blast human beings out of their homes with ultimate velocity.”

It’s a passionate — albeit controversial — behind-the-scenes look at how foreclosure cases are handled in Jacksonville, Fla., and possibly elsewhere throughout the nation.

Taibbi paints a “scary” scene that he says goes a little something like this:

Read the rest of this entry »

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.