Foreclosures drop in Mississippi, rise in Louisiana

Foreclosures drop a bit in Miss.


Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 361 properties in Mississippi. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.

Last month, 149 properties were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 212.

The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 3,551 housing units - was down 2.7 percent from March and 2.2 percent from April 2010. That ranked Mississippi 45th in the nation.

RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork.


Number of home foreclosures on the rise in La.


NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The number of Louisiana homeowners facing foreclosure is on the rise.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide, said that in April, foreclosure-related actions were taken against 2,289 properties. Those actions ranged from an initial notice of default to outright repossession by a lender.

Last month, 1,349 housing units were scheduled for a foreclosure sale. Lenders took back 635.

The rate of foreclosure actions - affecting one in every 858 housing units - was up 11.8 percent from March and 23.8 percent from April 2010. That ranked Louisiana 22nd in the nation.

RealtyTrac said that national foreclosure actions dropped 9 percent from March and 34 percent from April 2010 - mostly because of legal questions about paperwork. April was the seventh straight month of national declines and brought foreclosure activity in the depressed U.S. housing market to a 40-month low.

"The slowdown continues to be largely the result of massive delays in processing foreclosures rather than the result of a housing recovery that is lifting people out of foreclosure," said RealtyTrac chief executive James Saccacio.

Nationally, 219,258 properties received a foreclosure-related notice last month. Lenders took back 69,532 U.S. properties in April.

Obama: More Aggressive Anti-Foreclosure Efforts Would Help People Who Don't Deserve It

President Barack Obama defended his administration's eleaguered foreclosure-prevention initiatives on Wednesday by arguing that more aggressive steps to assist homeowners might help people who don't deserve to be helped.

Asked if his administration had done enough to stem the foreclosure crisis, Obama opted not to address foreclosure fraud scandal that has forced banks to temporarily halt home repossessions across the country. Instead, he claimed that the government's efforts had stabilized the housing market, and argued that the "biggest challenge" was to make sure speculators and deadbeats didn't take advantage of the government's help.

"The biggest challenge is how do you make sure that you are helping those who really deserve help and if they get some temporary help can get back on their feet, make their payments and move forward and stay in their home versus either people who are speculators, own second homes that they really couldn't afford because they'd gotten a subprime loan, and people who through no fault of their own just can't afford their house anymore because of the change in housing values or their incomes don't support it," Obama said during a roundtable discussion with a handful of progressive bloggers at the White House.

"And we're always trying to find that sweet spot to use as much of the money that we have available to us to help those who can be helped, without wasting that money on folks who don't deserve help," he continued. "And that's a tough balance to strike."

Homeowner advocates, members of Congress, and auditors of the administration's Home Affordable Modification Program have relentlessly criticized the Treasury Department for the program's shortcomings. President Obama said in early 2009 when he announced HAMP that it would help "as many as three to four million homeowners to modify the terms of their mortgages to avoid foreclosure."

While 640,300 homeowners are benefiting from reduced payments under HAMP, 728,686 people have been bounced from the program. Fewer than 500,000 are in active "permanent" five-year modifications. There is no shortage of stories from homeowners who say banks acted in bad faith by stretching out "trial" modifications that are supposed to last for only three months, then denying permanent modifications and leaving homeowners faced with imminent foreclosure -- and no shortage of class action lawsuits, either.
On Monday, a federal bailout watchdog reported that HAMP sometimes actually causes the foreclosures it's designed to prevent, as applicants "end up unnecessarily depleting their dwindling savings in an ultimately futile effort to obtain the sustainable relief promised by the program guidelines." It's an allegation that had already been made by homeowner advocates.

Obama is unfazed by all of that.

"The HAMP program has gotten a lot of criticism, but the fact of the matter is, is that you've got half a million people who have gone through permanent loan modifications that are saving 500 bucks a month," Obama said. "And I get letters every day from people whose homes were saved as a consequence of it."

One of the biggest changes to HAMP since it started last year has been the requirement that as of June, borrowers must prove their eligibility with documents like tax forms and pay stubs. The administration argues that many people were denied permanent modifications because they were put into trial plans before their ability to pay had been verified.

HP

AP: 700 MS homes in foreclosure in 3rd quarter

Lenders took back the property of just over 700 Mississippi homeowners during the third quarter of 2010, a national company that tracks foreclosures reported Thursday.

Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac said that although foreclosure action picked up overall, there was a slight decline from August to September.

RealtyTrac said that in addition to the repossession of 727 homes, another 705 property owners received a notice of a pending foreclosure sale during the July-through-September period.

One in every 885 homes received some sort of foreclosure-related notice during the third quarter. Mississippi ranked 46th nationally in the rate of foreclosure actions, RealtyTrac said.

Third-quarter foreclosure filings in Mississippi increased 40.1 percent from the second quarter of 2010, but decreased 35.5 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

RealtyTrac CEO James Saccacio said he expects to see a dip in lender repossessions in the fourth quarter, not because of an improving economy, but because some major lenders have stopped foreclosures amid questions about documentation.

On Wednesday, officials in 50 states and the District of Columbia launched a joint investigation into allegations that mortgage companies mishandled documents and broke laws in foreclosing on hundreds of thousands of homeowners.

The states’ attorneys general and bank regulators will examine whether mortgage company employees made false statements or prepared documents improperly. Employees of four large lenders have acknowledged in depositions that they signed off on foreclosure documents without reading them.

RealtyTrac said the Mississippi foreclosure rate dropped 10.9 percent from August and 63.3 percent from September 2009. Last month, there were 260 homes repossessed, while 264 were set for auction by lenders.

Those actions affected one in every 2,418 Mississippi homes, ranking the state 45th in the United States.

RealtyTrac reported that 930,437 properties in the United States were hit by a third-quarter foreclosure action, affecting one in every 139 homes. Nationally, 288,345 properties were repossessed.

The highest foreclosure rates in the third quarter were recorded in Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Idaho, Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Mississippi’s foreclosures more than double

The number of Mississippi homeowners facing or hit by foreclosure has more than doubled over the past year.

That is according to RealtyTrac, which tracks foreclosures nationwide.

In March, 518 Mississippi properties were targeted for some kind of foreclosure action, ranging from a notice of default to outright repossession. In March 2009, there were 221 such actions in the state.

Last month, 224 properties were actually taken from their owners. That is down from 333 in February, but up from only 42 in March 2009.

Mississippi ranks 45th on the foreclosure list.

Nationally, foreclosure actions are up 16 percent from a year ago. RealtyTrac says that is due to foreclosure moratoriums ending and banks working through problem loans.

Mississippi Business Journal