Top

Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure Definition

March 26, 2012 by · Comments Off on Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure Definition 

Deed In Lieu Of Foreclosure Definition, A deed in lieu of foreclosure is a deed instrument in which a mortgagor (i.e. the borrower) conveys all interest in a real property to the mortgagee (i.e. the lender) to satisfy a loan that is in default and avoid foreclosure proceedings.

The deed in lieu of foreclosure offers several advantages to both the borrower and the lender. The principal advantage to the borrower is that it immediately releases him/her from most or all of the personal indebtedness associated with the defaulted loan. The borrower also avoids the public notoriety of a foreclosure proceeding and may receive more generous terms than he/she would in a formal foreclosure.

Another benefit to the borrower is that it hurts his/her credit less than a foreclosure does. Advantages to a lender include a reduction in the time and cost of a repossession, lower risk of borrower revenge (metal theft and vandalism of the property before sheriff eviction), and additional advantages if the borrower subsequently files for bankruptcy.

If there are any junior liens a deed in lieu is a less attractive option for the lender. The lender will likely not want to assume the liability of the junior liens from the property owner, and accordingly, the lender will prefer to foreclose in order to clean the title.

In order to be considered a deed in lieu of foreclosure, the indebtedness must be secured by the real estate being transferred. Both sides must enter into the transaction voluntarily and in good faith.

The settlement agreement must have total consideration that is at least equal to the fair market value of the property being conveyed. Sometimes, the lender will not proceed with a deed in lieu of foreclosure if the outstanding indebtedness of the borrower exceeds the current fair value of the property. Other times, lenders will agree since they will end up with the property anyway and the foreclosure process is costly to the lender.

US Cities With Rising Home Prices

March 1, 2012 by · Comments Off on US Cities With Rising Home Prices 

US Cities With Rising Home Prices, Florida cities up 0.2%, but rest of U.S. does worse, Home prices in Tampa and Miami turned the corner in December, rising on a seasonally adjusted basis into positive territory by the measure of an influential index.

Home prices rose 0.2 percent in Miami, where there has been a frenzy of buying in recent months, and by the same amount in Tampa. Seasonally adjusted means the data is calculated with a method that smooths out monthly and seasonal bumps.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home-price index does not track any of Southwest Florida’s real estate markets, but prices in Manatee and Sarasota counties have been generally stable in recent months, according to other data sources.

The median sales price for a house in Sarasota was $162,000 in January, up slightly from $160,000 in December and a 17 percent increase from a year ago. In Manatee, the median fell 12.2 percent to $165,000 from $188,000 in December, but was up 6.1 percent from a year ago, according to data from the communities’ Realtors boards.

Nationally, the picture was not nearly so rosy.

Home prices fell in December for a fourth straight month in most major U.S. cities, as modest sales gains in the depressed housing market have yet to lift prices.

Case-Shiller showed that prices dropped in December from November in 18 of the 20 cities tracked. The steepest declines were in Atlanta, Chicago and Detroit. Miami and Phoenix were the only cities to show an increase on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.

The declines partly reflect the typical sales slowdown that comes in the fall and winter. Still, prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities in December compared with the same month in 2010. Only Detroit posted a year-over-year increase. Prices in Atlanta, Las Vegas, Seattle and Tampa dropped to their lowest points since the housing crisis began.

Nationwide, prices have fallen 34 percent nationwide since the housing bust, back to 2002 levels.

The gauge of quarterly national prices, which covers 70 percent of U.S. homes, fell to its lowest point on records dating back to 1987.

“The pick-up in the economy has simply not been strong enough to keep home prices stabilized,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the S&P’s index committee. “If anything, it looks like we might have re-entered a period of decline as we begin 2012.”

The Case-Shiller monthly index covers half of all U.S. homes. It measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The December data is the latest available.

Bottom