Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Foreclosures sets new record: Are you surprised?

I don't know whether we set a record with foreclosures, but the news this morning said that we set a new record. The number of outstanding mortgages where the borrower has missed, at least, one payment is at an all time high.

Ummm...DUH! What did we expect?


We have programs that will not allow you to begin loan modification discussions until you begin missing payments. There are places that are suggesting to the borrower to miss a loan payment or two.

We have a term that didn't exist a few years ago. Strategic Foreclosure, where someone defaults on a loan because it makes good "business sense" rather than an true inability to repay the loan.

There are programs to coach people how to do this.

So between the requirements to be able to modify your loans and strategic foreclosures, did we expect the number of missed payments to DECREASE?

Not when it's part of the STRATEGY.

So why are people panicking and acting surprised by this figure? Did they think that they were the only ones doing the mortgage shuffle?

Buyers, it's probably too early to buy properties (or stocks) right now, but the market will lose too much value for the wrong reason. This will set the stage for a partial comeback.

Look for this opportunity. This record for missed mortgage payments should not mean a missed opportunity for you.

No comments:

Post a Comment