Voak Homes » Real Estate Crash

Foreclosure Mess – Round 2

Scott Voak — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:59:55 +0000

Foreclosure Mess

(Round 2)

The latest foreclosure crisis is creating situation that will have to result in major changes to the system and more than likely, billions of dollars of loses for banks. I spent a lot of time reading up on it this weekend and here is the abbreviated version of what the issues are (as I currently understand them): Read more ...

Monday Morning Coffee

Scott Voak — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 03:24:44 +0000

Monday Morning Coffee

Importance of Title Insurance

Good morning,

I hope you had a great weekend. Zach and I took our stab at clothes shopping. Bought him some size 4 pants that looked a “little” large. Once we got them home, I was informed that the correct size was “4T”. Ah well, back to Target.

Things are getting interesting with foreclosures as the number of banks with “issues” with their foreclosure process is growing. In several states the Attorney General is stepping in and of course, politicians all over are jumping on the issue. The timing of this is fortuitous if your goal is higher home prices because although demand has slumped after the tax credit, if the banks have to delay foreclosures again for a couple of months to sort his out, it will keep inventory from growing too quickly and help prop up prices. However, it does point out a very large concern all buyers should have, and that is Title Insurance.

Typically, the seller’s agent picks a title company and it just happens that they have a friend selling the policy. As a buyer, you need to make sure your agent is making sure you have a title policy from a company that is financially able to withstand the potential issues. Espcially if you are purchasing a home that has recently been foreclosed on. You do not want to have your ownership challenged only to find that the company insuring your purchase has gone out of business. A few companies that are likely to survive any crisis would be Chicago Title, Fidelity Title and First American Title. As a bare minimum, make sure they are publicly traded so you can look at their financial strength. Read more ...

Resale Numbers and the Success of HAMP

Scott Voak — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:20:14 +0000

Monday Morning Coffee – Home Sales Data out Tomorrow

Scott Voak — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:14:36 +0000

Monday Morning Coffee

New Listings Plus Home Sales Data out Tomorrow

Good morning,

I hope you had a nice weekend. Mine was interupted by something called the Security Tool virus. A bundle of joy that took 5 hours to fix (of course, I didn’t fix it – luckly, I have a client who is much more familiar with network security who spent a good part of his weekend fixing it. Thanks Marc!) I did find time to work with Cori and make our first ever batch of jam from our tree (golden nectarines). The good news is it tastes good and the jars sealed. The bad news is it didn’t jell, so we have lots of golden nectarine sorta jelly runny stuff. Oh well.

This week, the big real estate news will come on Tuesday when the National Association of Realtors announces the Existing Home Sales for July. Last month was off a bit as the affect of the tax credit started to appear. This month, I expect it to be off a lot. The “experts” are predicting a rate of 4.65M annual sales (June was 5.27M). I think that the number will be closer to 4.0M – in which case the stock market will probably react negatively as a number that low could be seen as a strong indicator of a double dip in housing. Read more ...

Monday Morning Coffee

Scott Voak — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 14:38:55 +0000

Updated Foreclosure Data

Scott Voak — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 03:32:11 +0000

Treasury Department Foreclosure Report

Scott Voak — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 02:08:37 +0000

Monday Morning Coffee – How does Greece affect your mortgage?

Scott Voak — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 19:51:44 +0000

Monday Morning Coffee – What happens when the Fed stops buying Mortgages?

Scott Voak — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:16:26 +0000

Prediction for when the Fed stops buying MBSEs

Scott Voak — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 00:30:30 +0000