Foreclosures Rates Hit High Marks Again
Melissa Duran, Reporter
December
foreclosure rates were above the 100,000 mark for the fifth
straight month.
The
number of homeowners entering into some stage of the foreclosure
process last month was more than 109,000. That's up 35-percent
from December 2005.
In
Nevada, there were more than 2,000 filings, which is up 97-percent
from last year.
Experts
say the combination of slower home sales and rising interest
rates continues to drive foreclosures at higher numbers than
a year ago.
One
in close to 400 homes is foreclosed on. The same finance plans
that made it easy to buy a new home are the same ones that are
making people have to find a new place to live.
So
many who thought they could afford a dream home, are now seeing
it slip out of their reach.
Forced
out -- it's what homeowners across the Valley are dealing with
after not being able to keep up with monthly mortgage payments.
It's
why business is so good for broker Thomas Blanchard, whose wall
is filled with foreclosed homes he needs to sell. "Right now
I have about approximately 70," he said.
Just
a few years ago, Blanchard only had 10 to sell.
"In
2004, 2005 I was barely making it because foreclosures were
non existent."
Today,
he spends his day behind the computer searching close to 8,300
Las Vegas homes that are going through the foreclosure process.
Many
of them are on the list because of tricky mortgage terms and
falling property value.
"Values
have decreased 15-percent, and we have about 10-percent more
to go," said Blanchard.
Blanchard
says home loaners aren't willing to dish out payments they feel
are more than the house is worth.
Those
houses end up here, sometimes bought by investors, who are hungry
to cash in.
"Homes are in pretty good shape; most of them were built 10
years ago," said Andrew Norden, an investor.
The
problem with buying a foreclosed home on auction is that other
than peering through the windows, you never know what your going
to get and which appliances are going to be missing.
Blanchard
adds, "Difficult selling the property that is not in the best
condition, has a few holes in the wall and maybe doesn't have
a kitchen sink."
But
if you don't mind the extra work, the foreclosure problem may
just give you a fixer-upper that you can turn into your dream
home.
Banks
are sometimes offering $5,000 - $10,000 in closing costs on
foreclosed homes.
