Anthony Boydston | Arizona East Valley Real Estate » Arizona Real Estate

Number of Phoenix rentals in foreclosure climbs

admin — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:52:05 +0000

More renters in the Phoenix area are finding notices of foreclosure auctions on their front doors.
The number of rental homes in the region falling into foreclosure is climbing. There are now about 6,025 houses – classified as rentals on real estate documents – in foreclosure, reports Netvaluecentral Inc.
The figure has climbed by more than 200 in two months.
Netvalue has a site open to the public that allows the region’s renters to see if the home they’re leasing is in foreclosures: www.aznvc.com.
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Phoenix home prices down

admin — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 22:48:04 +0000

Home prices in metropolitan Phoenix have been slipping during the past month, prompting concern about a double dip in the region’s housing values.
So far, Phoenix-area home prices are still well above the low they hit in March 2009.
The average price-per-square-foot of metro Phoenix home sales fell to $89.38 this week, according to Mike Orr’s Cromford Report that analyzes daily sales data from the Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service and public records. Current sale prices are down about 4 percent from a month ago when the average square foot sale price was $92.90.
The low for the region’s home prices during this …

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Phoenix apartment rents slip

admin — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:45:00 +0000

Apartment owners must compete with the landlords of the growing number of former foreclosure homes for rent in metropolitan Phoenix now.
The average apartment rent dipped to $721 during the second quarter, reports national multi-family research firm RealFacts. The region’s average apartment rent was $725 during the first quarter, and $766 last summer.
Most metro areas tracked by RealFacts posted increases in rental rates in the latest survey. The firm puts the national average rent at $950, up $7 from the first quarter.
Metro Phoenix’s apartment occupancy recently rate climbed half a percentage point to 88.6 percent.
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Housing indicators mixed for metro Phoenix

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:27:39 +0000

The Phoenix-area housing market continues to settle. The impact of the federal homebuyer tax credit on sales and the loan-modification program on foreclosures is still difficult to fully determine.
Indicators from the region’s housing market are mixed. The number of foreclosures climbed, but the number of foreclosure homes resold by lenders didn’t. New-home sales sagged, but the median price of all home sales ticked up above expectations.
Here are the latest key housing numbers for the Phoenix area:
Foreclosures climbed about 20 percent, to 4,894, last month, according to the Information Market. But pre-foreclosures, or notice of trustee sales, fell 5 percent, to …

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12 more indicted in Phoenix mortgage fraud scams

admin — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:27:39 +0000

A dozen more former Phoenix real estate agents and loan officers have been indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for mortgage fraud schemes.
In two separate cases, loan officers, escrow and real estate agents and an appraiser have been charged with conspiracy, bank and wire fraud and money laundering.

Thomas Gregory Alexander, Paul Patrick Alexander and Bobbie Jo Johnson, Kara Elizabeth Shumway, Michael S. Mason, Sandra M. Stevens and Michael Joseph Harris have made initial appearances in court on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering and false statements.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s indictment, Thomas Alexander was a loan originator for American …

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Former Phoenix loan officers part of latest mortgage fraud indictments

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 11:15:22 +0000

Nationally, the U.S. Attorney’s office recently announced results of its mortgage fraud crackdown called Operation Stolen Dreams. The most recent indictments for the crackdown in metropolitan Phoenix inlcuded former loan officers involved in cash-back schemes that artificially inflated the area’s home values and led to the housing market’s crash.
On June 1st, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 30-count indictment against Jamie Lee Lawler, a former Countrywide loan officer and Phoenix real estate investor, and Brett Matheson of
Scottsdale, for wire fraud, conspiracy, money laundering for roles in a $38 million "mortgage fraud scheme."
The indictment alleges between 2005 and 2007, Lawler and Matheson conspired …

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Arizona foreclosure scam video

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:02:35 +0000

A new video to help stop foreclosure scams has been released by the Arizona Attorney General.
The video can be seen at www.azag.gov or http://www.youtube.com/user/AZAttorneyGeneral.
Money from the state’s settlement with Countrywide Financial Corp. last year funded the video.
“Many families in neighborhoods all across our state are in crisis. Thousands are at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure. And the problem is made worse by some unscrupulous companies and individuals who claim they can help consumers keep their homes, when what they are really doing is stealing money and making the situation even worse,” said Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard.
Arizona homeowners facing foreclosure …

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Phoenix foreclosures fall, again

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:02:35 +0000

The number of new foreclosure filings against Phoenix-area homeowners fell in May to the lowest level since July 2008.
Last month, there were 6,471 pre-foreclosures, or notice of trustee sales, filed in the Valley, according to the Information Market. Foreclosures also dropped last month to 4,090, their lowest since November 2009.
Phoenix-based R.O.I. Properties, led by Beth Jo Zeitzer, attributes the drop in foreclosures to federal loan modification programs, successful short sales and more investor purchases at trustee sale auctions.
The U.S. Treasury Department, which manages the federal housing plan to slow foreclosures, reported increases in both trial and permanent loan modifications in …

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Attorney General files suit against Scottsdale loan mod firms

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:01:43 +0000

A lawsuit has been filed against a Scottsdale-based Discount Mortgage Relief and Mortgage Relief LLC by the Arizona Attorney General.
The lawsuit alleges the company engaged in deceptive loan modification services. Attorney General Terry Goddard’s office obtained a temporary restraining order against the firms that prevents them from charging or receiving money for loan modifications.
A new Arizona law that prohibits loan modification consultants from collecting upfront fees from homeowners goes into effect on July 29th.
The Attorney General’s office says there could be thousands of victims, according to court documents.
"I am committed to fighting deceptive practices targeted at
homeowners who are struggling to make …

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New numbers on Phoenix loan modifications

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 12:55:19 +0000

The number of homeowners receiving help from lenders is increasing. However, many Phoenix-area homeowners are still frustrated and angry by the process.
Through April, 13,330 metro Phoenix homeowners had received loan modifications, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. That’s about 1,000 more permanent loan modifications in the area since March.
Another 24,496 homeowners are in trial loan modifications.
Across Arizona, 16,120 loan modifications have been completed. Another 30,000 homeowners are in trial modifications.
The figures to track are the number of temporary modifications that become permanent. Also, the number of homeowners who turn down loan modification offers from lenders. …

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