Home Mortgage Reality
home mortgages
Nearly one-quarter of all homeowners who have mortgages – approximately 27 million people – believe they owe more on their mortgage than the home is worth, according to a recent Harris Poll. Nearly 30 percent of homeowners say they are having either great difficulty (11 percent) or some difficulty (18 percent) paying off their mortgage. Approximately two-thirds of all adults (65 percent) say they are concerned that their incomes will not be enough to cover all their costs and expenses this year, and nearly 70 percent of homeowners have a mortgage that they need to pay off, the study finds.
Home Foreclosures Hit A Record
home foreclosures
Foreclosures hit a record in the first quarter. According to RealtyTrac Inc. more than 900,000 households or one for every 138 homes received a foreclosure notice in the past three months. Experts say it s a sign that banks are beginning to sort through a backlog of troubled homes at a faster pace. The rate of foreclosures had eased last year as the Obama administration sought to modify loans to give owners more time to work out problems. As several states had similar programs, the trend of foreclosures slowed down, but now that appears to be reversing. We re finally seeing the banks start to process the inventory that has been in foreclosure, but delayed in processing. We expect the pace to accelerate as the year goes on, said Rick Sharga, a RealtyTrac senior vice president. Read more 
Home Affordable Modification Program
Home Affordable Modification Program
Obama’s administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Under the HAMP, borrowers and lenders work out an agreement to reduce the monthly payment on the property for a trial period of three months.
But even though more than 728,000 homeowners have qualified for HAMP nationally, just slightly more than 30,000 of these homeowners have successfully adjusted their loans.
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Many Homeowners Put Home Remodeling Plans on Hold
home remodeling
Economic uncertainty is prompting some homeowners to put their home remodeling plans on hold, according to a study by online publisher Remodelormove.com. Homeowners who have declining home equity or who are living in lower-value homes are postponing remodeling projects, while those with more financial resources are moving ahead with them.
Although 84 percent of homeowners said the nation’s economic woes are affecting their remodeling plans, 81 percent said they plan to go ahead with the upgrades. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) expect to do some of the work themselves in an effort to keep costs down. San Diego events
One in Five Homeowners Owe More Than Their Home’s Value
It’s estimated 20 percent of single-family homeowners, or 15.4 million, owe more on their mortgage than the current value of their homes. According to Moody’s this number is up from 13.6 million homeowners at the end of last year.
Another new Obama administration plan was just announced to try to help the foreclosure hurricane. This new plan focuses on encouraging short sales.
The earlier plans to deal with this crises from the Obama administration, have now been shown to have had only a marginal effect. It would seem that all the government intervention only creates lots of optimistic press and little actual relief.
The exception to my above opinion, is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007. This law states that the difference between the original mortgage and the amount for which a home sells at a short sale (i.e., the amount of debt forgiven by the bank) is no longer considered taxable income by the IRS.
Perhaps, just perhaps, the government should not meddle in the foreclosure process. After all, the reality and cure to this housing problem is the fact that home prices need to fall to a level at which all the excess inventory will be absorbed.
In my opinion, though well intentioned, the majority of goverment mortgage assistance/foreclosure moritoriums are only extending the natural cure time and provide little actual long term solutions. San Diego real estate