Site blog for forclosures, Broward county properties for sale, and All south florida property listings.

“Thus may the 4th of July, that glorious and ever memorable day, be celebrated through America, by the sons of freedom, from age to age till time shall be no more. Amen and Amen.”

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.  ~Erma Bombeck

For more information on Fireworks safety, visit the National Council on Fireworks Safety web site.

       A responsible adult should supervise all fireworks activities.

       Never give fireworks to young children.

       Always purchase fireworks from reliable sources.

       Follow label directions carefully.

       Never point or throw fireworks at another person.

       Use fireworks outdoors in a clear area away from buildings and vehicles.

       Never carry fireworks in your pocket or shoot them in metal or glass containers.

       Light them one at a time then move back quickly.

       Don't experiment with homemade fireworks.

       Observe local laws and use common sense.

       Sparklers, fountains and other items that many states allow for use by consumers are not appropriate when a large crowd is present.

       If attending a community display, leave your own fireworks at home -- there will be plenty of excitement provided by the display.

Bank of America says it modified more than 64,000 Countrywide mortgages between December and March. The workouts are part of the bank's agreement with 42 state attorneys general to settle predatory lending charges against its Countrywide subsidiary.

A bank spokesperson told Bloomberg News that the modifications made so far have reduced borrowers' principal and interest by $823.5 million. Under the settlement reached last October, Bank of America agreed to make modifications on 390,000 subprime and adjustable-rate mortgages originated by Countrywide – a move that is expected to save borrowers as much as $8.4 billion.

Bank of America has faced an onslaught of lawsuits since acquiring subprime lending giant Countrywide last July for $2.5 billion. BofA is being sued by Countrywide's mortgage investors in the U.S. District Court of New York, over who should pay for the modifications the bank is making as part of the anti-predatory lending settlement. The investors hold an 88 percent ownership in the home loans up for re-working.

DSNews.com reported on Friday that Countrywide is also involved in a class action suit in the Southern District Court of California, alleging violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), conspiracy to violate RICO, and violation of California's unfair competition and false advertising statutes.

Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com

The real estate auction Web sites BidSell.com and BidRent.com, as well as their Canadian counterparts BidSell.ca and BidRent.ca, have been put up for sale by Idea Labz, Inc., an Internet holding company based in Los Angeles.

Called "The eBay of real estate" by the New York Times, BidSell.com provides potential sellers an auction style forum in which to create a detailed property profile, list the property for sale, and receive bids from potential homebuyers. The service is free to both sellers and buyers, instead relying on the business model of generating revenue from advertising. Bobby Kalili, founder of Idea Labz and the two real estate auction platforms, subscribes to the notion that the most useful sites on the Internet are offered at no cost, and says the free-of-charge structure encourages widespread use of the site.

BidSell.com's sister company BidRent.com operates under the same premise, offering investors and landlords a venue for posting rental properties, where potential tenants can bid on the monthly rental terms. Likewise, BidRent.com is a free service for users of the site – both property owners and their prospective tenants. The site operators claim their approach reduces vacancy rates by letting the market set the price, and noted that BidRent.com was ranked among the top 10 most useful real estate sites by MSN Money.

According to the “Site For Sale” notice posted at each URL, BidSell.com and BidRent.com have been up and running since 2006 and as businesses, “are profitable.”

Real estate markets across the nation have suffered tremendous losses, particularly those regions with plummeting home prices, coupled with seemingly unrelenting foreclosures and rising REO inventories. BidSell.com has listing sub-sets dedicated to these local markets – such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, Orange County, San Diego, and Miami – as well as more than 20 other cities throughout the country. The sites offer residential single home, condominium, vacation, raw land, and commercial property listings.

Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com

Fitch Ratings took a closer look at servicers' loss mitigation efforts among residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) in a special report issued last week. The agency found that while home loan workouts to avoid foreclosures have increased substantially, re-defaults post-modification continue to be a problem for servicers, investors, and homeowners, with as many as three-fourths of those mortgages in the subprime category projected to fall back into default status within one year of the initial resolution.

The report examined mortgages bundled into securities between 2005 and 2007 – a period marking the peak of subprime lending and investor involvement in the secondary housing market. The loan pools are serviced by more than 30 Fitch-rated firms who collect and modify the loans for RMBS investors.

At the end of 2008, Fitch projected that over the following 12 months, RMBS servicers would modify up to 15 percent of 2005−2007 vintage RMBS mortgages, an increase from virtually none in 2007. As of April 2009, the agency reported, approximately 7 percent of RMBS and 18 percent of RMBS subprime loans securitized during this period had been modified.

According to Fitch, 35 to 55 percent of RMBS modifications typically re-default after a year. However, based on information from servicers and data from First American Loan Performance, Fitch places a “conservative projection” for subprime re-default rates within the range of 65 to 75 percent after 12 months. The agency says market pressures on servicers to pursue more aggressive mods and sliding home prices, as well as continued job losses across the country, factor into this heightened subprime projection.

Principal reduction has been debated as necessary for the success of modifications. Proponents believe that borrowers re-default less when they have greater incentive to stay in the home by having their principal reduced, giving them an immediate, or at least a faster, means of accumulating equity. Fitch's data on mods supports this theory. The agency says loan modifications with material principal increases of more than 10 percent show higher re-defaults – 60 to 70 percent.

Fitch points out in its report that the new administration’s modification guidelines primarily focus on affordability of payment, with the use of principal forbearance (as opposed to forgiveness) as a last step in the process. However, the program provides for incentives ($1,000 for each of five years) to reduce the outstanding principal if the borrower successfully keeps up with the new mortgage payments.

For those servicers who have signed on to the federal Home Affordable Modification program, the program guidelines state that the administration's modification procedures should be used as “usual and customary industry standards,” including application to RMBS. And if such modifications are specifically prohibited by securities' pooling and servicing agreements (PSAs), the servicer is required to use reasonable efforts to remove these obstacles. However, Fitch says many RMBS investors, as well as servicers, have expressed concerns with the administration's guidance regarding long-term performance of the modified loans, process specifics, and legality within the PSA contracts.

Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com

HOPE NOW announced this week that 270,000 homeowner solutions were completed in April. This is the largest number of workouts in any month since HOPE NOW began to compile data.

Last month, HOPE NOW members and the mortgage lending industry modified 127,000 mortgages and completed 143,000 repayment plans. Compared to March, modifications dropped slightly, while payment plans increased. HOPE NOW explained that the reversal in numbers was partially caused by the industry beginning to implement the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Under the conventions of HAMP, loans are subject to a three-month trial period before a modification can be completed and, therefore, are classified as repayment plans or trial modifications. As a result, HOPE NOW said, the number of repayment plans increased and the number of modifications decreased from what otherwise might have been recorded. Those workouts that successfully complete the trial period will be formally reported as modifications after 90 days.

According to Faith Schwartz, HOPE NOW’s executive director, the lenders and servicers are working hard to make HAMP a successful weapon in the fight against foreclosures. “Many HOPE NOW members see HAMP as an important opportunity for homeowners in trouble,” she said. “The number of homeowners helped by the industry each month should continue to increase as this program continues to be implemented.”

HOPE NOW's data also showed that the number of home loans 60-plus days delinquent was the same in April as in March, at just under three million. While foreclosure sales increased, from 53,000 in March to 65,000 in April, foreclosure starts dropped by more than 16 percent.

 Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com

Existing-home sales rose in April with strong buyer activity in lower price ranges and distressed real estate, according to a new report released this week by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The association reported that existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops – increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units in April. That's an increase from the revised pace of 4.55 million units in March, but despite the monthly bump in numbers, last month's home sales were 3.5 percent below the 4.85 million-unit level in April 2008.

According to Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and activity is beginning to pick up in the mid-price ranges, however high-end home sales remain sluggish. “The Federal Reserve needs to help restore liquidity for the jumbo mortgage market by buying these [high-end] loans under the TALF program,” he said.

Yun added, “Because foreclosed properties will likely be released into the market over the rest of year, it is critical that distressed homes be quickly cleared from the market. Fortunately, homebuyers are being attracted to deeply discounted prices and are bidding up many foreclosed listings, particularly in California, Nevada, and Florida – this will set the stage for healthy market conditions going forward.”

An NAR practitioner survey in April showed first-time buyers declined to 40 percent of transactions, implying more repeat buyers are entering the traditional spring home-buying season. It also showed the number of buyers looking at homes has increased 14 percentage points from a year ago. Yun commented, “This is consistent with our forecast for home sales in the latter part of the year to be 10 to 20 percent higher than the second half of 2008.”

Based on NAR's market data, the national median existing-home price was $170,200 in April, which is 15.4 percent below 2008. The association pointed out that distressed properties, which accounted for 45 percent of all sales in April, continue to downwardly distort the median price.

Even with the increase in home sales, total housing inventory at the end of April rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, NAR reported. This figure represents a 10.2-month supply at the current sales pace.

Yun explained, “The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market. Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier.”

Regionally, NAR said, existing-home sales in the Northeast jumped 11.6 percent to an annual pace of 770,000 in April, but are 10.5 percent below April 2008. The median price in the Northeast was $237,400, which is 9.6 percent lower than a year ago.

Sales in the Midwest slipped 2.0 percent in April to a level of one million, and are 9.9 percent lower than a year ago. The median price in the Midwest was $138,800, down 11.7 percent from April 2008.

In the Southern region of the country, April's existing-home sales increased 1.8 percent to an annual pace of 1.74 million, but are still 8.9 percent lower than April 2008. The median price in the South was $148,000, which is 12.8 percent below a year ago.

Existing-home sales in the West rose 3.5 percent to an annual rate of 1.17 million in April. The West is the only region with an annual increase in sales, up a substantial 19.4 percent from April 2008. The median price in the West was $222,600, down 21.8 percent from a year ago.

NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth, said conditions are optimal for buyers with good jobs and long-term plans. “We have record low mortgage interest rates, a wide selection of homes, and affordable prices in most areas,” McMillan said. “When you add the $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit, it’s hard to imagine a better time to make an investment in your future through homeownership.”

According to Freddie Mac, the national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage fell to a record low 4.81 percent in April, down from 5.00 percent in March. By comparison, the rate was 5.92 percent in April 2008.

 Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com

The federal district court for the Southern District of California in San Diego has denied Countrywide Financial Corp.'s motion to dismiss a consolidated class action complaint against the lender, which challenges Countrywide's subprime mortgage marketing and lending practices.

Represented by the law firm of Whatley Drake & Kallas, LLC, the plaintiffs in the multi-district litigation have accused Countrywide of steering borrowers into risky and inappropriate subprime mortgages in order to maximize profits. The complaints against both Countrywide, and now its parent company Bank of America Corp., include violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), conspiracy to violate RICO, violation of California's unfair competition and false advertising statutes, and unjust enrichment.

Judge Dana M. Sabraw, who is overseeing the litigation, rejected Countrywide's argument that the alleged RICO enterprise among independent mortgage brokers and Countrywide was not valid because the plaintiffs had not demonstrated connections between the independent mortgage brokers. Countrywide argued that the so-called "hub-and-spoke" structure of that enterprise was invalid under RICO. Judge Sabraw denied the lender's motion to dismiss the charge, noting that the Ninth Circuit Court does not require a specific organizational structure for RICO enterprises.

Countrywide had also requested the court reconsider its decision on an earlier motion to dismiss, in which it sustained the plaintiffs' allegations of a second RICO enterprise they've labeled the "Countrywide Enterprise," consisting solely of Countrywide and its subsidiaries. Countrywide argued that the court had previously misapplied the law concerning RICO enterprises among parents and subsidiaries, but Judge Sabraw stated that he found Countrywide's arguments "unpersuasive." Judge Sabraw also denied Countrywide's motion to strike an allegation of unfair conduct under California state law.

Joe R. Whatley of the firm Whatley Drake & Kallas, LLC co-lead interim class counsel in the multi-district litigation. Commenting on the court's recent decisions in the case, Whatley said, "We are pleased that we are helping the ultimate victims of the mortgage scheme that has nearly destroyed our economy. We intend to continue to prosecute this action until those who obtained subprime mortgages from Countrywide are adequately compensated."

 Carrie Bay  www.dsnews.com