Why The U.S. Real Estate Market Remains Collapsed And Continues To Worsen

June 10. 2011

Barack Obama

Many are perplexed as to why the U.S. real estate market remains in a collapsed state, since the 2008 financial crisis occurred. The damage and fall in home values continues to worsen each month. This is squarely due to the banks and their merciless practices. Greed is still steering the ship at a number of banks on Wall Street, regardless of the fact, they received hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout money they are hoarding.

I have seen it with my own two eyes in different cases. Bank are not trying to keep people in their homes. There exists a massive campaign to evict homeowners and claim their properties in order to sell them. In fact, some banks are working in collusion with the attorneys of foreclosed homeowners, to get them out of their properties as soon as possible. 

Foreclosures are still being robo-signed and pushed through with such breakneck speed, homeowners barely have any time to react - or any rights for that matter. The Obama Administration and Congress have not done enough to help homeowners and it is heartbreaking to watch the end result of said legislative failures.

Case in point. I recently tried to help a friend remain in his property that was foreclosed on, when he met in an accident that left him in the hospital, causing him to fall behind on his bills. Emigrant Bank, quickly foreclosed on his property. He retained a law firm to help save his home. 

During the short foreclosure, he was able to save money and even came into some additional funds, via a lump sum that was lawfully owed to him and separately, another check came in, via life insurance, as one of his loved ones died from a terminal illness. 

He did his best to negotiate with the bank, but then relied on a law firm, as he paid a proper retainer. However, his lawyers suspiciously failed at every rung. Little did my friend know that said lawyers mysterious missed court dates and flat out lied to him about other matters. They also collected money for mediation and other processes that they did not do.

Emigrant Bank, the mortgage holder, then quickly and quietly bought the property for $100 at auction - not giving him any notice regarding the sale date. Yes, you read that right - $100. It is apart of the court record and can be easily verified. Then, he came home to find a red and white eviction notice on his door, ordering him to move in 24 hours. 

This prompted him to go to the court and ask to see the case files for himself, as his lawyers were avoiding him and refusing to give him his file. This is when he found out, from the court, about the treachery and collusion that took place between Emigrant Bank and his lawyers. He was devastated.

He tried to buy the house bank from the bank. Emigrant told him in writing to fax them a copy of his bank statement and fill out an  intent to purchase form, making an offer on the property. He asked that they hold off eviction, so he could buy the property back. They strung him along for a week, pretended they were entertaining the offer, then evicted him from his home of 12-years via the sheriff - even though he had the financial means to buy the property back.

Emigrant, like some other banks out there, could care less about homeowners. They only want the foreclosed properties back at all cost, to try and sell them for as much money as possible, to turn a profit from homes with equity in them. 

I have also found that many banks are working under very delusional numbers, as to what properties are now worth. They rush to sell them, end up with nothing at auction, then try the realtor route, hoping to make a bundle off former homeowners' misery. However, many of these homes still aren't selling, even under realtors' best efforts, due to the state of the market. 

Millions of empty foreclosed homes in America, are significantly running down property values nationwide. My friend in Georgia, whose beautiful, rambling dream house was worth $350,000, told me recently that it is now worth $130,000, experiencing a new drop, due to a few banks rushing to evict homeowners from foreclosed properties on her block. The homes just sit there empty, developing structural, plumbing and roofing issues - some of them becoming eye sores.

I recently read of a case, where Bank of America strung a homeowner along, making her think they would work with her, then deceitfully evicted the grandmother in a surprise legal maneuver (GRANDMA: "A Bank Of America SWAT Team Evicted Me Even Though I Tried To Pay Them").

The Judiciary Report is of the belief, banks are lying to homeowners that they will work with them, to get them out of the properties by surprise, giving occupants no time to strip the homes of appliances, fixtures, cabinets and other removable items. The banks want the foreclosed homes back to list as assets in their portfolios and to sell at the highest price available, with the least amount of work.

However, they are very unwise with said rush to repossess. Considering so many Americans credit have been ruined during the financial crisis, due to foreclosure and or unemployment, a record number of homes are failing to sell at auction. The properties they do manage to sell at auction or by realtors, sell for so little, it drags down property values all over America, month after month, damaging everyone. The real estate market has reached Great Depression levels in some respects, while surpassing it in others, such as the record number of foreclosed homes.

Therefore, rushing to reclaim foreclosed homes is not a good idea. It would be better if banks worked with homeowners, issued a measure of debt forgiveness, regarding excessive fees and penalties, then restructured loans to more affordable payments. But that's not happening. 

The banks are are getting greedier by the minute. They have gotten so greedy, a few big banks were recently sued for improperly  foreclosing on the homes of U.S. soldiers fighting in deadly wars in the Middle East. They illegally seized the homes of men at war, WITHOUT A COURT ORDER, which is despicable. They simply do not care, under this massive drive to scrape up every property in America they can get their hands on.

A few years ago, the Judiciary Report wrote of banks foreclosing on homes that had no mortgages, which is outright fraud. They use their high powered law firms to push this illegal breed of foreclosure through, hoping the homeowners will not have the wherewithal or funds to challenge it. But sometimes they do. 

A couple recently sued Bank of America for foreclosing on their home that had no mortgage (they are one of many with this same problem at the hands of several banks). They retained an attorney, sued the bank and won in court. Bank of America refused to pay the judgment amount awarded against them, so the couple foreclosed on the bank a few weeks ago. 

America's real estate is being devalued by a handful of banks that triggered the mortgage crisis in the first place, when they reset loan interest rates, which sent payments up by 30%-70%. If you were paying $1,000 per month, exactly where do they expect you to find an extra $700 per month. But they did this to millions of people and it caused a terrible ripple effect. Some homeowners were so distraught, they simply walked away from their homes, under the burden of foreclosures they could not afford to legally defend.

The Obama Administration and Congress do not have a grip on the problem. However, politicians on both sides of the aisles, including President Obama, are too afraid of billion dollar banks and losing their campaign donations. The people deserve better than this.

STORY SOURCE

US house price fall 'beats Great Depression slide'