Personal Finance and Money Management

The number of houses in foreclosure listings declined across the U.S. in January this year, but may surge again, according to analysts working with a California-based real estate information provider.

Wage reduction figures and unemployment rates are still rising, putting more people into situations where they have to choose between paying for food and paying their monthly mortgage amortizations.

Additionally, the Home Affordable Modification Program, which was designed to help distressed families, has not been effective in keeping people in their homes.

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Foreclosed home listings in New York that highlight houses in distressed neighborhoods will soon be offered at deeper discounts of about 20 to 25 percent to hasten the implementation of the city’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program.

This week, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other city officials were criticized for not fulfilling their promise made in 2009 to act quickly and fix vacant foreclosed homes to be sold to lower-income households.

As of last week, the city has purchased only eight vacant homes and has repaired none of them. No house has been resold.

One of the reasons given was the refusal of banks to sell their foreclosure properties at 20-percent discount – the discount level that makes the program viable. The

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Foreclosure house listings have been surging fast in counties outside the Denver metro area in Colorado, based on data from the Colorado Division of Housing.

Foreclosure postings rose to a record number of 46,394 last year, up from about 40,000 in 2008 and from the same number in 2007.

The county that suffered most last year was Mesa County, with filings climbing up 175 percent and foreclosure sales soaring 223 percent from 2008. Ryan McMaken of the state housing division, said that job losses and decreases in wages pushed a lot of homeowners into foreclosure.

The jobless rate in Colorado rose in December to 7.5 percent, a big jump from 5.8 percent in December 2008.

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If you aren’t sure how to buy a foreclosure at an auction, it is actually a very simple process.  This process includes financing, a down payment, bidding and paperwork.

If you go to an auction with the intent to purchase a foreclosed home it is your responsibility to know what you are bidding on.  Be aware of damages that need repaired and anything that might cost you additional money once you win the property.  Foreclosure auctions are open to the public and anyone can bid on a home they would like to own.

Most public county auctions will not allow people to bid on a property unless they can prove they are financed and they have the means to buy a property.  However, some auctions give bidders up to 30 days after they win the home in an auction to qualify for a loan.  You should always expect a requirement of a cash down payment on a home you want to bid on at the auction.  This is a security for the auction and you will not be able to bid without giving the down payment.  Expect the down payment to be approximately 10% of the sale price.  Because it is an auction, you may not know what the price of the home will go for.  Bring enough money in a down payment so you can bid on the property.  If you do not have the winning bid, you will get your down payment back.

Auctions start the bidding after the auctioneer says a few legal things to the public that might seem like jargon to you.  Once the property you want to bid on begins you will need to pay attention and bid.  Some auctions sell homes out loud with people yelling the bids while other auctions do closed bidding.  Closed bidding occurs when you submit a paper bid that is confidential.  The winners are announced later.

If you do have enough money for a down payment on a foreclosure, bid on a property and win it then there will be a lot of paperwork for you to fill out.  There is a process it takes to be able to own the foreclosure.  You cannot buy a foreclosure straight from the auction and get the keys that day.  It takes time for title transfer and other paperwork issues to go through as it does a normal home purchase so never expect to move in on the same day.