Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe may be Reduced by the Obama Administration

Will the amount of new foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe be reduced by the Obama administrations plan to aid home owners?

A recent article from  REALTOR® Magazine Online explains the Obama administrations long-awaited plan to stem foreclosures. It’s organized into three categories:

1.) Help for home owners making their payments but at risk of default and foreclosure.

Home owners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan would be eligible to refinance as long as their mortgage doesn’t exceed 105 percent of the home’s current market value. Currently owners need to have at least 20 percent equity. Potential impact: 4-5 million households.

2.) Help for home owners already in default and in need of loan modification.

For lenders that voluntarily agree to lower a borrower’s payment so that it makes up no more than 38 percent of the borrower’s income, the government would share the cost of lowering the mortgage burden to 31 percent of income. Incentives to lenders to participate include a $1,000 payment.

Borrowers can receive up to $1,000 as an incentive to stay current on their new mortgage. Still in the works is a proposed provision that would allow bankruptcy judges to require loan modification (known as a cramdown) as part of a household’s restructuring. That provision requires legislation by Congress. Estimated potential impact: 3-4 million households.

3.) Doubled resources to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

To encourage investors to buy the secondary market companies’ mortgage-backed securities, the government explicitly backstops them to up to $400 billion, twice the current amount.

The plan does not provide help to investors or to home owners who are in trouble with a second home, nor does it apply to homeowners whose mortgage is part of a private-label mortgage security that is not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

“The administration’s proposed plan, combined with provisions like the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit in the just-enacted American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will help minimize foreclosures, shrink housing inventory, stabilize home values, and move the country closer to an economic recovery,” says NAR President Charles McMillan.

Source: REALTOR® Magazine Online

I think that the plan will have a minimal effect in reducing the number of new South Lake Tahoe foreclosures because the plan does not help second home owners or investors. There are some homes in South Lake Tahoe that are owned as primary residences, but the majority of our market are second homes and vacation homes. A lot of the homes that are being foreclosed on here in Lake Tahoe are the vacation homes and investment homes.

There were a lot of fixer upper homes purchased by investors and speculators when the real estate market was booming. The investors then spent money fixing the properties up, or had planned on fixing them up and then selling them until the market started going down. When equity lines of credit were cut off, a lot of investors and speculators lost the money they were using to complete their projects and to  pay for the holding costs. The market went down, and many home owners could not afford to sell them for less than what they owed.

The plan also will only help home owners who have loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The plan should assist between 7 and 9 million home owners, but unless backed by Fannie or Freddie this plan will not help.

Hopefuly the Obama administration’s plan will help some of the local home owners in trouble, but I believe that the effect on the South Lake Tahoe Real Estate market will be minimal.

 

 

This Lake Tahoe Real Estate blog post was written by Brent Johnson. If you would like to talk about the South Lake Tahoe real estate market, homes for sale in South lake Tahoe, or South Lake Tahoe foreclosures, please contact Brent and Jill Johnson today!

South Lake Tahoe Foreclosures, 952 Tahoe Island Drive

Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still on the on the top of the list for most serious home buyers. Currently there are 31 foreclosures on the South Lake Tahoe mls and 14 of them are in escrow. Foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are still selling rather quickly and have an average of 66 days on the market.

One of the reasons that foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe are selling so quickly is that most of them are priced to sell. The average list price for the current foreclosures is $314,139. The average price per square foot for the current foreclosures is $206 compared to $334 for all of the non foreclosures on the market.

The most recent foreclosure listed on the South Lake Tahoe mls is 952 Tahoe Island Drive.

 

952 Tahoe Island Drive $275,000

In Town Chalet which is close to the elementary school and Tahoe Keys Blvd. Insert Wood Fireplace. 2 Bedrooms and 1 Bath upstairs and 2 Bedroom and 1 Bath Downstairs. To be sold in “AS IS” condition.

• 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 car garage
• 1650 square feet
• 7514 square foot lot
• Chalet style
• In town location
• For more information contact Brent and Jill Johnson!

                                                                   

If you would like to know more about foreclosures in South Lake Tahoe, homes for sale in South Lake Tahoe, or South Lake Tahoe real estate, please call Brent and Jill Johnson today!

 

This Lake Tahoe real estate blog post was written by South Lake Tahoe real estate agent Brent Johnson.