The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced yesterday they are adopting a new Cash for Keys program whereby lenders will pay borrowers with FHA-backed loans $2,000 for agreeing to turn their property over to the lender by using a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure. By applying for and getting an approved deed-in-lieu under this program, borrowers will be released from their obligation to repay the mortgage and may also have their deficiency judgment waived too.

To qualify for the program, borrowers must be facing long-term financial hardship, had their house on the market at a fair price for at least 90 days, and not have any other additional claims or liens (other than the first FHA mortgage) outstanding against the house. In addition, the borrower must vacate the property and leave it in broom clean condition.

Tags: FHA, foreclosures, HUD, mortgages

For the first time in 2009, new foreclosure filings fell in August for Lee and Collier Counties in Southwest Florida. It is quite a change from the last year or so as far as filings are concerned. And, while one month’s data does not make a trend, it is hopefully a good sign of things to come.

For Lee County, there were 1,625 new filings last month, down from 1,903 in July, a 15% drop. It was the lowest number of actions seen this year. In addition, there were also 1,848 foreclosure cases resolved by the Lee County courts, down from 2,133 handled in July. In Collier County, there were 811 new filings last month, down from 1,103 in July, a 27% drop. There were 374 foreclosure cases resolved by the Collier County courts.

Tags: foreclosures, markets, real estate

The FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Loan program may be right up your alley if you are buying a foreclosure as your primary residence. That’s because The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is encouraging the use of its little known 203(k) loan which allows a primary owner-occupant* to borrow money for both the purchase and renovation of a property all in one loan. And, you only have to have 3.5% of the total purchase price (acquisition and repair costs) as the down payment. In addition, the program can be use to include cosmetic improvements as well as major renovations like replacing a roof or fixing up the properties plumbing or electrical systems.

Tags: FHA, foreclosures, mortgages

Florida real estate sales are hot. Yes, you read that right. The real estate market in Southwest Florida is booming and the rest of the state is doing quite well too. In fact, for the first six months of the year, the Cape Coral and Ft. Myers market area has seen sales soar 116% on a year over year basis and the Bonita Springs and Naples market area was not too shabby either, up 34%. Overall, Florida’s existing home and condominium sales have risen on a year over year basis for ten straight months. And, for two consecutive months in a row, the statewide median sales price for existing homes rose over the previous month’s figure. Not bad for a market that some in the press portray as dead in the water.

Tags: foreclosures, real estate, sales, SW Florida

In the first half of 2009, the Cape Coral and Ft. Myers area took the number two spot in the nation for foreclosure related filings. Naples faired a little better, coming in at number twelve. Total filings were 25,926 for Cape Coral-Ft. Myers and 6,990 for Naples. The rankings were based on default notices, auction sales and bank repossessions.

Tags: foreclosures, real estate, sales, SW Florida

Unfortunately in today’s real estate marketplace, foreclosures are all too common. In fact, in many areas including Southwest Florida, foreclosed homes and condos make up a large portion of the available property listings for sale. Depending on the circumstances, these properties can be an opportunity for home buyers to purchase a home or condo that may not otherwise be available in their price range.

To that end, we decided to set up pages on our website dedicated specifically for foreclosure listings. The pages are broken out by city and give viewers a sampling of the areas foreclosed homes and condos for sale. In addition, the pages also provide easy access to our sites most appropriate local Southwest Florida listing search feature in order to allow users to search for all available foreclosure listings in that particlular area.

Tags: foreclosures, real estate, SW Florida