American Economic Solutions

2010-01-20T15:49:00.000-08:00

American Economic Solutions Facts:

Licensed with the DRE - (Department of Real Estate) Click Here for our licensing info
Compliant with SB 94 - (No Advanced Fees) Click Here for SB94 info
In-house processing - sales, processing, customer service, etc. all under one roof to ensure the most timely resolution
Outstanding rating with the BBB and NO complaints in 36 months - Click Here for our BBB info
Proprietary online Client Center - Click Here

2010-01-19T09:57:00.000-08:00

Foreclosures: An Increase of 21% in 2009 and Climbing

Thu Jan 14, 9:59 am ET

When 2009 began, millions of American homeowners hoped that the worst of the real estate crisis was behind them. They were wrong.

Instead of declining, the number of foreclosed homes in the U.S. last year increased to a record 2.8 million, a 21% rise over 2008 and 120% over 2007, according to a new report from Irvine (Calif.)-based RealtyTrac. 2010 may not be much better.

The problem was that millions of adjustable-rate mortgages began to reset last year, causing monthly mortgage payments to soar while at the same time the value of these homes tanked. The help that many struggling homeowners had hoped would come from the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program never came. Herb Allison, the U.S. Treasury Dept.'s assistant secretary for financial stability, expects fewer than half of the 3.2 million homeowners targeted by the Obama Administration to qualify for the program. Too often, facing bankruptcy or eviction, and finding they owed more than their homes were worth, people simply walked away.

Many more Americans may be joining them this year, too. According to a Dec. 8, 2009, Bloomberg story, Laure Goodman, a senior managing director at Amherst Securities Group, told Congress that unless the U.S. loan modification program was amended, 7 million of the 7.9 million property owners behind on their mortgages in the third quarter could lose their homes.

Foreclosures>

The signs are not encouraging. Foreclosures climbed 18% in the fourth quarter over the same period in 2008. "The surprise is that the numbers weren't worse," says Rick Sharga, senior vice-president of RealtyTrac. He estimates an additional 200,000 to 400,000 homes should have gone into foreclosure in 2009 but because of delays in processing delinquent loans and legislation in state and federal government, they will only enter the process this year.

According to RealtyTrac's report -- which was based on 3.9 million foreclosure filings including default notices, scheduled foreclosure auctions, and bank repossessions -- half of the foreclosures in the U.S. last year occurred in Arizona, California, Florida, and Illinois. California had the most, with 632,573 foreclosed properties (up 21% from 2008); Florida posted 516,711 (up 34%); Arizona had 163,210 (up nearly 40%); and Illinois reported 131,132 (up 32%). And the pain was spread across income brackets: Research by both RealtyTrac and Zillow shows that a greater number of high-end homes also went into foreclosure last year.

Other states with high rates such as Utah and Idaho weren't on the radar a few years ago but are at the forefront of unemployment-related foreclosure activity and are setting a precedent for 2010, says Sharga.

Some markets remained relatively unscathed by the crisis, especially in Western states such as Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, and northern New England, specifically Maine and Vermont, which saw the lowest number of foreclosures last year.

Nevada>

Many of the states with high foreclosure rates in 2008 continued to see homeowners default on their mortgages. On a per capita basis, Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate -- 112,097 properties, or more than 1-in-10 homes there, received at least one foreclosure filing. Arizona, with a 6% foreclosure rate, and Florida, with a 5.93% rate, had the second and third highest rates, respectively.

Sharga expects foreclosures to peak this year and, as employment begins to recover, start to settle in 2011.

Only two states showed decreases from 2008 as well as from 2007. Nebraska foreclosure activity decreased 42% from 2008 and 49% from 2007. North Carolina foreclosure activity decreased 16% from 2008 and 2% from 2007.

Dan Immergluck, associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology's School of City & Regional Planning, says this year the government and banks should look at loan modification programs, particularly ones that offer moderate principal reduction. "The slowing of a foreclosure process has been a good thing," he says. "The housing market couldn't have absorbed the number of foreclosed properties."

2009-10-21T14:45:00.000-07:00

2009-10-21T10:47:00.000-07:00

American Economic Solutions Welcomes SB 94

When California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 94 into law, it marked the end of charging advance fees for loan modification services in California.

For American Economic Solutions, it simply means business as usual.

Recently, American Economic Solutions chose to go to a model that does not charge advance fees. This decision was made well ahead of SB 94 being signed into law on Monday. In a release earlier today, American Economic Solutions stated the following:

“For one company, however, it is a vindication of well-established business practices. American Economic Solutions has been performing California loan modification services with no advance fees since September 2009, well before Monday’s bill became law.

The San Diego, CA-based company fully completes each and every service it has contracted to perform for its clients prior to collecting any fees. This allows American Economic Solutions clients to see the results of the contracted work performed by American Economic Solutions before any payment is required.

In an industry where the norm has been to accept advance fees prior to performing any services, American Economic Solutions is a unique company that fully understands the benefits of SB 94 for both homeowners and businesses alike.”
State Senator Lou Correa who is a co-author of SB 94 is pleased to see the bill become law and thinks it will make a difference.

“I am very pleased that Governor Schwarzenegger signed SB 94 into law. This is a long-time needed legislation that will protect vulnerable and distressed home owners from becoming victims of predatory mortgage scams.”
American Economic Solutions recognizes that SB 94 cannot completely remove the threat of scam artists, however. Consumer education is vital. As such, a California SB 94 fact page has been established with the goal of educating distressed homeowners seeking assistance.