BluegrassForeclosure.com

From national efforts to efforts promulgated by the states, here is what Ohio is trying to do.  I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this measure crosses the Ohio River to here in Kentucky.

From Cincinnati.com:

Two Ohio lawmakers are gearing up for round two of their push for a six-month freeze on home foreclosures, taking their case to the Senate for the first time since the Ohio House passed the bill in May.

“State Reps. Denise Driehaus, D-Price Hill, and Mike Foley, D-Cleveland, will testify Tuesday on the Ohio Foreclosure Prevention Act, also known as House Bill 3.

Since the Democratic-led House passed the bill, the crisis has not gone away. Driehaus said. “It’s frustrating because the problem is getting worse and we haven’t done anything about it,” she said. “The House has but the Senate hasn’t. ”

She’ll go before the Senate Finance Committee armed with statistics she has collected and plenty of anecdotes detailing how bad the problem remains in her district.

. . . .

The number of mortgage foreclosures in Hamilton County remains steady; the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts reporting 5,698 in 2009, compared to the previous year’s 5,750.

Ohio remains at number 13 in the list of state’s with highest foreclosures, according to RealtyTrac. Nevada tops the list.

There were just over 224,500 new foreclosures nationwide from June through November, the foreclosure listing firm reported. Of those, 6,381 were in Ohio, with Hamilton County being third highest in the state behind Cuyahoga and Franklin counties.”

As many of you know, I whole-heartedly support the World Equestrian Games coming to Central Kentucky.  We have no better opportunity to show off our incredible state than this.

Here are some great travel tips posted at WLEX18:

1.      Pick events to see: Over the 16 days of the 2010 Games, events include an opening ceremony, eight different equestrian competitions and a closing ceremony. Each equestrian discipline will have multiple days of competition. For more information about these disciplines click here. For the schedule of events click here.

2.      Get your tickets: Tickets for the 2010 games are available through Ticketmaster. Tickets will be sold at any Ticketmaster venue, at www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling the Ticketmaster hotline at 1-800-745-3000. For more information about tickets, including prices, click here.

3.      Find a place to stay: Short’s Sports and Events, the official housing partner for the 2010 Games, has provided multiple accommodation options for the Games including hotels, private home rentals, campgrounds, and bed and breakfast options. Click here for more information.

4.      Plan transportation to the Games: Lexington is in close proximity to three major airports, Lexington’s Blue Grass Airport being the closest. For more information about air transportation and to book a flight for the 2010 Games click here. In addition, Lexington is within a day’s drive of 2/3 of the United States population.

5.      Find a place to park: There will be a limited number of pre-paid parking spaces at the Kentucky Horse Park available for purchase. To reserve a spot click here. In addition, the University of Kentucky’s Coldstream Research Campus will be a free satellite parking location. Spectators will be shuttled to and from this location to the Kentucky Horse Park during all 16 days of the Games. For more information click here.

6.      Figure out what you can and cannot bring to the Games: Spectators will be required to go through a security check before entering the grounds of the 2010 Games. A list of prohibited items is available here. Please check back because this list is subject to change.

7.      World-class competition is not the only thing to enjoy: Aside from competition, spectators will be able to enjoy a variety of activities on the Kentucky Horse Park during the Games. There will be equine demonstrations in the Equine Village, and shopping in the extensive international Trade Show.  Learn about our title sponsor in the Alltech International Experience, or learn about the Arabian horse in A Gift from the Desert at the Kentucky Horse Park’s International Museum of the Horse. Lastly, experience Kentucky, all without ever leaving the Kentucky Horse Park at the Kentucky Experience.  Click here to learn what additional activities are included with the purchase of your ticket, and learn more about the Kentucky Horse Park at www.kyhorsepark.com.

8.      Plan things to do in the city: Aside from the Games, Lexington has much to offer tourists visiting the city. Go to www.visitlex.com for more information. In addition, Spotlight Lexington will take place downtown throughout the duration of the Games, providing food, entertainment, awards ceremonies and more. Click here for more information.

9.      Plan things to do in the state: From racetracks to bourbon distilleries, Kentucky has many tourist hot spots. The Kentucky Experience, an interactive exhibit during the Games, will let visitors experience the state’s beauty, famous products, and entertainment. For more information about the Kentucky Experience, click here. To plan places to see, visit www.kentuckytourism.com.

You can also check out www.VisitFrankfort.com for some of Kentucky’s great history!

10.  Follow the road to the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games: Have your tickets? Booked your flight? Now stay in the know by becoming a fan of our Facebook page, following us on Twitter, or by reading our blog where we will profile celebrity equestrian athletes and 2010 Games contenders, and you can get all of the inside information!

As should be expected at this time, home construction is down, while prices are going up.  This should be of no surprise, with such a glut of foreclosed houses on the market.

Leave a comment how home construction is looking in your county.

As reported in the Courier-Journal:

“Along with icy storms, the real estate recovery is facing man-made headwinds. On Wednesday, the government said buyers will face higher fees and tougher standards for home loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, a popular source of loans for first-time buyers.

Unemployment is expected to remain high throughout the year, which will drive the foreclosure rate to new records.

. . . .

Construction of new homes and apartments fell 4 percent in December to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 557,000 from an upwardly revised 580,000 in November, the Commerce Department said. Applications for future projects, however, increased strongly as the industry ramps up for the spring selling season.

In Jefferson County, builders pulled 725 permits for single-family construction in 2009, about 16 percent fewer than in 2008, according to metro government.

And permits for single-family construction have plunged almost 75 percent since 2005 in a broader eight-county area that includes Southern Indiana, according to Market Graphics, a local research company.”

This article from the Courier-Journal suggests what I fear may happen.

“The more borrowers who can’t be helped, the more foreclosed properties will flood the market. And that means the nation’s housing market, which appeared to recover last summer, could soon take another turn for the worse.

A record 2.8 million households were threatened with foreclosure last year, up more than 20 percent from a year earlier, RealtyTrac Inc. reported this week. The foreclosure listing firm expects another record this year.

Home prices, meanwhile, are down 30 percent nationally from the peak in mid-2006, and there is mounting evidence they will fall again over the winter as low-priced foreclosures make up a larger proportion of sales.

. . . .

The Obama plan aims to help borrowers in financial trouble by making their payments more affordable. Modifications made under the program include a lower interest rate and often a longer repayment period. The average monthly payment has been cut by $500.

The homeowners receive temporary modifications, which are supposed to become permanent after borrowers make three payments on time and complete the required paperwork, including proof of income and a letter explaining the reason for their troubles.

However, just 66,500 borrowers, or 7 percent of those who signed up, have completed the program as of December, the Treasury Department said Friday.

Another 49,000, or more than 5 percent, have dropped out of the program entirely — either because they missed payments or were found to be ineligible. Thousands more are awaiting an answer.”

That’s why the loan modification program will simply put off the inevitable for another 6 – 9 months.  Most individuals who are in the homes now, couldn’t afford the payments before, are in over their heads, and won’t be able to afford the payments if they get a modification anyway.

Tell me what you think will happen?

RealtyTrac.com raises interesting questions for 2010.

Question 1: What’s the outlook for foreclosure activity in 2010?
It’s likely that we’ll set a new record in terms of overall foreclosure activity for the fourth consecutive year.

Question 2: Will we see a flood of REOs?
Investors, home buyers and real estate professionals have all been anxiously awaiting a tidal wave of REOs for the past two years. Instead, inventory levels have remained frustratingly low, even in some of the hardest-hit foreclosure markets. Expect more of the same in 2010.

Question 3: Will there be a surge in Short Sales?
A big frustration for potential foreclosure buyers has been the difficulty in buying a property via short sale. Agents have questioned why banks reject a short sale offer 20 percent below the mortgage amount only to spend tens of thousands of dollars to foreclose on the home and then sell it as an REO at a 50 percent discount.

Question 4: Is now a good time to invest in foreclosures?
What all of this means to foreclosure buyers and investors is that the process will require more diligence, persistence and patience. But there has never been a market with as much — or as varied — inventory to choose from, and the combination of deeply discounted pricing and historically low interest rates make many deals once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

From Kentucky.com, the Obama Administration is attempting to get relief to many of the areas getting hit by the foreclosures around the country by having banks implement loan modification programs.  So, the question is, will this be a permanent solution or simply staving off the inevitable for another 6 months or so?  Here some excerpts:

“After a month of intense pressure on banks and other mortgage servicers, the Obama administration on Friday reported improvement in its much-criticized program to reduce mortgage payments to stave off foreclosures.

The number of temporary loan modifications that had been made permanent had more than doubled to 66,465 as of Dec. 30, the Treasury Department said.

In addition, another 46,056 three-month trial mortgage modifications were approved and awaiting only the homeowner signatures before they were made permanent as well.

As of Nov. 30, only 31,382 mortgages had been permanently modified.

. . . .

But with 2.8 million foreclosures last year, according to RealtyTrac, and filings in December up 14 percent from the previous month, the administration’s Home Affordable Mortgage Program isn’t doing enough to stem the tide of foreclosures, critics said. The program provides incentives to mortgage servicers to reduce monthly payments for struggling homeowners.”

Regardless of what can be done at this point, we simply have to ride out the worst of it.  In the meantime, that means get investment opportunities for the savvy investors.

This one from Squidoo.com:

1.  September 11, 2001 [editor's note: this one is a given, and should be #1]

2.  Hurricane Katrina

3.  Photos of Katrina

4.  2004 Tsunami

5.  Worldwide Recession

6.  Iran’s Race for Nukes

7.  The 2008 Olympics and China’s Emergence

8.  The Bush-Gore Presidential Race

9.  The War on Terror

10.  Environmentalism and the Debate over Global Warming

11.  The Emergence of Islam

Well, it’s that time again, the Kentucky Legislature is back in session to try and solve the most important and pressing issues.  We have already touched on some of the issues coming up, but here is a round up of legislation so far introduced dealing with real property.  The summaries are taken from the Legislative Research Commission’s website where you can find a great deal of information at www.lrc.ky.gov.

HB 178 – Amend KRS 141.388 to allow the new home tax credit to apply to homes built on a taxpayer’s property and to modify the credit based on federal actions; apply retroactively to June 26, 2009.

HB 209 – Propose an amendment to Section 170 of the Constitution of Kentucky to increase the homestead exemption for property tax purposes for disabled veterans 65 or older of the United States Armed Forces; submit question to voters for approval or disapproval; to apply to property assessed after approval.

HB 219 – Amend KRS 514.040 relating to theft by deception to include the issuance of a check with knowledge that it will not be honored by the drawee for the lease, rent, or purchase of property, or for payment to an auction escrow account.

HB 264 – Create a new section of KRS Chapter 134 to authorize a person who holds a recorded mortgage on real property or a perfected security interest in real or personal property, which is subject to state property taxes, to register the mortgage or security interest with the Department of Revenue, require the department to notify the sheriff of the appropriate taxing jurisdiction, and if the taxpayer fails to pay the taxes when due after the registration, require the sheriff to mail notice to the registrant mortgagee or holder of a perfected security interest of the right to pay the taxes as a as a transferee in accordance with KRS 134.121; amend KRS 160.570 to authorize a depository appointed by a local board of education to provide collateral in accordance with KRS 41.240, rather than execute a performance bond; create a new section of Subtitle 2 of KRS Chapter 286 to authorize that a fee be paid to a financial institution by state or local governments when the financial institution is required to assemble or provide financial records pertaining to a customer, except records required by the department to administer and enforce KRS Chapters 286 and 292; require the executive director of the Office of Financial Institutions to promulgate regulations to establish the purposes for which the fee may be charged and the reasonable and necessary amount of the fee; amend KRS 283.3-030 to authorize the executive director to allow a state or national bank to use a different name for a branch bank to avoid customer confusion; amend KRS 382.270 to delete the date restriction prior to July 12, 2006 for recording a deed or mortgages to constitute constructive notice of the contents if the instrument is not acknowledged or proved according to law; amend KRS 382.430 to clarify that the no note or other evidence of indebtedness lodged for record with a county clerk shall be recorded unless the address of the person or the address of the principal place of business of a corporation that owns or holds the evidence of indebtedness is contained in the note or other evidence of indebtedness; amend KRS 425.126 to update terms to include security entitlement and securities intermediary, in addition to security, in accordance with KRS 355.8-102(1) and 355.8-201, and specify the requirements to be contained in the order relating to a security, an option or right to acquire a security and a security entitlement to be valid against any securities intermediary or nominee or agent of either, and to establish the requirements for a good faith written request for information regarding possession, custody or control of a security, option or right to acquire a security or entitlement and to require provision of the statement within ten (10) days of the request; amend KRS 427.150 to limit the exemption of retirement funds as property from an estate for the purposes of 11 U.S.C. sec. 522(b)(3) in a federal bankruptcy proceeding to the extent allowed by applicable federal law, to disallow the exemption for amounts contributed to a retirement account within 120 days of filing for bankruptcy or before the entry of judgment or other ruling against the debtor or the issuance of a levy, attachment, garnishment, or other execution or order if the exemption is being applied in other than a federal bankruptcy proceeding; amend KRS 427.160 to limit the $1,000 general real or personal property exemption to federal bankruptcy proceedings to the extent allowed by federal law; and amend KRS 427.170 to limit the exemptions provided by the 11 U.S.C. sec. 522(b)(2) for debtors domiciled in Kentucky to property of the debtor’s bankruptcy estate in a federal bankruptcy proceeding.

Ok, so we are wrapping up one decade and starting another.  So here are some top 10 events of the decade, this one is according to the CollegeTimes.com:

1. September 11 Terrorist Attacks

2. Recession strikes the globe; World markets crash; Joblessness poisons the developed-world economies

3. Indian Ocean earthquake, tsunami kills close to 300,000

4. Sichuan earthquake kills 68,712

5. Google begins its takeover as the lead organizer of information in the world; Social networking becomes an ubiquitous part of everyday life

6. Obama elected as first Black president of the United States

7. Hurricane Katrina destroys the Southeastern coastal lands, including New Orleans; kills 1,836

8. China emerges as a global superpower

9. First gay marriages take place in California, five months later voters ban gay marriage

10. Apple reveals the iPod

What is interesting is the breakdown chosen by College Times.   4 events were politically or economically based, 3 events were natural disasters, 2 technological advances, and 1 man-made disaster.

What would you have added?

Some more trends seem to be emerging for 2010 already, including this great report from Grubb & Ellis:

“The Cincinnati-area commercial real estate market will see a slower decline in 2010 and then a turnaround in 2011, according to Grubb & Ellis’ 2010 Real Estate Forecast.

Commercial real estate lags the labor market, so it has yet to hit bottom, the company said in a news release. That will happen this year, with a slow recovery in 2011.

“The good news is that the free-fall we saw in 2009 is over, and the future is more certain, giving owners and users of real estate the confidence to begin making decisions again,” said Bob Bach, chief economist for Santa Ana, Calif.-based Grubb & Ellis, in the release.

It’s unlikely that commercial foreclosures will have the impact on overall economy that residential mortgages did, Bach added.

“The value of outstanding commercial mortgages is a fraction of the value of outstanding residential mortgages,” he said. “Nevertheless, losses will mount over the next several years. . . .”

“Commercial markets in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky will follow national trends for the most part, according to Grubb & Ellis, and hit bottom during the first half of 2010.

“The financial logjam that has stalled investment sales velocity appears to be beginning to thaw, which will increase opportunities for area commercial real estate investors in 2010,” said Steven Timmel, senior sales vice president for Grubb & Ellis/West Shell Commercial in Cincinnati. “However, financing packages moving forward will be markedly different than in prior years.”