Update:
From KGET.com, a bank requested Friday Bakersfield Police file a crime report regarding appliances taken from a home once owned by Crisp and Cole Real Estate agent Jeriel Salinas.
Officers arrived at the home in Seven Oaks just before 10 a.m. for an inspection.
The current listing agent said a $4,600-Viking stove was taken from the home, along with a microwave and dishwasher.
A witness said the alleged theft occurred a couple of days prior to the bank taking the home back due to foreclosure.
Original Post:
From KGET.com. “There’s a new problem with real estate foreclosures as some residents have resorted to stripping everything from appliances to door-knobs from foreclosed homes before the houses go back to the bank.”
“17 News has uncovered two cases where the homes that have belonged to former members of the Crisp and Cole Real Estate team. The first home was owned by Jeriel Salinas, a current agent with Crisp Realty.”
“‘When we came in, we noticed that the appliances were missing,’ said real estate agent Susan Ferguson, who said, after walking into a Seven Oaks home, ‘Oops, there’s no stove. Oh wait a minute, there’s no dishwasher. No hang on a minute, there’s a microwave missing.’”
“Salinas stopped making payments on the home, so the lender took it back. Workers at another home said what occured at the Seven Oaks home is a drop in the bucket, saying door handles have been taken before.”
“‘My boss just spent $1,300 replacing the door handles,’ said construction worker Robert Velez.”
“Velez walked 17 News through a million-dollar home formerly owned by Crisp and Cole Real Estate broker Jayson Costa. Velez said business is good.”
“‘We’ve done a lot of foreclosures, and yeah, a lot lot of houses,’ he said.”
Friday, October 26, 2007
Former real estate moguls take everyting except the kithen sink?
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Bakersfield housing market crashes!
Latest numbers for September 2007 are out. From DQNews.com:
Bakersfield DOWN 16.23% Year over Year.Another measure to use is price per square foot. Based on the numbers from KernData.com, we are now down 20% from the peak on price per square foot. Also, prices are now back to the level they were in early 2005.
Keep in mind this does not include incentives. If the incentives were included, prices would be down over 20%.
All of you who chose to listen to the REIC and were told "it was a good time to buy", "they are not making anymore land", "real estate only goes up", etc... Remember this during the next speculative mania. If you ask barber if you need a haircut...
Finally, things are not going to get any better. Right now we are seeing 150-200 notices of default per week, sales are down 85% from the peak and credit has tightened. All of these things were predicted here on this crappy blog at the beginning of the year and over the last few years on all the other bubble blogs. Those who listened, you have been spared the misery and all those who didn't listen, good luck.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Horses escape and then the barn door closes
Central Valley Business Times:
With California an epicenter of the mortgage meltdown and housing slump, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will sign three bills that he says will increase protections for Californians who own or plan to purchase homes and to expand affordable housing opportunities.
"It is critical that we continue to take steps to protect Californians against unscrupulous lending practices and to ensure that consumers can make informed decisions," says Mr. Schwarzenegger in a written statement released by his office Wednesday morning.
The bills are:
• SB 223 by Sen. Mike Machado, D-Linden, which will make it a crime for licensed appraisers to engage in any appraisal activity that is connected to the purchase, sale, transfer, financing or development of property if their compensation is impacted by the final price generated by the appraisal.
• SB 385, also by Mr. Machado, which permits state agencies involved with residential mortgage lending and brokering to adopt emergency measures and new policies to ensure that all mortgage lenders and brokers are subject to federal guidelines on non-traditional mortgages. This law impacts the Department of Financial Institutions, the Department of Corporations and the Department of Real Estate.
• AB 929, by Assemblywoman Sharon Runner, R-Lancaster, which increases the amount of affordable housing in California by raising the total debt that the California Housing Finance Agency can carry by $2 billion. CalHFA issues bonds to finance housing for low and moderate-income families.
California’s foreclosure rate is more than twice the national average and the Mortgage Bankers Association is reporting that the state's homeowners hold 20 percent of the nation's subprime adjustable rate mortgages, a record number of which are expected to result in foreclosure.
"It's absolutely crucial that Californians facing the threat of foreclosure reach out to their lenders and discuss available options to save their homes," says the governor. "The worst thing someone can do is nothing -- most lenders would prefer not to foreclose, but 50 percent of borrowers who lose their homes never return calls from their lenders."
Mr. Schwarzenegger says he has ordered other actions to help homeowners facing financial distress or foreclosure as a result of non-traditional mortgages.
These include ordering the state’s licensing departments to adopt regulations to strengthen underwriting and consumer disclosures, in order to ensure that consumers have the tools to fully understand the ramifications of taking out a sub-prime loan. As part of this effort, licensees will use a new, multilingual consumer disclosure form to illustrate worst-case payment scenarios.
Mr. Schwarzenegger says the state’s licensing departments will work closely with law enforcement to discipline lenders and brokers who take unfair advantage of consumers. The departments are also currently training consumer counselors, non-profits and legal aid societies to help identify licensees who have defrauded consumers or otherwise violated state law, so enforcement actions can be taken against their licenses.
He says state agencies will continue to partner with local legislators in the areas hit hardest by foreclosures to connect borrowers with non-profit counselors who can help them negotiate with their lenders.
The state has already held events in Stockton, Riverside, Sun Valley and La Quinta.
The state has also set up a hotline for homeowners in mortgage trouble. The "HOPE Hotline" (888) 995-HOPE or online at www.995HOPE.org provides free mortgage counseling 24 hours a day, seven days a week
Seperated at birth?
Obviously if you don't investigate anything, then there will be few cases. Mr Jagels, just because you don't see it, then its not a crime? Do some research before you make a statement like that - please!
BY VANESSA GREGORY
Nearly a quarter of Bakersfield homes listed for sale in September were "distressed," meaning they were offered by sellers acting under duress, according to a preliminary copy of The Crabtree Report, authored and released Tuesday by local appraiser Gary Crabtree.
Distressed properties include bank-owned homes, "short sales" where lenders agree to accept less than is due on a mortgage in exchange for skirting foreclosure and homes owned by relocation companies. Properties owned by relocation companies comprised a small portion of the distressed listings, Crabtree said. One in 4.2 residential sales listings in greater Bakersfield met the distressed criteria last month, according to the report.
"That figure is pretty stunning," said John Burns, an Irvine-based new construction consultant with clients in Bakersfield. "It tells you that it's a buyer's market, and you're going to have some distressed sellers here pretty reluctantly lowering prices."
BY GRETCHEN WENNER
Irvine-based SunCal Companies told The Californian Tuesday it is ending its involvement with the proposed Mission Lakes development.
SunCal owns 515 acres of the project, more than a third of its footprint, which spreads northwest from 7th Standard's intersection with the Calloway Canal.
The company last week defaulted on a $74 million loan against the property.
