Friday, January 30, 2009

REOS may soon be driving prices down even further

I have read that at least a quarter of the bank owned foreclosures are just are not on the market.



REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-REOs Expected to Flood Market
REOs Expected to Flood Market
Mortgage lenders are likely to put their growing supply of repossessed homes up for sale in the months to come.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, 10 percent of home loans was either delinquent or in the foreclosure process at the end of September. Plus, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac saw repossessions grow nearly 25 percent to 15,196 homes from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2008.

Lenders may have to reduce the principal balance on loans to do more than slow down the foreclosure process for many borrowers.

Asset Protection - Florida Real Estate

In my real estate practice I come across a lot of people needing asset protection advice.  I know from doing a lot of reading and speaking with collection attorneys, there is lot of bogus advice out there on the internet.

But, for people with significant assets, I do tell them to consult an asset protection attorney.  (*An area which I will probably get pulled into in the future.)  Recently my client came back and told me their expensive asset protection plans have centered around buying and homesteading property in Florida. 

Something I understand very well.  I lived in Florida for 4 years during the Real Estate boom.  I am licensed as an attorney there and sold real state there.  Just about every person close to retirement age - wants to figure out how to protect themselves from taxes or creditors. 

Now that the price of florida real estate has been cut in half, it may be a good place to try and shelter your assets. 

However, you might want to cross the stateline with the intent to live there. 

I will post more on this subject over time. 

If you are willing to establish a homestead there and you wish to shelter some cash, let us know - we can put you in touch with some smart people.    





REALTOR® Magazine-Daily News-Lehman Ex-CEO Sells Home to Wife for $100
Lehman Ex-CEO Sells Home to Wife for $100
The ex-CEO of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which filed the largest corporate bankruptcy in history, has sold his Florida home to his wife for $100.

Richard S. Fuld Jr. and his wife Kathleen bought the home in Martin County. Fla., for $13.75 million in 2004.

Lawyers speculate that Fuld’s transfer of his share is a tactic to take advantage of Florida’s generous home-protection laws, which could prevent angry investors from taking the Fuld’s property in a lawsuit or bankruptcy proceedings. But they question whether Fuld could prove that Florida is his primary residence since he spends most of his time in New York.

Lawyers also suggest that Florida courts could deem the transfer fraudulent, voiding Kathleen Fuld’s purchase.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, Jamie Burns (01/26/09)


For more on asset protection