Foreclosures

Foreclosures
03/10/08 8:53am

New Ways To Explore Houston’s Foreclosure Bubbles

by
Online Resources
4 Comments

Partial View of Map from Houston Chronicle Showing Locations of Foreclosures in Houston, 2007

There’s been so much exciting news for dedicated Houston foreclosure gawkers lately. Last month’s HAR redesign added a feature that allows anyone to search current MLS listings for foreclosed properties. And now the Chronicle has put together its own database chronicling foreclosed properties by neighborhood. Plus, the paper includes the handy interactive foreclosure map pictured above, full of dancing bubbles!

A lot of that bubbly makes it look like the foreclosure corks have been popping more frequently in the outside-Beltway-8 neighborhoods, with Katy the big winner. And the map is fun to play with and click on. But don’t miss the more mundane-looking 2007 Neighborhood Foreclosure list, which allows you to sort data on neighborhoods that had 5 or more foreclosures last year, and which spills some fun real-estate secrets . . . like Tremont Tower‘s 97.37 percent foreclosure rate! Bear Creek Meadows‘s 83 foreclosures! And the Memorial Cove Loft Condos’ perfect record: 20 units, 20 foreclosures — in one year! How’d we miss that one?

If you have time to play with these fun tools, and unearth any interesting data, let us know what you find!

,
Buying and Selling
02/27/08 9:26pm

Cheapest Townhome on the Lot: $96K Foreclosure Discount?

by
Cottage Grove, Foreclosures, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Townhomes
No Comments

5248 Larkin St. D, Cottage Grove, HoustonA househunter writes in with questions about the townhome at 5248 Larkin St. Unit D, calling it “possibly the strangest property I’ve ever seen.”

When I saw it on HAR.com, I thought I’d better be ready to spring with an offer immediately . . . I’m a first time home-buyer, so honestly, no expert. I’ve looked in Cottage Grove before, but with the exception of 2620 Detering, nothing of this size is that cheap.

On the same lot are three other identical townhouses, all advertised as new and offered at $315,000 by Mike Adams Enterprises. Unit D is listed for $219,000 and is being sold by a division of Sallie Mae.

The price is not weird for the neighborhood — I just think it’s odd that you have this foreclosure that is discounted $100k below the three new properties and they are on the same lot. . . .

The foreclosure sign is still hanging in the hallway, the red code violations are still on the door, and I’m just curious. . . .

Inspections were performed in spring of 2007 . . . but it doesn’t look like the code violations were addressed. If someone lived there, I’d be very surprised. . . .

I mean, it’s weird because they had nails in the wall –lots of nails, including ones in spots you wouldn’t necessarily hang pictures. At some point, someone had hung a television in the master bedroom. But it didn’t look as if the range had ever been used, that the showers, etc, had ever been used. If someone lived there, it was an extremely short period of time and they didn’t do anything but watch television. We were wondering at first if it had been a model home and that would account for the wear on the stairs and the holes in the wall and the nails. . . .

There were way too many red flags for me . . .

After the jump: more photos from the listing . . . and flags!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
02/04/08 11:49am

South Side Special: One Sorry Fuqua

by
Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, South Houston
No Comments

3015 Fuqua, Houston

Vandalism, 3015 Fuqua, HoustonForeclosure, vandalism . . . what more could possibly go wrong at this mansion-on-the-prairie near Brunswick Meadows, off 288 in South Houston?

How about a lack of serious buyers since the home was put on the market back in August — even after two major price cuts?

The place was built in 1950, but the listing agent’s mysterious comment that the “Home was at one time almost completed” probably refers to the recent doomed redo attempt. The asking price was cut to $345,900 in November, from an original $451,900. And it’s listed on another site for $325,900. Not bad for a 11,640-sq.-ft. home on 5 acres inside the Beltway.

Or . . . maybe not. After the jump: when vandals strike!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Bear Creek Meadows
01/15/08 9:55pm

Bear Creek Meadows Fourclosure Sale!

by
Buying and Selling, Foreclosures, Home Design, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy
No Comments

Four Homes by Legend Homes for Sale in Bear Creek Meadows

The wave of foreclosures sweeping over neighborhoods at the outer edges of town has . . . an upside!

Remember back when these neighborhoods were new — like, four years ago? Well, for buyers it’s just like those good old days all over again . . . only cheaper! That’s right: if you’ve settled on one builder model, you can be pretty picky about which upgrades and finishing touches you really want — even though the builder has moved on.

If you’re shopping for a home in Bear Creek Meadows in Katy, for example, you’ll find the four distinct residences pictured above listed on MLS. That’s right, those are four different houses. But they’re all the same model — The Cairns, Plan 509, by Legend Homes — and they’re all resales!

Which one is right for you? Clockwise from top left, the contenders are: 19411 Billineys Park Dr., 19606 Ballina Meadows Dr., 19906 Brisbane Meadows Dr., and 19510 Buckland Park Dr.

After the jump, a look at the differences between these four newish but back-on-the-market homes!

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , , , , , ,
Buying and Selling
12/12/07 2:13pm

Tremont Tower Video: How Construction Problems Attract Foreclosure Pileups

by
Condos, Financing, Foreclosures, Fraud, Highrises, Mold, Montrose, Mortgages
No Comments

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLqkHr77N0U 400 330]

So the actors aren’t likely to win any awards, but this new video posted to YouTube by Tremont Tower owner-victim-gadfly Heather Mickelson is notable for it’s uh . . . stirring illustration of the connection between construction-quality complaints and foreclosure train wrecks.

The Tremont is colorfully renamed “LemonTree Tower” in the video reenactment. If you’re new to the story, you’ll find better introductions to the sordid Montrose condo tale elsewhere. But if you’ve ever wondered why foreclosures seem to gather like flies around new developments that feature questionable levels of quality (and, say, water-tightness), this will make pretty good internet theater. No, the mortgage defaults aren’t the work of the millions of mold spores and the grim reaper, who together make cameo appearances in the video; they’re the ultimate result of the surefire sales techniques employed for undesirable properties — made so much easier, of course, by the subprime-mortgage boom.

Here’s the formula: Building with bad enclosure + poor disclosure = lots of foreclosure. Or just watch the video. At just over seven minutes, it’s still a lot shorter than Glengarry Glen Ross.

, , , , , , , , , ,
Foreclosures
11/30/07 5:32pm

Meyerland Mystery Mod: House of Formica and Foreclosure

by
Home Design, Homes for Sale, Interiors, Meyerland
No Comments

5103 S. Braeswood in Meyerland, Houston

Midcentury Modern Meyerland home with a distinctively shaped Living Room. In uncertain condition, on a large corner lot.

Sound familiar?

With the Carousel House reduced to rubble, Mod fans on HAIF have turned their attention to this 3,352-square-foot home from 1964 on a third-of-an-acre site at the corner of South Braeswood and S. Rice. It’s a foreclosure, and went on the market earlier this week:

I went and saw this house yesterday, and it has some amazing features. I think it’s likely that it is the House of Formica, for every surface–walls, cabinets, bars, etc.–is covered in Formica. I don’t think there’s is a drop of paint anywhere.

But . . .

the house is also really odd. I like strange, and this one is strange without being cool. Some of the design features just aren’t right. Therefore, it’s possible that we’re heading for another Moonlight. I hope not, but I doubt the house will go for anything above lot value.

After the jump, photos of some of those just-not-right design features — available free with land purchase! Plus special bonus: it’s really close to the bayou.

CONTINUE READING THIS STORY

, , , ,
Buying and Selling
11/02/07 10:38am

The Collapse of 1342 Rutland

by
Condos, Foreclosures, Homeowners' Associations, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights
No Comments

1342 Rutland Lofts, Houston Heights

Just what is it about cheaply built condos in Houston that attracts so much, uh . . . “bank interest”? According to HCAD, of the fifteen condo units at 1342 Rutland in the Heights, only six have non-bank owners — and that includes the three owned by Freddie Mac, the “1342 Rutland Lofts Council,” and an investment group. Fortunately for buyers, the financial institutions appear to have no desire to hold onto the condos for corporate housing: eight of the units are on the market, and four more are due to be auctioned off at the huge REDC foreclosure extravaganza at the Reliant Center on November 17th.

(Special bonus for foreclosure bidders: the same auction features four units from Swamplot favorite Tremont Tower!)

Sure, there’s a downturn, and maybe a few problems with some nasty mortgages, but why do so many foreclosures concentrate on a few ugly buildings?

HAIF poster Kirzania provides a few clues:

from the inspector’s findings it would appear the second level of condos was added to the top of a pre-existing building. However, the first level was not reinforced for the second story. The walls were bowed on the first level and there were evident issues of structure problems. My understanding was there wasn’t a problem with the foundation itself, but the frame of the building.

The HOA itself sounded like it was barely staying afloat; the banks owe the HOA $$$$$ for past dues but these funds are being held up in bureaucratic nonsense. I would very much reconsider even stepping foot in this place.

Let the bidding begin!

, , , , , , ,
Alief
10/16/07 8:03am

West Oaks Mall: Your Exchanges Are No Good Here

by
Financing, Foreclosures, Fraud, Malls
No Comments

Food Court at the West Oaks Mall, Houston, Texas

So much excitement at the West Oaks Mall! Don’t worry, it likely won’t be foreclosed on—because the owners of the super-regional mall at Westheimer and Highway 6 have now declared bankruptcy. This is bad news for about 340 investors who were hoping to recoup 1031-exchange funds that went missing in the middle of their transactions. They’ll likely lose more than $150 million dollars . . . and possibly be required to pay taxes on the gains they made (and were hoping to shield with the 1031 exchange) . . . before they lost them.

Their money was to be held in escrow accounts for when they came back to conclude the back-end purchase of their tax-free exchange. When that time came, the money was gone.

Now, one of the largest of those assets that creditors had hoped could be used to recoup some of their money is untouchable.

IPofA West Oaks Mall LP, IPofA West Oaks LeaseCo LP and IPofA WOM Master LeaseCo LP (collectively, the “West Oaks Debtors”), filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, last week.

The West Oaks Debtors are directly and/or indirectly owned and/or controlled by Edward H. Okun, a controversial investor who also controls several 1031 qualified intermediaries under the umbrella firm of The 1031 Tax Group LLC that are also currently tied up in bankruptcy proceedings.

Shopping’s still good, though!

1031 exchange investors: watch where your money goes.

Photo: West Oaks Mall

, , , , , , ,
Financing
09/12/07 11:14am

IRA Mortgage Investors: Hoping for Foreclosures?

by
Foreclosures, Mortgages, Real Estate Investing
No Comments

Some individual investors who’ve been using IRA money to invest in mortgages have been cheering as foreclosures have become more common, reports the Wall Street Journal:

No one tracks IRA loan defaults, but experienced individual lenders say it has happened rarely — though they are bracing for an uptick, given the shaky state of the housing market in many areas.

“You don’t want them to pay you,” says Charlie Adams, a Houston investor who has made about 20 mortgage loans through his and his mother’s IRAs in the past 10 years, typically charging 15% interest for one-year loans. “What’s the worst thing that can happen — you wind up owning a house at 70% of its cost?” He lends no more than 70% of a property’s value and charges interest-only payments. More conservative lenders will go no higher than 50%.

With the one foreclosure he’s done, his mother had lent $40,000 to a renovator to refurbish a house worth $85,000. The borrower made 12 months of interest payments, then stopped, and did not make the balloon payment due. Mr. Adams foreclosed on the house, his mother’s IRA spent $14,000 to finish fixing it up, and they sold it in three months for $85,000, he says, adding that he helped his mother’s IRA increase in value to $140,000 from $50,000 in five years.

Great, but you’ll need to make sure you have enough IRA money in reserve to handle this kind of “good fortune”:

For investors, one risk in foreclosing on a house is racking up so many expenses — from legal fees to repair bills — that the IRA runs out of money. If that happens, the IRA owner faces a difficult choice: Get a loan, or close out your IRA and pay any taxes or penalties.

Using a self-directed IRA to fund mortgage or real estate investments can make sense: for a lot of people, an IRA is the largest pool of money available. Self-directed individual-retirement-account companies Entrust, Pensco Trust, and Guidant Financial have seen a dramatic increase in real-estate lending activity within their IRAs, the article reports.

, , , ,
« Previous Page