According to a New Report published yesterday by Realty Trac US Foreclosure activity increased 75% in 2007 over 2006 figures.

Nevada hit # 1 with Florida #2 followed by Michigan to round out the top 3.

The states with the highest household foreclosure rate were

1. Nevada (3.38 percent)
2. Florida (2 percent)
3. Michigan (1.95 percent)
4. California (1.92 percent)
5. Colorado (1.92 percent)
6. Ohio (1.8 percent)
7. Georgia (1.57 percent)
8. Arizona (1.52 percent)
9. Illinois (1.25 percent)
10.Indiana (1.03 percent)The U.S. average was 1.03 percent.

Following fresh on the report release was an interesting piece from the Today Show Wednesday, entitled Foreclosure 101 -

This interview is with Barbara Corcoran a so called business baroness. She is listed as one of the most powerful brokers in the U.S. Barbara is legendary for being the most well-known name in New York real estate and for having personally sold only three apartments. She is a Real Estate contributor on the payroll of MSNBC, who produces the Today Show.

In this news segment they break down exactly how a foreclosure process works.

Some of the not so pretty points:

• Foreclosures up 75% in the last year
• 1 out of every 100 homes are in Foreclosures
• 40% of Las Vegas Homes are in Foreclosure
• Most People don?t return calls to the bank
• Foreclosure starts after missing 3 payments
• Filing Bankruptcy doubles the time you can stay in your house
• Takes 3?18 Months before you lose your home
• Bankruptcy stall foreclosure
• It takes 6 years to restore your credit after foreclosure
• Bank Loses Average of $59,000 for each foreclosure

How to Stop a Foreclosure:

• Short Sale
• Apply for FHA Loan
• Ask for a reduced Payment
• Return the Deed

The take away from this according to Barbara, ?People don?t realize they have more muscle than they think when they are in financial trouble?.

I invite you to comment on this after viewing the video.

What are your thoughts ?

Related Posts:

Pricing your home to Sell

How to avoid foreclosure

Florida Foreclosures Double from this time last year

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It?s our turn here in the Greater Tampa Bay Area. There is a lot of activity going on and all the media hype on the polls can make it pretty intimidating to ascertain what exactly is going on. So, no matter what your political affiliation is or what trash talk you hear in the media, I would encourage you to ignore it and vote your conscience. Of course it helps if you know a little more about the person you are going to be voting for. I personally try to look at their past record as an indicator and not rely on what others think. If you are one of those that is sitting on the fence and think that your Vote in the Primary is not worth the effort, I would ask that you reconsider. If you don?t vote, then you loose your ability to help direct the course of history that will shape the direction of our county, as it moves foward into the future. Every VOTE does count. As they say in show business ?It ain?t over till the fat lady sings?, in this case it is not over until the votes are all counted or even recounted as it may be!. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE POLLS, they are often baseless, inaccurate and just plain wrong!

Besides voting for in this primary election for a Presidential Candidate, here in Florida we have another very important vote. That is for a constitutional amendment that affects property taxes for all home owners and business; that is Amendment # 1.

Weather you are for or against this, you should do yourself a favor and check out this online calculator to determine your actual ?tax equity? While there has been media spin on this a plenty both Pro and Con, I can say this from past experience on a similar vote on property taxes (I experienced in another State several years ago). Local and State officials do not like to cut taxes. What this means is that they will have to work like you and I and and try to live within their means. They will try scare tactics to prevent you from taking any action that might impede on their ability to spend like a drunken sailor. Fiscal responsibility is what they are trying to avoid. I won?t try to sway you one way or the other, just do your part and get out and Vote.

Another NEW Generation Real Estate Platform, joined the likes of Trulia, Realtor.com and Zillow earlier this week. I believe their actual launch was on Wednesday the 23^rd.

Roost.com says they will partner with MLS?s and Brokers. They claim they are unlike other online models in that, ?Roost?s network of broker sites ensures consumers have access to comprehensive MLS listings in major metropolitan areas across the U.S., via close collaborations with MLSs and leading local brokers that can help them find their next home.?

From what I can tell they are predominantly covering the West Coast now and are in about 13 markets. It is too soon to tell if and when they will develop into the South and the Florida Markets.

From a quick overview of their platform, I noticed right off the bat that they have optimized the site for Fire Fox Browser which is great. But they may have missed a beat here. As most Realtors know, almost all of the MLS?s at present require usage of IE and in fact do not work well with Fire Fox. But then again Fire Fox is a much better browsers in my book and many Realtors could do well to add it to their tools.

Gregg Swann over at Blood Hound Blog did a really great job of describing what Roost is all about and how they intend to market their product so I would invite you to take a look at his excellent post on Roost.

If I had one initial comment to make, it would be that the folks over at Roost should spend a little more time on their blog. Using a template advertising someone else’s free WP template does not give the professional polished look you would associate with a New Technology Company that is looking to compete with some of the bigger league players. Other than that I can?t wait to kick the tires and see what this will do for us here in the South and more specifically, the Greater Tampa Bay Area Real Estate markets.

Is Roost a tool for you or your clients to use ?

Related Posts:

Newspaper ads for listings a dying breed

Zillow Newspaper advertising alliance - So What ?

I wrote a post back in early November last year, Is now the right time to buy your Florida home ? The comments then are just as apropos now as they were then. However, I have some interesting recent data to add to this that lends even more support and definitively answers the question.

After reviewing the search word index over the last 45 days or so, I see a pattern that is emerging. That of many blog readers inquiring if it is safe to buy in Florida ? It would also appear that lot?s of buyers or should I say prospective buyers, have been sitting on the fence and many have been typing in the search engines all types of long tail questions that all center on the condition of the Florida Housing Market.

A lot of activity in the media and in and around the State itself is reason enough for a lot of the speculation and confusion among would be buyers.

On the one side you have the media that continues to projecting doom and gloom on the economy. You can expect this will continue throughout the year. But hey it?s an election year, why do you think this gets tons of press every day ?

The latest scare out on Friday was from a report published this month in the Journal of the American Planning Association. This report talks about Baby Boomers and the Housing bubble, with yet another spin. The original report was published early in the week and then was carried by the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday and by Friday it was over on Inman’s Blog. This latest scare says that the housing bubble now pails in comparison to what will happen when the Baby Boomers stop buying houses.

Right now there is so much speculation out there on the national markets. However, the one thing that is verifiable right here and now, in the Greater Tampa Florida Bay Area it?s time to buy a house now.

If you continue to sit on the fence you will lose a valuable opportunity to get a great deal at a mortgage rate that you will most likely not see again for some time to come.

Yes you will continue to hear negative things in the press. The economy has issues, and if the fed lowers the borrowing rate too-much it will spook the investing community and then Mortgage Rates will go up, not down.

Will the price of housing continue to move down ? Possibly, but there is opportunity a plenty right now and it is a true buyers market in Florida. If you wait, you then have to weigh the risk of a larger mortgage vs the small incremental price reduction you might see by waiting it out.

Call your local Realtor and ask them. Heck just click on the MLS link on our site (at the top of the page - looks like the one right below this paragraph) and you can search the entire State of Florida, take a look at the wonderful opportunities that await you in our great state.

Related Posts:

Central Florida First Time Home Buyers Workshop

A Real Estate Story of another cyclical time

Pricing your home to Sell

Is now the right time to buy your Florida home ?

I actually found this video while looking at the 1000 Watt Blog as I was waiting on hold for customer support for over an hour for something that has in my mind been broken. You may notice that I have not been posting on as regular a basis as I had anticipated for the New Year, This is due in large part to my hosting service company having major technical issues that they cannot seem to get resolved. Anyways less I digress here, the relation to Real Estate is really very apropos.

As Marc Davison comments on his Blog ? Why not fix what isn’t broken? Would that not be a great way to gain advantage over the masses embracing complacency? ?

Take a look at the Video below:

OK, I am experiencing technical difficulties at the moment that prevent me from directly posting the video (embedding) so I have to post the link instead. After you view the video please continue with the rest of the post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAtkoje4-eM

Now that you have seen this?most people look at this and ?say ,wow what a neat idea!

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