From the APP:
4 banks given OK to resume foreclosures in N.J.
Four lenders can resume foreclosing on homeowners who have defaulted on their mortgages after a state judge ruled Monday that she was confident the companies will no longer engage in so-called robo-signing.
General Equity Judge Mary C. Jacobson said Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have upgraded their foreclosure procedures enough to ensure that their customers will get a fair shake.
The companies were found in compliance seven months after state Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner essentially placed a moratorium on foreclosures until it was clear that lenders weren’t robo-signing documents — a process in which company employees or contractors, inundated with foreclosures, sign off on documents so fast that they don’t know what they are signing.
Judges overseeing the foreclosure process said the practice meant there was no way for them to know if an affidavit or certification was, in fact, true.
Rabner’s order gave homeowners some breathing room; the number of foreclosures filed in New Jersey fell from 58,000 in 2010 to 6,000 through July 2011, said Winnie Comfort, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey judiciary.
But observers have said the latest ruling threatens to contribute to the slumping real estate market. Thousands of foreclosed homes could come on the market at a time when home prices continue to fall.
…
When the company can’t modify the homeowner’s mortgage, “it is important for the surrounding community that banks move forward with foreclosure sales to prevent problems with vacant and unkempt homes,” Friedlander said. “Now that the New Jersey court has validated Wells Fargo’s foreclosure processes, we will resume these practices for the benefit of New Jersey’s communities.”
From the Star Ledger:
N.J. judge allows 4 major banks to resume uncontested foreclosure proceedings
Four of the country’s biggest banks can now resume their uncontested residential mortgage foreclosures in state court, a Superior Court judge ruled today.
The decisions come nearly nine months to the day after New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner cracked down on more than 30 residential mortgage lenders and servicers over fears judges had inadvertently “rubber-stamped” files with inadequate or inaccurate paperwork and people were unnecessarily put out of their homes.
Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo were among six financial institutions that filed more than 40 percent of foreclosures in state court last year. They were also selected for a document review because testimony nationwide indicated that the companies had previously encountered “robo-signing,” when employees of mortgage lenders sign foreclosure claims without any personal knowledge of the application’s contents.
Today’s decisions mean the banks — most of which have effectively stopped filing new foreclosures since December because of the court’s actions — can now go forward with thousands of pending and future cases.
Good Morning New Jersey
From the Record:
4 banks cleared to start foreclosing again
Four major mortgage lenders were cleared Monday to start filing foreclosure cases in New Jersey again, almost eight months after the state’s chief justice halted most foreclosures following reports of legal irregularities.
Phyllis Salowe-Kaye, head of New Jersey Citizen Action, the state’s largest housing-counseling agency, predicted the ruling would lead to a rush of foreclosures.
“Here they come,” she said.
Bank of America, Citibank, JPMorgan Chase Bank and Wells Fargo all got the green light to move forward with uncontested foreclosures from Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson, sitting in Trenton. Uncontested foreclosures, in which the homeowner does not fight the lender’s effort to take back the property, make up more than 90 percent of the cases in the state.
From Bloomberg:
Homebuilding in U.S. Probably Fell in July
Builders probably began work on fewer houses in July, showing residential real estate is failing to contribute to U.S. growth two years into an economic recovery, economists said before a report today.
Housing starts fell 4.6 percent to a 600,000 annual rate, according to the median estimate of 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report may show factory production rose as auto making began to bounce back from the disaster in Japan.
Falling sales, foreclosures and a lack of jobs may keep delaying a rebound in homebuilding, depriving the world’s largest economy of a source of strength seen in the early stages of past recoveries. Concern over housing is prompting banks to maintain strict mortgage lending rules and was one reason the Federal Reserve said it would hold borrowing costs at a record low until at least mid-2013.
“Housing is going nowhere fast,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. in New York. “Demand is just really not there, and there’s an overwhelming supply of unsold homes.”
The homebuilding report is due from the Commerce Department at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Survey estimates ranged from 570,000 to 650,000, after a 629,000 pace in June that was the highest level in five months.
From the Star Ledger:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/five_nj_towns_among_top_100_sm.html
Five New Jersey towns have been ranked by Money as among the top 100 place in the country to live, according to the magazine’s September 2011 issue.
The five towns in the state that cracked the rankings are Montville, which ranked 17th in the nation, South Brunswick (No. 22), Ridgewood (No. 26), Madison (No. 33) and Hillsborough (No. 53).
The magazine named Louisville, Colo., as the top place to live in the United States. Milton, Mass., placed second.
Puantuer de la mort.
“Thousands of foreclosed homes could come on the market at a time when home prices continue to fall.”
Who, in their right mind, is going to buy these mold factories? Flippers? Lol.
With regard to the title post; I’M BACK IN BUSINESSS!
#7 Neanderthal – There is a low enough price to entice a buyer on every house in NJ. Everyday I get calls from investors who want real estate. Prices will go down but eventually it will all sell.
30, So you think this means that banks will actually drop the prices on these foreclosures? If so, why now? After 2 years?
I don’t think ‘flipper’ is the new bubble… But landlord could be! Especially with some tax concessions to sweeten my profit – rather “humanity”. Nothing else to make some money whilst avoiding the volatility of gold, stocks and hiring folks, and “before the Feds take my 401k” – yada, yada.
#11 spyderjacks – Landlord may just be the next bubble. There are tons of investors buying small multi’s for cash flow. I expect that the number will increase substantially as the new wave of inner city foreclosures washes through.
Kind of hard to resist the large returns available for renovating, renting and running these inner city, small multi-family buildings. Hard work. Not for everyone. A huge cash cow for those who can handle the day to day BS.
#10 Neanderthal – Each property is an individual case. Some holders of REO will do what is required to cut their REO loose. Others will have a longer learning curve. I believe that most holders of the paper that will eventually become REO in NJ understand the fragile condition of the market. The sooner they sell their inventory the better as it will feel like a race to the bottom in urban areas.
Right in time to crush next years spring selling season. Tick, tick, tick.
Will the banks begin to process these in any kind of order such as oldest first or empty first?
#16 LIFO/FIFO???
Buying is cheaper than renting in most U.S. cities
Home prices have taken such a beating and demand for rental units has increased so much that it’s now cheaper to buy a two-bedroom home than to rent one in most major U.S. cities.
According to real estate web site Trulia, buying was cheaper than renting in 74% of the country’s 50 largest cities in July. In just 12% of the cities, including New York, Seattle and San Francisco, renting was cheaper. In the remaining 14% of cities, renting was less expensive but close to the cost of buying.
In addition to a continuing decline in home prices, rock-bottom interest rates have added a lot of weight to the buy side of the scale. The overnight average rate for a 30-year fixed was just 4.19% on Monday, according to Bankrate.com. A 15-year fixed averaged just 3.43%.
Add in the tax perks of home ownership and for those who can afford it (and who can actually qualify for a loan), it certainly is a buyer’s market.
if i buy a 2family house and live in just one side and rent out the other, can i take the full mortgage interest deduction? what if there’s no tenant for half the year?
starting to think of other options now…
I’m starting to think that the top 100 town thing is chosen by dartboard throwing or bribe taking, or something unrelated to reality. Hillsborough this year and Franklin last year as top 100 towns in the country? Why do towns randomly pop on and fall off the list from year to year? I think it must be a realtor marketing thing, (like those “10 best steakhouse” ads in airline magazines) and every town that sends some money and fills out an application eventually gets its turn on the list.
In the past few months I’m starting to see a lot more “for rent” signs springing up. Looks like they’re using cheap signs, – cheap and desperate looking, and stinking of dead hopes in the morning.
danxp (18) – I’ll let Stu chime in. He’ll tell you there are lots of tax advantages to that setup.
A.West (19) – I know that list is bogus. I do not see the land of unicorns on it.
#23 I demand that this survey be redone!!! This is sheer outrage that the land of Unicorns is not on this list!!!
Dan
1/2 of the expenses associated with the property would be deducted against the rents received to come up with your net income (loss) from rental activity. Depending on your income you may or may not be able to use the loss to offset your other income.
If the 2nd unit is available for rent, but not rented, I believe you would still account for the activity the same way.
The other half of the mortgage deduction could be taken on Schedule A (itemized deductions) if you itemize.
I remember working at AT&T in 2000 and getting taken to task over and over about how WorldCom was beating our a%%es across the board on revenues; margins; et al…….in that vein, take a gander at this story…..it tells you everything you need to know….
Baidu shares are coming under selling pressure for the second day in a row after China Central Television aired a report asserting that the China-based Internet search company continues to allow sellers of fake medicines to advertisers on the site.
As the Wall Street Journal noted in a blog post, the CCTV report shows a reporter trying to buy ads for a fake company selling weight-loss drugs – and a Baidu staffer aiding the reporter in getting around checks on pharma advertisers by registering as a machinery company and changing its keywords later.
The report also asserts that Baidu’s bidding system for keywords leads companies to bid more than necessary to get high ranking search results.
Standard & Poor’s analyst Scott Kessler this morning cut his rating on the stock to Buy from Strong Buy, pointing to the first wave of U.S. media coverage yesterday on the CCTV report. “We recall similar issues reported by CCTV in November 2008 that had a significant adverse impact on the company’s reputation, financials and ADSs,” he notes. “At the least, we now see increased risk to BIDU, especially given significant optimism from analysts…We keep our target price at $200.”
Oh yeah, well Montclair makes the Top 10 best places to live if you’re rich and single.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/moneymag/1108/gallery.best_places_rich_single.moneymag/9.html
There was another survey this week that included Madison NJ #33 out of #100 as the best town for the rich and single. Sorry but there is no way Madison NJ beats Hoboken unless you are into milfs that youpick up at the supermarket. I have never even heard of a good singles bar in that town.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/moneymag/1108/gallery.best_places_rich_single.moneymag/5.html
There was another survey this week that included Madison NJ #33 out of #100 as the best town for the rich and single. Sorry but there is no way Madison NJ beats Hoboken unless you are into mommas that you up at the supermarket. I have never even heard of a good singles bar in that town.
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/moneymag/1108/gallery.best_places_rich_single.moneymag/5.html
I know they have several really upscale brothels in Morristown and Madison…maybe that helps…note it says “rich”
Juice Box says:
August 16, 2011 at 10:44 am
There was another survey this week that included Madison NJ #33 out of #100 as the best town for the rich and single. Sorry but there is no way Madison NJ beats Hoboken unless you are into mommas that you up at the supermarket. I have never even heard of a good singles bar in that town.
“The five towns in the state that cracked the rankings are Montville, which ranked 17th in the nation, South Brunswick (No. 22), Ridgewood (No. 26), Madison (No. 33) and Hillsborough (No. 53).”
Clear evidence why this ranking from Money is useless.
We are saved.
Fitch Affirms U.S.’s ‘AAA’ Rating
Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday it affirmed the United States’ top-notch credit rating at AAA, giving the world’s largest economy a reprieve after it was downgraded by Standard & Poor’s little more than a week ago.
Fitch said the outlook for the rating was stable.
I think there is still a sign at the intersection of Routes 9 and 520 (on the 520 East side) in Marlboro noting that Money Magazine recognized Monmouth/Ocean County as one of the best places to live in 1997.
Bristol Palin’s Arizona Home for Rent at $1400 a Month
Bristol Palin’s Maricopa, AZ home has been listed as a $1,400 a month rental.
The former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant and daughter to politician mom Sarah Palin reportedly bought the home last December for $172,000.
Bristol’s 5 bedroom, 2.5 bath home measures 3,929-square-feet. The two-story house is in immaculate condition, having been built in 2006, and comes equipped with gorgeous amenities and a landscaped backyard perfect for entertaining. There is also a three-car garage
http://www.realtor.com/blogs/2011/06/15/bristol-palin-arizona-home-for-rent-at-1400-a-month-photos/
Need a low cost rental in NYC?
Roommate Offers to Help Cover Rent in Creepiest Way Possible
http://gawker.com/5830966/roommate-offers-to-help-cover-rent-in-creepiest-way-possible
re: #34 – Not quite as creepy since it was a neighbor, but when my apt building in Hell’s Kitchen burned down we were given a replacement apt by the landlord in Chelsea. Little did my roommate and I know when we moved in but our floor was mostly middle aged gay men. Whenever we had a party the next morning there would be a note slipped under the door as to why we did not invite them. This soon turned into all out love letters from the neighbors, long elegantly written love letters nothing illegal but very creepy. This then turned into letters slipped under the door complaining we were making too much noise with our stereo and were making way too much noise with our guests at night. Guests of couse being women brought home for some late night partying. I never felt so violated as to when I had to share the elevator, it was if I was a piece of 25 year old meat.
As far as Money magazine, remember a couple of years ago when Edison made some kind of top town list and we all laughed at how the writer of the article was Indian as if somehow pumping that town would be would for home values?
Hillsborough and Madison on a top 100 list? Why? Is being stuck in one lane traffic jams for at least a mile a requiste for being on the list?
Money Magazine? Maybe is was BORN AND BRED IN STATEN ISLAND magazine?
NJGator says:
August 16, 2011 at 11:16 am
I think there is still a sign at the intersection of Routes 9 and 520 (on the 520 East side) in Marlboro noting that Money Magazine recognized Monmouth/Ocean County as one of the best places to live in 1997.
Gates – BTW the new Whole Foods is going in the southwest corner there, next to the PNC Bank.
It is a shame that the whole I-287 corridor is so hopelessly traffic locked, because we were detoured through Harding on Sunday and it is so breathtaking beautiful. We were kicked off 202 at Tempe Wick and then forced east looping around to get to Harter Road.
Dan says:
August 16, 2011 at 12:50 pm
Hillsborough and Madison on a top 100 list? Why? Is being stuck in one lane traffic jams for at least a mile a requiste for being on the list?
Same experience when I was 16 and going to a summer party on a Saturday night on Hudson Street just below Christopher. I walked from Sheridan Square down Christopher to Hudson wearing a white tee shirt and Levis at about 10PM. How was I supposed to know where I was going? I was more scared than skeeved though….
Juice Box says:
August 16, 2011 at 12:34 pm
I never felt so violated as to when I had to share the elevator, it was if I was a piece of 25 year old meat.
Chifi (37) – And the old Pathmark in Marlboro Plaza will remain vacant?
#38
In all seasons 287 btwn 78 & 80 is the nicest section of hwy, statewide, anyone could hope for, regardless of how bad traffic may get. Tree-lined as close to a park-like-setting any GSP designer ever could have envisioned. Worse case traffic snarl can be dealt with on any back road detour off of the exits like you did from Far Hills up past Harding. Also, there are many great under visited state name sake gardens to visit along the way.
I used to work at 295 N Maple, which is now a Verizon building. What you say is correct. I also really enjoyed cutting through the back roads and the Swamp to get to Meyersville and then sneak over to Springfield Avenue to pick up 78 at Diamond Hill Road. On a Friday in December heading to Hoboken, it was critical to avoid the Short Hills Mall area.
Also, give some credit to Route 78 from the 24/78 split to 287. In the fall the colors are unbelievable.
think_ithink says:
August 16, 2011 at 1:14 pm
#38
In all seasons 287 btwn 78 & 80 is the nicest section of hwy, statewide, anyone could hope for, regardless of how bad traffic may get. Tree-lined as close to a park-like-setting any GSP designer ever could have envisioned. Worse case traffic snarl can be dealt with on any back road detour off of the exits like you did from Far Hills up past Harding. Also, there are many great under visited state name sake gardens to visit along the way.
Also, another favorite is cutting uphill at 202 in Morris Twp. onto Bailey Hollow Road and then Picatinny to cut downhill to 510 (old 24).
It was really nice to drive on those backroads in the Basking Ridge area before those huge houses and condos were built in the late 80s.
SODA getting slammed today; CNBC on their case.
This was a stock someone told me to get into at 60. So glad I did my homework, and not much of it, before saying no thanks.
Cramer could not figure out why it was tanking even though they discussed same things I did.
Dan, Madison at least has train service into Manhattan, a vibrant downtown, great schools, and nice housing stock. Hillsborough has none of these.
Nom [45];
Home soda kits? The only thing that product line is missing is a Ron Popeil infomercial. How many people still use their “Set it and forget it” rotisserie oven or the pocket fisherman?
Great business model on paper I guess: sell the machines, sell lots of replacement bottles, replacement CO2 cartidges, water filter cartridges. Nice coin right up until the customer gets tired of the hastle of using it and decides that $.99 each at the supermarket isn’t such a bad deal. OK for a quick hit; just not sustainable.
I suspect Hillsborough has plenty of foreclosed houses built with the shoddiest materials possible over the past 10-15 yrs. Nestled behind the strip malls of congested 206. With high taxes, too.
When I first started looking for a move up house, a snooty colleague suggested Montgomery Twp. I asked about Hillsborough, just north, and he turned up his nose and muttered something about trashy people, strip malls, and McMansions.
I know Madison is a train town but when the ride alone is an hour, so what???????
Montgomery looks just like Hillsborough with the strip malls, lots of asians and mcmansions and plenty of traffic congestion on 206.
In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think.
I think Montgomery has even more Chinese. Something over 20% in elementary schools. So it’s extremely tough to be a top student in the school system – I’ve heard people say it’s too competitive, with all those Tiger Moms using their kids as pawns in the one-upmanship game.
What’s the difference between Madison and Chatham?
47. Moose
I have to admit I use my “set it and forget it” often. I cook up my own local free range chicken, stuffed with lemons and fresh herbs, instead of those toxin/salt laden rotisserie chickens that are at Costco and grocery stores. Also can’t beat it for cooking a prime rib roast. Crispy on the ouside moist on the inside. My cooking tip for the day.
[51] “In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think”
So true, Barbara. Makes me think about leaving NJ; not the only reason, but a big one. In the nice town in NJ, you essentially are paying to keep out the thugs. In that sense, NJ is ahead of the rest of the country on the road to banana republic status (and no, Ellory, I am not talking about your next trip to The Mall at Short Hills).
Not that banana republics aren’t vibrant and beautiful and all …
NJE [50];
Montgomery looks just like Hillsborough with the strip malls, lots of asians and mcmansions and plenty of traffic congestion on 206.
There are none so snobbish as those who don’t have a dime’s worth of difference with the people they look down their nose at (including and especially the few people who could piss on the lot of them). Snobbery is a sign of insecurity, not priviledge or wealth.
Obviously very similar…..Chatham seems very dense while Madison has more open expanses. Madison’s downtown seems more refined although Chatham’s has several restaurants that have reputations that draw people from a distance. Really just variations of the same thing. Both WASPy, but Madison seems more so….
A.West says:
August 16, 2011 at 3:49 pm
What’s the difference between Madison and Chatham?
In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think.
Chester?
NCJ [54];
Prime rib sounds great. What time is dinner? I’ll swing by Meat on the way so I can bring a bottle.
I’ve heard it said “so close that you could vomit on them”….
Barbara says:
August 16, 2011 at 3:47 pm
In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think.
Con’t [56];
NJE, my thoughts were directed at AW’s admittedly snooty Montgomeryite acquaintance — your comparison was just a springboard.
#52 With all due respect I think th Asian thing is overblown, sure there are alot of very bright and smart ones, and also more than a few who are not.
Ho come Palisades PArk is not known for it’s schools? And that is a majority Asian town.
[51] “In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think”
That does make me think, pretty funny. Sure you have northeastern Bergen county, Peapack-Gladstone, maybe smack dab in the center of Princeton or the expansiveness of certain areas of Hunterdon county, but this is largely a truism. Pretty much the same deal up here in and around Boston; a one mile buffer is nice, a 3 mile buffer, nicer still.
[51] “In all of NJ, for every truly nice town, a hell hole is a mere 1-3 miles down the street. Makes ya think”
Making me think some more – Long Island, for all it’s pitfalls has massive runs of towns with no real hell holes, particularly along the North Shore. Sure you’re landlocked and trapped by the culture, but not *too* bad. Having lived in Huntington and Centerport for less than two years in my early 30’s the thing that annoyed me the most was the truly lousy and disrespectful waitstaffs at the local restaurants. Great restaurants, great food, but a huge shortage of anybody who cared about being a good waiter or waitress. Mostly teenagers from families that were doing pretty much Ok so the kids didn’t really give a shit about doing a good job, at least that’s how I imagined them.
63. Expat,
Princeton, right behind that tony shopping, is a vast slum.
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30 Year (9)-
Boy, I hope you are there writing the deals when the bid/ask finally aligns with reality.
I’ve never met you, but I can tell you’re one of the very few good guys in the biz. I hope it all works out for you in the end.
west (19)-
You really are a retard. Why don’t you get a job delivering pizzas, or something similar?
chi (25)-
You think Bernie Ebbers has completed his transformation into full-time prison byatch yet?
gator (26)-
Yeah, and Montklair’s Detroit-like downtown is a real feast for the eyes, too.
west (53)-
How far is it from your vagi^a to your arsehole, you idiot?
And, why do you care? You are never going to buy a house.
“What’s the difference between Madison and Chatham?”
Babs: You have the attitude of clot with any semblance of wit…ever consider just STFU when you are on the rag?
Barbara says:
August 16, 2011 at 10:14 pm
63. Expat,
Princeton, right behind that tony shopping, is a vast slum.
I’ll slum it on Tulane St. any day.
I hear Rush Holt pays people on the welfare big $$$ to plant his campaign signs and protect them during election season.
Another goddam Princeton laboratory egghead who can do plasma physics but doesn’t have enough common sense to understand you can’t steal the wealth of hard-working people in order to buy the votes of idiot layabouts.
When it all turns to shit, Holt will be one of the first to get capped.
Geez, everyone on this board lately needs to get laid, drunk, or both.
Everything still sucks.
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