Arizona Foreclosures | Bank Owned | Short Sales | REOS

After more than $500 million in federal allotments to Arizona to try to slow foreclosures, the latest federal housing-assistance program seems to be the first one to provide widespread help.
A growing number of metro Phoenix homeowners who owe more than their homes are worth are lowering their interest rates and monthly payments with the federal government’s second version of its Home Affordable Refinancing Plan.

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While the federal government has yet to release figures on the number of homeowners in the program, mortgage brokers, homeowners and housing counselors are both surprised and encouraged by its early success.
The program allows homeowners with loans …

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In another sign that metro Phoenix’s housing market is slowly recovering, hundreds of homes across the region sold by banks after foreclosure or through short sales are being flipped by investors for almost double the price they paid just a few months earlier.
With metro Phoenix’s median home price steadily climbing this year, speculators have seized on an opportunity to make fast profits and are selling houses across the region at prices not seen since the beginning of the housing boom in 2003-04.
Home prices have climbed as the supply of houses for sale has …

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In another sign that metro Phoenix’s housing market is slowly recovering, hundreds of homes across the region sold by banks after foreclosure or through short sales are being flipped by investors for almost double the price they paid just a few months earlier.
With metro Phoenix’s median home price steadily climbing this year, speculators have seized on an opportunity to make fast profits and are selling houses across the region at prices not seen since the beginning of the housing boom in 2003-04.
Home prices have climbed as the supply of houses for sale has …

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 Many homeowners with Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgages soon will be able to lower their monthly payment.
FHA’s streamlined refinancing program will officially launch on June 11, and borrowers can start submitting applications now. No appraisal is required as long as the borrower reduces their payment by 5 percent, so if a homeowner is underwater its not an issue. To be eligible, a borrower has to have taken out an FHA loan before 2009.
A new FHA loan has a 1.75 percent upfront premium on the total loan amount, and a 1.25 percent annual premium. The refinancing program lowers the premium to .01 percent of the loan …

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New-home permits in metro Phoenix climbed again in April. There were 1,184 single-family permits issued last month, compared with 1,036 in March, according to the “Phoenix Housing Market Letter.”
If these figures don’t impress, remember that a year ago, permits were hovering around 600 a month.
The report’s publishers, RL Brown and Greg Burger say that last month’s home building activity “confirms the early stages of a house recovery in metro Phoenix.”
…

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The Arizona attorney general has filed a complaint against a Surprise woman in another scheme to take advantage of struggling homeowners.
 
The state prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against Rosa Galope alleging she defrauded homeowners looking for help in obtaining mortgage modifications to avoid foreclosure.
 
“The economic crisis has created a number of vulnerable consumers who are often targeted for predatory schemes,” Attorney General Tom Horne aid.
 
The lawsuit alleges Galope charged thousands of dollars in up-front fees for mortgage-loan modification and foreclosure help, and then later claimed the money was donated to her church, Nation to Nation …

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The Arizona attorney general has filed a complaint against a Surprise woman in another scheme to take advantage of struggling homeowners.
 
The state prosecutor has filed a lawsuit against Rosa Galope alleging she defrauded homeowners looking for help in obtaining mortgage modifications to avoid foreclosure.
 
“The economic crisis has created a number of vulnerable consumers who are often targeted for predatory schemes,” Attorney General Tom Horne aid.
 
The lawsuit alleges Galope charged thousands of dollars in up-front fees for mortgage-loan modification and foreclosure help, and then later claimed the money was donated to her church, Nation to Nation …

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Here’s a quick look at the latest statistics. April showed another month of positive gains for metro Phoenix’s housing market.
The region’s median monthly resale home price climbed to $138,325,from $131,000 in March, according to Tom Ruff’s analysis with AZbidder and Information Market.In October, the median was $115,000. Last month, there were 8,552 home sales across the Phoenix area, down from 9,581 in March but up from 7,293 in February.

The number of metro Phoenix homes taken back by lenders fell to 1,642, down from almost 2,000 in March. In spring 2011, there were more than …

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Here’s a chance for homebuyers to not be outbid by investors and get a house for $20. The Capitol Mall Association is raffling off two homes, one in south Phoenix and the other in west Phoenix.
Tickets are going for $20 apiece or six for $100, and the houses are renovated and ready to move into.
 
“These are great houses. Anybody who can get one for $20 will be very happy,” Capitol Mall Executive Director Shannon Dubasik said “But we are running out of time.”
 
The non-profit must sell 27,000 tickets by May 31, the day of the drawing, …

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The rebound of metro Phoenix’s new home market continues to build.
New home permits were up 61 percent in the region during March, accord to the latest Phoenix Housing Market Letter. The increase is more staggering than the actual numbers, but still it signals “evidence of a new housing rebound,” according the report’s publishers RL Brown and Greg Burger.
In March, there were 1,036 single-family permits issued. It was the first month in awhile where home- building permits topped 1,000.
Last year in March, there were 645 single-family permits issued across the Phoenix-area. Overall, …

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