Foreclosures and Tax Deeds – A Future Vision
Foreclosure sales and tax deeds are poised to offer a host of investment opportunities in the United States. Statistics and emerging trends are proving what I said six months ago that the biggest investment opportunity in the US right now is investing in real estate through Tax Deed sales. Let’s examine why this is so.
Zillow.com, a real estate trend-tracking site, has hard numbers showing that more than 3 million homes are in foreclosure or will be in foreclosure in the very near future. In fact, in just the next six months, and by the end of the second quarter of 2010, most will be in foreclosure. This trend, based on available statistics, is just the tip of the iceberg! As in the terrible tragedy that befell the Titanic, it is what is hidden under the water that ultimately sinks the ship.
The available statistics only show the visible iceberg, while the real story of Tax Deed and foreclosure sales remain underwater, or put another way, under the radar, where statisticians cannot yet see the flashes of disaster. emerging from new foreclosures. News services are starting to report on a scary new trend that is causing the banking and financial sectors to grind to a halt because of the implications.
Simply put, the people who have been suffering from the scams the banking and credit industry foisted on them in years past are fed up with the Federal Reserve, the bailouts of banks and other lenders, and the lies they told, to the point of that they are now reacting in a negative, real and tangible way. When they find out they’re falling behind on their mortgage payments and facing foreclosure, they take matters into their own hands and run—literally!
Lenders are now receiving keys to abandoned houses in the mail in increasing numbers! Homes are often stripped of all valuable and profitable accessories such as air conditioning, kitchens, bathrooms, and even expensive copper wiring. Not all houses suffer from this, but a percentage of houses will, depending on how angry the long-suffering former owners were at the time they left the house. However, a large number of unadulterated homes left in good condition will also be abandoned, ultimately adding to the crazy mix of excess foreclosures.
Another trend that is scaring the hell out of lenders is the judicial imposition of a ‘burden of proof’ on banks or mortgage holders to produce the ‘original’ mortgage document. Most lenders are unable to produce this original document due to Wall Street’s practice of ‘packaging’ loans and reselling them to foreign investment groups.
The unfortunate consequence of this is that if lenders cannot produce the original document, they have no proof that they own the loan. The proof is lost in the mix of their creation, and they are reaping what they have sown. The banks are beginning to lose in court, often with the judiciary awarding the borrower the home debt free! The system is in shock and the banks are clogged. They knew this was coming and this is why the governments bailed them out.
Now for the good news, as every dark cloud has a silver lining. Given the average two-year redemption period that most counties impose on the property owner to pay property taxes, and since big finance is frozen in place and unwilling to pay the taxes owed, foreclosed homes will emerge to a greater extent. numbers in Tax Deed sales!
All kinds of homes, in good and not-so-good condition, are going through the Tax Deed sale process across the United States right now and in the near future. Get ready for the tax deed boom!