The nonprofit group, which helps distressed homeowners through the group’s HOPE hotline, says the number of mortgage foreclosure scams grew nearly 60 percent in 2012. The scammers, they say, are able to capitalize on the hype surrounding homeownership preservation as federal programs are being modified to help more and more borrowers.

HPF said it’s unknown whether all of the reported instances were truly fraudulent, but the agency still forwarded all of the complaints to the appropriate regulators and law enforcement agencies.

About half of the scams involve an attorney or individual claiming they can offer special legal services to distressed borrowers. HPF says, in fact, the services they offered are already provided by nonprofits for free.

HPF put out a warning nationwide, saying no one searching for a home-saving remedy should pay upfront fees to a firm offering assistance.

Related articles

• Homes in foreclosure decline by 130,000 (money.cnn.com)
• How To Protect Yourself From Real Estate Fraud And Foreclosure Rescue Scams (cascadesatstluciewestblog.wordpress.com)

Concerns about strategic defaults were also reflected in response to a question about the consumer payment hierarchy. When asked if the current generation of homeowners considers their mortgage to be their most important credit obligation, 49 percent of bankers said NO and 29 percent said YES.

Although concerns remain regarding strategic defaults, other signs point to growing stability in the housing market. More respondents (26 percent) expected delinquencies on mortgages to decline in the coming months than at any previous time in the two years FICO has been conducting this survey. Furthermore, 53 percent of respondents said the housing market would improve by the end of 2012, compared with 24 percent who said the market would deteriorate.

More than half of survey respondents expected the supply of credit for residential mortgages to fall short of demand over the next six months. A similar majority (53 percent) expected the supply of credit for mortgage refinancing to fall short of demand, indicating that lenders remain cautious about the risks in the real estate market.

Article was reprinted with permission from the Calif Assoc of Realtors. 

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• Five Steps to an Easier Home-Buying Process (lexingtonlaw.com)
• Would You Stop Making Mortgage Payments for a Principal Reduction? (bayarearealestatetrends.com)

So remember, be aware of what you are clicking.  And don’t be fooled into fraudulent “free” offers.

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• 7 charged with ‘clickjacking’ virus (mercurynews.com)

If the County Supervisors accept the the staff recommendation of including a Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO) in the CCAP, all homes being sold in Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, Fairview, Sunol and the rest of unincorporated Alameda County would be subject to energy retrofits at the time of sale.

The Alameda County Board of Supervisors will review the draft CCAP at a meeting on May 17.

I look forward to helping you in anyway I can. 

Alameda, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umg9CUVhcm0

Albany, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHtBnoRUEe8

Berkeley, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99hulMyHn50

Blossom Valley, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NnhW9Aa8qo

Campbell, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vW1XRohxnA

Carmel, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_fv8raJvJs

Cupertino, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t5-VBa-xDI

Dublin, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrCa7J8vseY

Emeryville, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIVFzcKDqJM

Fremont, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxBg9z_aZX0

Gilroy, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpIcevWc1T0

Hayward, San Lorenzo, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj-9Q44DxoE

Livermore, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIceLQhYBeo

Los Altos, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGbdSewOpzs

Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjz7pIcPVnI

Milpitas, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L70mGkUN-Ug

Monterey, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5tAE6JFD9I

Morgan Hill, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMtQmrp20-8

Mountain View, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMRVDVYCNZE

Newark, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G5FT6SGeio

Oakland, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3okcJIUIlwI

Palo Alto, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkJBK3-R_Aw

Piedmont, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErZ_obcGb54

Pleasanton, Sunol, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voAFmyM3NGw

Salinas, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-EYkmN7WR8

San Jose, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcK3X9J-awU

San Leandro, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAu1Up1PNnw

Santa Clara, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnmCscnxXKs

Santa Cruz, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1_mh1uLlF8

Saratoga, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kESZB-7tyeg

Sunnyvale, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LcGBiK7e1Y

Union City, California – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFXiAOe1Yck

 School Parcel Taxes:

• Measure “B” will establish a $180 per-parcel tax for the New Haven Unified School District. This district provides public education for the residents of Union City and portions of southern Hayward. If approved, it will generate approximately $3 million annually and will expire in four years. The revenues will be used to maintain class sizes, minimize teacher lay-offs and preserve school programs including sports, arts and extra-curricular activities. For more information, please click here.
• Measure “E” will establish a $98 per-parcel tax for the Pleasanton Unified School District. If approved, it will generate approximately $2.1 million annually and will expire in four years. Revenues will be used to maintain core academic instruction, attract and retain teachers, keep school libraries open and minimize class size increases. For more information, please click here.

“With lower home prices and rates edging up from their historic lows of late last year, prospective home buyers should consider the opportunities in today’s market,” said C.A.R. President Beth L. Peerce.

California home sales rose 5.1 percent in January compared with December, to a revised pace of 520,080 units.  Sales also increased 2.5 percent in year-over-year comparisons, marking the first year-over-year sales increase since May 2010.  The statewide sales figure represents what would be the total number of homes sold during 2011 if sales maintained the January pace throughout the year.  It is adjusted to account for seasonal factors that typically influence home sales.

The statewide median price of an existing, single-family detached home sold in California was $278,900, down 8.6 percent from a revised $305,020 in December and was down 2.0 percent from the $284,600 median price recorded for January 2010.  The January 2011 median price was the lowest since June 2009, when it was $274,640.

On Tuesday, Dec 21 the Alameda County Board of Supervisors will review and adopt a Climate Action Plan (CAP). The CAP is a comprehensive plan to reduce the emission of “green house” gases and will impact transportation, land use, economic development and residential and commercial real estate in the unincorporated communities of Cherryland, Ashland, Castro Valley, Sunol, Fairview and areas south and east of Livermore.

Local Realtors testified at several public hearings about the CAP during 2010 urging the County to encourage property owners to make their homes more energy efficient on a voluntary basis.  The final version of the CAP should not include a Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance or point-of-sale requirements. However, pressure from other interest groups could result in these measures being added by the Board of Supervisors at the last minute.

The final public hearing on the Alameda County Climate Action Plan will be held Tuesday, December 21 at 2:00 pm in the County Administration Building Supervisors’ Chamber at 1221 Oak Street in Oakland. Realtors will attend and testify at the meeting.

FREMONT IS “GREEN, CLEAN AND READY FOR THE FUTURE”.

   Fremont was recently showcased in a ‘Green, Clean & Ready for the Future’ video that focused on Fremont as a home to innovative technologies.

 Highlights include President Obama’s visit to Fremont’s Solyndra’s solar manufacturing plant and  Tesla Motors announcement to build electric cars here in Fremont.  To see the video, visit: www.fremont.gov/CleantechVideo .

A majority of Americans (67 percent) continue to believe that housing is a safe investment; however, that number is down 16 percentage points from a similar survey conducted in 2003, according to Fannie Mae.  Delinquent borrowers and renters are notably more discouraged than mortgage borrowers and underwater borrowers about a home’s safety as an investment and the appeal of buying versus renting. More than 70 percent of all respondents believe it will be harder for the next generation to buy a home, an increase of three percentage points compared with the beginning of the year.

 ~ Barry Ripp            www.barryripp.com         

This information was obtained by the Calif. Association of REALTORS with permission.