Bayside Exposition Center - Potential Boston Foreclosure?
Bayside Exposition Center, struggling for years for several years as much of its income-generating trade show business has migrated to the much larger Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, appears to be close to foreclosure. Corcoran Jennison Cos., a Boston real estate company, faces a forced auction on Bayside May 28 unless it can reach a deal with its lenders, LNR Massachusetts Partners, a division of LNR Property Corp., a Miami Beach development company.
An attorney for Corcoran Jennison said the firm was caught off guard by the foreclosure announcement, which was published in a legal notice in The Boston Globe yesterday. The two parties have been negotiating for several months over Corcoran’s missed debt payments. ”Given these discussions, we find it very strange that the lender is suddenly publishing legal notices in newspapers without notifying us in advance,” attorney John Mostyn said. He added that the talks are ongoing and that Corcoran Jennison anticipates a “very positive resolution.”
The Bayside center is the latest commercial property in Massachusetts to face foreclosure as property owners struggle to pay off debt as rental income from office and retail tenants declines during the economic downturn. The problem is coming to a head because many of those owners are also unable to refinance loans during the continued freeze on credit. Corcoran Jennison is also facing foreclosure on Glen Ellen Country Club in Millis, an 18-hole golf course where it was planning to build a 55-and-older residential community.
Boston Foreclosure Crisis Changes Housing Market
NECN published a story on Massachusetts Foreclosures recently. The video is embedded below.
If you’re selling or buying a home, chances are you’ve noticed a change. In Massachusetts, that change is big.
Esmerelda Thornton is a homeowner counselor at the Neighborworks center of Worcester. Her job is to help people facing foreclosure and first-time homeowners perhaps looking to buy those foreclosed homes.
According to the Warren Group in a report-released Wednesday, Massachusetts single-family home sale prices have fallen nearly 16 percent from this time last year. It’s no surprise for realtor George Russell.
He’s says the foreclosure crisis not only in Worcester - but across the country - has changed the market completely. Essentially foreclosure sales with low-ticket prices have set the standard for any home sales in region.
Don’t Be a Foreclosure Scam Victim
It is bad enough to be the target of a foreclosure from a legitimate lender. How much worse to be the target of a scam seeking to steal what little you have while posing as your rescuer.
So be warned: Foreclosure rescue scams are on the rise, taking thousands of dollars from desperate mortgage holders, or even tricking them into signing over the deed to their homes.
Federal and state officials have said they are cracking down on those scams. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed civil complaints against three different mortgage rescue schemes. And both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have laws that limit what any for-profit entity can do to “help” someone facing foreclosure. Still, an informed consumer is a better-protected consumer. And as is the case in any business transaction, extravagant promises are unlikely to be kept. First, those who approach you with an offer to protect you from foreclosure are likely to have their interests, not yours, as a priority. Second, the best and safest thing a mortgage holder can do is to try to negotiate directly with the bank. Given the state of the economy, many of them are willing to discuss ways to modify the payment schedule. Most of them don’t want to take your house any more than you want to lose it. Third, most communities or regions have nonprofit organizations that provide homeowner counseling for free, like Neighborhood Legal Services in Lawrence. But Coakley and other officials also offer reminders to stressed mortgage holders who might be approached by a firm offering to help keep them in their home
- Unless it is an attorney you have hired, don’t give anyone any money upfront. It is illegal to demand it.
- Never transfer the title of your home to another party.
- If you decide to hire a firm, it is required to state precisely how it will help you.
- Do not give personal or credit information to anyone you do not know.
- Remember that your lender must give you a default notice, and 90 days to “cure” it.
Too many people are victims of the recession. Don’t be victimized again by unscrupulous scammers.
Massachusetts Foreclosures Decline 4% in February 2009
Massachusetts Foreclosures declined, according to the the Warren Group, using the latest full month of data available. They report that 823 foreclosure deeds were filed in Massachusetts in February 2009. According to the Warren Group, 860 foreclosure deeds were filed in Massachusetts in February 2008. Year over year, this represents a 4.3% decline in the number of foreclosure deeds in Massachusetts.
It’s not all good news though, as they’re comparing current months to data that’s a year old. When you look at the trends of recent months, you see that the “the number of foreclosures initiated by lenders month-to-month has been steadily increasing since last November,” according to Timothy M. Warren Jr., CEO of The Warren Group. Warren continues “In addition, the pace of foreclosures has remained fairly steady over the last six months, despite the fact that several large lending institutions have introduced temporary moratoriums on foreclosures in recent months.”
Lenders filed 2,295 petitions to foreclose in February, a 17 percent jump from 1,960 petitions in January. But foreclosure petitions fell 19.1 percent from the same month in 2008 when 2,838 petitions were filed. Foreclosure petitions are the first step in the foreclosure process. So far this year, 4,255 foreclosure petitions have been filed - a 29.7 percent decline from 6,050 foreclosure petitions during the same months in 2008. The Warren Group tracked 917 auction announcements in February, down 27 percent from 1,256 in February 2008 and 30.2 percent from 1,313 in January.
Buying a Foreclosure is Possible in a Down Housing Market
Jay Hummer, executive vice president of Re/Max of New England in Natick, wrote a really great article on buying a home in today’s economy. I’ve reproduced it in its entirety here, because I think its very interesting.
While there is no overnight fix for the residential housing market, there are encouraging signs that the second half of 2009 could bode well for both buyers and sellers in Massachusetts, including MetroWest.
The evidence can be found between the lines, or, in this case, between the raw numbers that show the year-to-year declines in home sales and prices.
Standing alone, those numbers don’t make for great reading. Here are the figures for communities in MetroWest comparing 2007 with 2008:
City/town Sales (percentage change) Prices (percentage change)
Ashland -11% -6%
Framingham +7% -18%
Holliston -37% -13%
Hopkinton -28% -4%
Natick -19% -6%
Sherborn -2% +14%
Southborough -21% -3%
Sudbury -20% -11%
Wayland -20% -18%
Westborough -14% -12%
(Statistics come from BrokerMetrix)While home sales in the Bay State dropped by 13 percent, from 66,422 in 2007 to 56,319 in 2008, some consolation can be found in the fact that it was the lowest percentage decline among the New England states, and home sales in Massachusetts dropped by the smallest margin compared to the other New England states. Average sales prices in Massachusetts dropped by nine percent, from $398,724 in 2007 to $363,102 in 2008.
But again, a truer picture of how the housing landscape shapes up for 2009 can be gained by looking more closely at two major elements:
Foreclosures.
This, of course, has been at the heart of the housing problem, and will continue to be a major factor, at least for the first half of 2009. The already-high foreclosure activity in the region will likely be pushed higher by rising unemployment, salary freezes, stock market losses and other consequences of the sputtering economy.But there is a positive flip side: the foreclosures offer bargain opportunities for first-time home buyers. The affordable prices and near-historic low interest rates combine to create a momentum for buyers to gobble up this excess inventory.
It also bears mentioning that the areas of foreclosure activity are primarily larger urban centers.
Trading up.
The current market not only benefits first-time buyers; the math can work in favor of buyers looking to upgrade to a larger home, as well. Let’s say your home was valued at $250,000 six months ago, and now it’s appraised at $225,000, a 10 percent drop. But that bigger home down the street that was on the market for $300,000 a while ago has also declined in value by 10 percent, and can now be had for $270,000. So what would have cost you $50,000 more six months ago can be purchased for just $45,000 more.By the end of 2009, the increased activity in first-time buyers and in investment buyers could significantly cut down the overall inventory and pave the way for an upturn. Additional incentives could also restore equilibrium.
For instance, a key component of a recovery would be congressional favorability toward a set of buyer-focused ideas proposed by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). One of NAR’s proposals is opening the $7,500 tax credit for first-time home buyers to all purchasers, and eliminating the current repayment requirement - effectively changing it from a loan to a grant.
In the meantime, it’s important to remember that down cycles - even one as severe as what we experienced in 2008 - are nothing new in the residential housing industry. But the fact is that even when the road seems the bumpiest, there are opportunities out there.
Boston Beacon Hill Foreclosure | Foreclosure For Sale in Beacon Hill Boston
It’s rare that a foreclosure becomes available in Beacon Hill. There are many foreclosures in Boston but it’s highly unusual to see a foreclosure in such an affluent neighborhood. According to Charlesgate Realty’s listing, a developer ran out of money while gut renovating this single family townhome in Beacon Hill. This is a 3 level building with a previously approved permit for a roofdeck. The living room is shown below.
Beacon Hill Foreclosure Living Room
According to the listing, the property is totally livable now - it boasts +-1,550 SQFT , 2 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, central A/C, 2 gas fireplaces, storage, courtyard with private +-300 SQFT patio. There is a spacious, open floor plan. The entry level has chef’s kitchen with granite counters, oak cabinetry and granite counters, with large island. There is also a flexible informal living and/or formal dining area as well. An additional living room, guest room, and full bathare located on the second level. The master level has large bedroom, walk in closet with laundry, and spacious master bath with whirlpool tub and separate shower. Top level is currently unfinished with storage and has endless possibilities.
There is a PDF floorplan of this Beacon Hill Foreclosure, available here and a virtual tour here.
- # of Bedrooms * 2
- # of Bathooms * 2
- List Price * $899,000
- Square Feet * 1550 sq feet
- FY 2009 Taxes * ~$9468
There are 6 more pictures after the jump; click below to see the rest of the photos.
Home Price Index Declines, But Only Barely in Massachusetts
Kelly Curran writing for HousingWire discusses the Home Price Index.
The gap between REO sales prices and the rest of the market is growing at an accelerating pace, according to a recent study by Lender Processing Services, Inc. In general, markets that experienced sharp drops in home prices in 2008 also saw deeper REO discounts, revealing the impact of foreclosure sales on home prices, the study said.
The home price index by LPS provides a mechanism to “separate the general trend in home prices from the trends in foreclosure and REO sales,” said Nima Nattagh, senior vice president, LPS Applied Analytics. “The ability to differentiate between the general trend in home prices and REO sales is important and allows REO asset managers to make more informed decisions about asset disposition strategies.”
The largest drop in prices of REO sales were observed in Riverside County, California, where home prices fell 28 percent between 2007 and 2008; however, including REO sales, prices in Riverside County plunged a significantly higher 34 percent from 2007 to 2008.
The study also found that, including REO sales, home prices declined by 29 percent during 2008 in the Phoenix market, where analysts cite considerable overbuilding. When REO sales were excluded from the analysis, though, the price decline was much less severe at 19 percent year-over-year.
The gap between home prices with and without REO sales was smallest in Seattle, New York and Cambridge, Massachusetts, offering further evidence that the current downturn in the housing market is regional.
While the Western states and Michigan and Florida saw double-digit declines in home prices, other regions have fared much better. But based on study results, further deterioration in the housing market will most likely deepen the REO discount levels in these markets, the study’s report concluded.
$4.3 Million Head to Brockton for Massachusetts Foreclosure Repair
Brockton officials have always known that one of the worst things that can happen to a city is to have it populated by abandoned buildings. They not only drag down property values, but become havens for drug dealers and homeless people and eat away at the fabric of a city. The solution is always the same — cash. That is the driving force behind any effort to reduce the number of abandoned or foreclosed properties and bring a city back to life.
Fortunately, while the economy may be in shambles, the federal government is handing out billions of dollars to “repair” cities, especially older urban communities like Brockton. The city will receive $4.3 million from Washington, funneled through a Boston-based nonprofit housing and planning group, to buy, rehabilitate and sell foreclosed property. If the property is too far gone, it can be razed and the land reused or sold.
There is no indication yet how far $4.3 million will go, but it will be a boon to a city that has often fought an uphill battle against distressed property. The economy has caused so many people to lose their properties in Brockton and beyond that it is almost impossible to keep up with foreclosure proceedings.
There were more than 12,000 foreclosures in Massachusetts last year, a startling 400 percent increase from 2006. Brockton had 43 new foreclosures in January alone, the third highest in the state.
But it isn’t just Brockton. Plymouth, Randolph, Stoughton, Taunton and Wareham also are eligible for federal funds to deal with the wave of foreclosures, but must first be approved.
With nearly every community in the region facing budget deficits, and planning job and service cuts, it wouldn’t be possible to tackle the foreclosure issue any time soon without help. But these are the types of projects the federal stimulus money was supposed to address.
When foreclosed properties are taken over, repaired and sold, with the money being recycled to perpetuate the program, people may finally understand why the federal government is handing out hundreds of billions of dollars. This money, spread wisely across the nation, had the power to do much good, with the ultimate goal of turning around the economy.
Massachusetts Foreclosures: Help From the White House
The Boston Condo Loft did a very nice job covering President Obama’s Foreclosure plan. For us, that means that Boston Foreclosures, and Massachusetts Foreclosures are likely to decline.
First, the basics of the plan. The Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan will not go to speculators, and is intended for owner occupied homes. The Treasury will partner with lenders to reduce monthly payments, bringing down rates so that the monthly payment is no more that 38% of the borrowers monthly income. Then further reductions will be matched dollar for dollar with the lender, to bring the interest down to a 31% debt to income ratio. The modifications will be in effect for 5 years.
These apply to conforming loans only - jumbo loans, non-conforming loans don’t qualify. If your mortgage is not held or guaranteed by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, or if your loan is more than $417,000, you won’t qualify for relief. If foreclosure is imminent, further incentives are offered to lenders to consider alternatives, such as short sales. If the loan is not guaranteed by Fannie or Freddie, then the lender may rewrite the loan, but this is voluntary. While there are incentives for them to do this, it is not a guarantee.
You can read their entire post here.
Boston and Massachusetts Foreclosure & Community Stabilization Conference
Find out what YOU can do to reverse the foreclosure crisis in Massachusetts: Foreclosure & Community Stabilization Conference. Interact with elected officials, housing, legal, community organizing experts and other concerned residents about cutting edge activities that are impacting the foreclosure crisis now and how we can increase our impact! Advance registration preferred but not necessary, free admission, food and transportation from the train station provided.
Send contact information, food preferences and translation needs to Meira at meira@actionma.org. For more information, to download brochure and registration card, please visit the action page at www.MAAPL.info.
Co-sponsored by Massachusetts Alliance Against Predatory Lending and Action For Regional Equity. Working together, we can change our economic future.
Location
Worcester, MA
42° 16′ 36.4836″ N, 71° 48′ 33.7392″ W
See map: Google Maps, Yahoo! Maps, MapQuest