Harry Smith spoke with Ray Martin about how President Obama’s new mortgage plan will help homeowners in various states of foreclosure. 

Watch Federal Foreclosure Options for Struggling Homeowners

Ray Martin considers the two main foreclosure prevention options:

1. Loan Modification

2. Mortgage Refinance

Most home financing experts like Jason Cardiff believe that “we have not hit the bottom of the market and lending companies have lost so much that they can’t afford to repossess more homes in this foreclosure crisis.  

Mortgage executive Scott Hess sat down with Loan Modification Buzz recently and discussed the mortgage relief movement by lenders who simply do not want to take over more properties from foreclosure. Hess said, “Many properties in California owe significantly more than their home could be sold for.”

According to the First American CoreLogic database, as of November, the 94589 ZIP code -- the part of Vallejo north of Redwood Street and West of Interstate 80 -- had the area’s highest rate of late payments, at 12.48%. That’s about three times the previous year’s rate.  Homeowners in this region of California have been targeted for loan modification plans by many of the mortgage lenders that funded most of the mortgage loans between 2005 and 2006.

First American CoreLogic is a firm that collects national, state and local real estate sales-related data.   Homeowners in the 94533 ZIP code had the second-highest late payment rate at 9.56%. In that area -- which covers most of Fairfield proper -- only just over 4% of homeowners were in that position in November 2007.   Vallejo’s 94590 ZIP code, which incorporates most of central Vallejo, is right behind at 9.32% of homeowners more than 90 days late. 

Foreclosure rates in Vallejo-Fairfield increased during December over the same period last year, as well, CoreLogic found. According to its most recent data, the foreclosure rate for the area was 2.20% for December, an increase of 0.40 %age points over last year’s 1.90% rate. That’s higher than the national foreclosure rate of 1.7% for December.   The home loan delinquency rate in the Vallejo-Fairfield area increased to nearly 9% in December from 5.50% in the same period in 2007, CoreLogic reports.

In the 94558 ZIP code, Napa’s Spanish Flat area at the tip of Solano County, only 2.42% of the homeowners are behind 90 days or more on their mortgage payments, according to CoreLogic.   But though that is the area’s lowest late rate, it is a significant jump from .73% from last year.

Homes in Vallejo’s 94591 ZIP code, the area east of I-80 and includes Hiddenbrooke, seem to be selling best, Collins said. A high percentage of homeowners at least 90 days late paying their mortgage would ordinarily mean a correspondingly high percentage of new foreclosure proceedings, said Alan Schwartzman of Benicia’s Advance Mortgage. But these aren’t ordinary times.   Some mortgage lenders are in the middle of a foreclosure moratorium and distressed home owners may get some mortgage relief from the national stimulus package, he said.   Read the complete article online written by Rachel Raskin-Zrihen of the Herald Times.

You can visit them online at Loan Modification Leads or Live Transfer Leads online.  LMB provides premium mortgage modification leads for many of the most respected law offices and top producing loss mitigation companies nationally.