>
>On Jan 31, 2007, at 6:31 PM,
><http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk>bitch at
>pulpculture.org wrote:
>
> > my son was told by his bank that they could get him a loan for a
> > house for $245k. he makes $13.50/hr. WTF?
> >
> > ARe these people completely off their rocker?
>
>Jordan will tell us no.
Aren't you a stone's throw from Marin Jordan?
http://www.marinij.com/marin/ci_5082667
>"Probably a lot of this has to do with people getting into loans
>they can ill afford and dealing with people who are more interested
>in selling the loan than how the customers are going to be at the
>end of the day. We don't like to put people into loans if they'll
>get in trouble."
Mortgage defaults double in Marin Gary Klien Marin Independent Journal
Article Launched:01/25/2007 12:07:50 AM PST
The number of mortgage default notices nearly doubled in Marin County in the fourth quarter of last year, mirroring an escalation in foreclosure activity throughout California, according to data released Wednesday.
Marin had 101 default notices during the quarter, up from 51 in the last quarter of 2005, according to DataQuick Information Systems, a La Jolla-based research firm.
The numbers continue an upward trend in the county, which had 89 default notices in the third quarter of last year, up from 56 in the previous third quarter of 2005.
The climb in defaults comes against a backdrop of flattening - but still very expensive - home prices in Marin. The median price of a single-family home in Marin slipped to $855,000 in December, tumbling from a peak of $979,000 last April.
Linda Munoz, a broker with All California Mortgage in Larkspur, said the spike could stem partly from layoffs, partly from predatory loans. Some prospective homeowners, hobbled by bad credit or unsteady incomes, accept risky mortgage deals that leave them with more debt than equity.
"You're paying the minimum they're allowing for, but you may not be able to cover the interest you're gaining on the loan," she said. "Probably a lot of this has to do with people getting into loans they can ill afford and dealing with people who are more interested in selling the loan than how the customers are going to be at the end of the day. We don't like to put people into loans if they'll get in trouble."
Default notices, which are filed with county recorders, are the first step in the foreclosure process. Homeowners often stave off foreclosure by catching up on payments, refinancing or selling the homes.
But nearly a third of California homeowners who received default notices ultimately lost their homes to foreclosure in the fourth quarter of last year, DataQuick said. In the fourth quarter of 2005, the number was 8 percent.
"Many people have adjustable-rate mortgages that had been taken when interest rates were very low," said Mark Garwood, chief executive of San Rafael-based Tamalpais Bank. "With the Fed moves and the rising interest rate environment, the loan payments have been rising significantly."
Across the nine-county Bay Area, fourth-quarter default notices rose 134 percent between 2005 and 2006, from 2,292 to 5,362. Contra Costa County led the pack at 179 percent, followed by Napa County at 164 percent and Solano County at 163 percent.
The lowest default increase was in Santa Clara County, but even that was a 79 percent spike. Santa Clara had 874 defaults in the fourth quarter of 2006, up from 489 the prior fourth quarter.
On a loan-by-loan basis statewide, mortgages were least likely to go into default in Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara counties, DataQuick said.
Statewide, lending institutions sent homeowners 37,273 default notices during the fourth quarter, up 145 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005, DataQuick reported. The median age of the loans was 15 months.
Last quarter's foreclosure activity was the highest since 38,053 default notices were recorded statewide in third quarter of 1998.
"Several factors are at play here," said Marshall Prentice, president of DataQuick. "The numbers last year and the year before were very low because of strong sales and appreciation. Also, most defaults occur a year or two after the loan was made, so we're in a period where the loan pool is at risk.
"And then there are those inventive loans that have been made the last few years, where qualifying involves assuming more risk. We're in the midst of an adjusting market right now, and we won't know until spring or summer if this is ominous or not."
Contact Gary Klien via e-mail at <mailto:gklien at marinij.com>gklien at marinij.com