Foreclosure deadbeats are now rewarded with free homes

[SD Squatter]

It’s raining homes now:

in a growing number of foreclosure cases filed when home prices collapsed during the financial crisis, lenders may never be able to seize the homes because the state statutes of limitations have been exceeded

More free homes to come:

Bank of America, for example, has initiated the foreclosure process on roughly 20,000 mortgages that have not been paid in at least five years. The bank estimates that 90 percent of those homes are still occupied.

Something is wrong with this country when you hear this from a judge:

“No one gets a free house,” Judge Michael B. Kaplan of the United States Bankruptcy Court in Trenton wrote in an opinion late last year, reflecting what he characterized as a longstanding “admonition” he and others made during the foreclosure crisis. But after effectively ending a New Jersey homeowner’s foreclosure case in November because the state’s six-year statute of limitations had expired, he wrote in his opinion, “With a proper measure of disquiet and chagrin, the court now must retreat from this position.”

Source:
NY Times: Foreclosure to Home Free, as 5-Year Clock Expires

[FlyerInHi]

The banks screwed up so they lose. I’m on the side of the homeowners.

[Coronita]

At one point in time, this sort of thing use to tick me off.

And then I’m reminded that there are vast majority of others for which it didn’t pan out this way for them. So for every corner case we see for which irresponsible people slipped through and “got away with it”, we’ve seen a majority of others for which did not get away with it. And it is from the vast majority of others that did lose their homes or did force to sell short, they created a great opportunity for me to buy at really low prices more than once.

So at least for me, I think it evens out.

There will always be irresponsible people in this country. And no matter how responsible you think others should be or want others to be, you have no control over that. That said, wait for the next financial mishap (when/if that happens) and then it evens out.

Quoting a wise realtor friend.

“At this point, it’s not whether you won or lost this game…It’s really about how much more you wanted to win by…”

An interesting perspective…And a good reason why I sleep well at night.

[FlyerInHi]

I think that one needs to separate all the separate issues.

It’s not about responsibility. That’s too big of an arc.

The loans secured by houses are separate from homeownership.

The banks failed to take action to collect moneys owed them within statutes of limitations. Too late. End of story.

[scaredyclassic]

High comedy, as seen from above

[spdrun]

Despite this, there are about 3x the number of foreclosures making it through the system and sitting as REOs (in NJ) as last year. I suspect that for every person getting a “free home” there are 5x that number that don’t.

[flyer]

It’s clear the “financial crisis” created problems for some and opportunities for others, as most extreme events do. From everything I’m reading, the “retirement crisis” is next on the agenda, and that may actually prove to be even more extreme–so–stay tuned.

[The-Shoveler]

You guys realize this was a story about Florida right ?

[livinincali]

I wouldn’t get too worked up about this. The bank can still attach a lien to the house so you can’t really profit from the sale. Plus the IRS is going to be coming for that unearned income tax bill. I don’t know if you got all that lucky when the IRS says you owe them $40-50K right now for that $200K house you got for free.

[livinincali]

It’s more than Florida. I know New Jersey and New York were mentioned. Basically it would apply to any state that uses judicial procedure for foreclosure. Most judicial procedure has some sort of statue of limitations, it would vary depending on the state.

[svelte]

I’ve been around enough people to know that if they make a mess of their life once (and profit by it from your point of view, but I’m not so sure that’s true if you look at the bigger picture), they will probably make a mess of their life again.

I would almost guarantee that you wouldn’t trade lives with any of them…would you?

Be happy with what you’ve created in your life…

[flyer]

+1, and, as I mentioned in my other post, with the “retirement crisis” looming, imo, we should all be far more concerned about how we and our families are going to afford to live well (financially and otherwise) to
90+–should we all be so lucky.

Even though I realize we “Piggs” plan extremely well, I think this issue is going to be a real challenge for the population at large.

[Hobie]

Flyer gets the point for calling the retirement issue here first. 100%agree this will soon trump student loans and dare I say foreign policy issues.

With personal saving at such lows and non-existant pentions for private sector careers I bet we will see a huge increase in (fraudlent)disability claims to support people in retirement with no savings. Sad.

[The-Shoveler]

[quote=Hobie]Flyer gets the point for calling the retirement issue here first. 100%agree this will soon trump student loans and dare I say foreign policy issues.

With personal saving at such lows and non-existant pentions for private sector careers I bet we will see a huge increase in (fraudlent)disability claims to support people in retirement with no savings. Sad.[/quote]

This does not sound like “any” of the boomers I know.

Most have several hundred thousand in 401k’s and own their home out right.
But maybe I run with a small crowd.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=The-Shoveler][quote=Hobie]Flyer gets the point for calling the retirement issue here first. 100%agree this will soon trump student loans and dare I say foreign policy issues.

With personal saving at such lows and non-existant pentions for private sector careers I bet we will see a huge increase in (fraudlent)disability claims to support people in retirement with no savings. Sad.[/quote]

This does not sound like “any” of the boomers I know.

Most have several hundred thousand in 401k’s and own their home out right.
But maybe I run with a small crowd.[/quote]Same here, shoveler. I run with the same “crowd” you do but it is not small. Not only do they have 401K assets, but IRA’s, business and real estate income and jumbo CD’s everywhere. This includes the senior citizens I know as well (those currently at least 70 years old).

When you bought your personal residence in San Diego (or almost anywhere in SoCal) for $4K to $34K once upon a time, still own it and live in it, worked steadily FT for a minimum of 30 years, earned a pension (and in more than half the cases, your spouse ALSO earned a pension), this is a no-brainer. Even the majority of those who bought their first home in SD County as late as 1986 (for ~$50K to $170K) are doing just fine today.

The problem with at least half of Gen X and all of Gen Y is that their expectations for everything material are much higher than that of the boomers and beyond so they are more of an “instant gratification, throwaway society.” Yes, I will admit my own kid(s) show these traits. Even when making enough to have already saved a downpayment and qualify for a mortgage, they tend to spend their earnings on stuff that depreciates, instead. In addition, less of a percentage of today’s Gen X and Y parents are in the full-time workforce today than when boomer-parents were in their prime working years.

Boomers, for the most part, kept their heads down ALL of their working years, showing up at 6-8 am every morning like clockwork (dressed and groomed), five days per week for decades. I know because I was there every day along with my brethren who arrived at their homes at 5:30 pm situated in the likes of (gasp!), East and SE SD, Lemon Grove and Spring Valley. Some of the “moms” I worked with had up to five minor children still attending (K-12) school or in the FT care of daycare providers and/or relatives. 90% of new moms came back to work FT 6-8 weeks post-partum.

Well people, I’d say 65-75% of these “boomers,” now mostly “retired” are still residing in these same (now long paid-off) homes on two pensions and SS, if eligible (but many have “filed and suspended” their SS benefits, because they “don’t need” the income right now). A sub-portion of these SD County boomers (30%?) also have a military pension for life and Tricare for Life (deeply discounted Medicare Part B/D coverage deducted from their pensions).

I’ve posted before here that I know retired teachers and police officers who still own 4-44 (sometimes in partnership with longtime co-workers and family members) rental SFRs in San Diego County, most of which are completely paid off. (Yes, I meant “garden variety” retired public schoolteachers and law enforcement officers here.) Not to mention the lawyers and judges I know who are longtime owners of multiple SFRs and multifamily units either on or within 2 blocks from the beach (OB/PB). Some have formed REITS to attract more investors and hire professional mgmt for them.

So, please don’t feel sorry for the boomers …. most of us are “golden.” Those of you trying to find a decent home in an established, urban community in SD or an established SD suburban city (or anywhere in coastal CA counties) should feel sorry for yourselves. All of the above are the biggest reasons why there is so little inventory out there to choose from today. And the situation won’t get any better because, uhh, hello? … these boomer-and-beyond owners aren’t going anywhere. They will hold until their deaths and then these properties will be passed onto their heirs at their current, ultra-low assessments. We all have Props 13, 58 and 193 still on CA’s books to thank for this.

In CA, whoever’s family of origin is established the longest and held their RE assets without managing to re-mortgage them wins. It has little to do with an individual’s educational attainment or lifetime earning power. Based upon flyer’s previous posts, he appears to be in this category and as such, is most fortunate.

Just ask one of those low-key longtime slumlords in SF who own a handful of “rent-controlled” buildings how they’re doing, financially. You may find that they are set for life (as will be their children and grandchildren). Some of them undoubtedly never even finished HS, a fact of which is completely irrelevant to their lifetime financial security.

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