BofA Tests an Option to Foreclosure
Lender Lets Owners Stay in Homes, Rent From the Bank
By NICK TIMIRAOS
Bank of America Corp. BAC -2.29% is launching a pilot program that will allow homeowners at risk of foreclosure to hand over deeds to their houses and sign leases that will let them rent the houses back from the bank at a market rate.
While the initial scope of the “Mortgage to Lease” program is small—the bank began sending letters Thursday offering leases to 1,000 homeowners in Arizona, Nevada and New York—it represents a big change in the way banks deal with borrowers who can’t afford their mortgages.
Read MoreThe DIY guide to playing the U.S. property market
A year or so ago, a couple of friends announced that they had bought a house in Florida. My husband and I were surprised – they had never expressed any desire to own a vacation home down south. But our friends explained that they weren’t interested in living in the house. They were going to rent it out and use it as an income property.
Florida among markets with most ‘shadow inventory’
Florida, California and Illinois account for more than one-third of the residential shadow inventory — the number of 90-days-plus delinquencies, foreclosures and real estate owned by lenders — as of January, according to a new report byCoreLogic .
Even though the current residential shadow inventory as of January was 1.6 million units — about a six-month supply — year-over-year the inventory was down from 1.8 million units in January 2011, about an eight-month supply.
Read MoreTenants Looking for You!
One of the key points we stress during our free US Real Estate seminars is that we take pride in our relationships with our tenants. We treat them like gold, because happy tenants bring you more happy tenants, they look after the property and they pay their rent on time.
Apparently, some US banks haven’t figured this out yet.
Interesting article from NPR points a finger at some major banks as being “not model landlords”. When you read the article, you’ll recognize that as a huge understatement.
Read MoreU.S. cashing in on Canadian cross-border shoppers
Canadian shoppers looking to cash in on the high Canadian dollarare being credited for helping boost tax revenues in popular cross-border destinations across the United States.
Canadian shoppers helped send sales tax revenues over the $400 million US mark for the first time, county officials in New York’s Erie County say.
Read MoreThe Best Cities for Finding IT Jobs in 2012
With the help of three national IT staffing firms, CIO.com pinpointed eight U.S. cities that offer enterprising, mobile IT professionals the best chances of finding jobs. We also identified the industries in each of those markets that have the most openings, and the IT skills that organizations in those cities are seeking.
Read more here…