PG County Real Estate

This is the first post in a four post series. For details on understanding foreclosure and bankruptcy, keep following this blog.

If you find the terms “foreclosure” and “bankruptcy” confusing, you’re not alone. It’s not uncommon to see people filing for bankruptcy if they’ve defaulted on their payments and received foreclosure notices. It’s important to know whether foreclosure and bankruptcy have the same implications on the people involved.

While neither situation is ideal, they are not the end of the world. You can correct both with proper assistance from lenders and legal assistants.

If you can't pay your mortgage towards your house, speak with your lender.

Let’s try and understand what each of these terms mean.

Foreclosure:

By definition, foreclosure is the legal procedure in which a lender holding a mortgage on an individual’s house forces a sale for the house in order to obtain repayment of their loan. Foreclosure proceedings usually begin when the homeowner defaults on his loan payments.

A common misconception is that defaulting on your mortgage for a couple months will lead to foreclosure. In such situations, people panic and tend to look for options where they can declare or file for bankruptcy in order to retain the control that they think will be lost if the property is foreclosed on.

Homeowners need to be aware that lenders also lose a lot of money when they put a house on foreclosure, so if approached at the right time, they would assist you in avoiding the process completely. The way they look at it, all they want is the principal borrowed and the interest at stake.

If you’re looking to invest in a foreclosed property, or any other home in or around Prince Georges County, Express Realty Services could help. With the lowest interest rates in years, you could get a beautiful house that’s well within your budget.

For more questions or concerns, feel free to call Express Realty Services at 1-877-9EXPRESS (1-877-939-7377)

This series will be continued. For more insights on concepts like foreclosure and bankruptcy, continue to read our blogs.

If you have any tips or suggestions that you’d like to share, please feel free to comment on this blog post.

This is the third post in a three blog series. For details on the effects of foreclosure on affluent communities and people of color, visit Part 1 and Part 2.

Foreclosures have Affected Metro Area Inhabitants the Most:

Research conducted by RealtyTrac has suggested that three-quarters of some of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas – cities with over 200,000 people – have been directly affected by foreclosure in the first half of 2010 alone!

Across the U.S. over a million households – approximately 1.6 million properties received some form of foreclosure-related notice between January and June this year.

The Washington D.C. metro area has also been affected, but it’s a lot lesser than other parts of the country. In D.C., one in every 78 homes has experienced some form of foreclosure in the first six months of 2010.

Though banks and lenders are trying their best to clear the backlog of foreclosures, there’s a new bout of homes that’s bound to hit the market again. According to RealtyTrac head, James Saccacio, the expectation is to exceed three million properties with foreclosure filings and about one million bank repossessions by the end of the year!

It isn’t surprising to not that foreclosures are directly related to the high rates of unemployment. Areas that have had a higher rate of job-loss have seen more families that couldn’t keep up with their mortgage payments.

As bleak as it sounds, not all hope is lost. The markets are indeed picking up slowly. Buyers are finding more competition than they’d anticipated, as many people are looking to invest in new homes. If you’re looking to buy a foreclosed home (or a brand new home) in Prince George’s County and don’t really know where to start, Express Realty Services can help. Having sold over 800 homes in the past 5 years, we can comfortably assure you that it’s not as overwhelming as it may seem!

Just call us at 888-306-9450 or visit our website to chat with a representative about how to get started.

If you have any tips or suggestions that you’d like to share, please feel free to comment on this blog post.