Ex, right on again. Here's my list: Paul Volker, Alan Greespan, William J. Clinton. But,the list also includes every Republican since 1993 too, to be fair.

..."Median home prices continue to rise this year, despite an up-tick in foreclosures, another sign the county's real estate outperforms much of the country, Swearingen said"....
Actually, this is exactly the way the rest of the country has been reacting since late summer.
Victoria per capita income is below the average when compared to the state average.
Here's a thought, three times income should equal three times average home price for the area and anything above equals foreclosure.
And always remember, THE "FEDERAL RESERVE BANK" IS NOT A FEDERAL ENTITY, IS NOT A RESERVE, AND IS NOT A BANK. It is a Company of bankers, for bankers, to protect their interests, which is to suck every dollar from all people. The usual method is jacking the interest rates around but the grand daddy of all is inflation. I hear it's time for an audit.

Exresident I can't blame just the lenders in this scheme of real estate pricing. Cases involve realtors, appraisers, title companies, loan officer, straw buyers and yes some banks or mortgage companies.

A seller wants to get "x" money. A shady appraiser will tweak the appraisal using comparables that are not valid or using adjustments that are totally out of this world.

If a homebuilder is involved --the sales price may be tweaked to compensate for appraisal variences as well as funds the buyer needs to purchase the home. Illegal but few get caught. And they coach buyers how to obtain "gift letters".

The loan officer can tweak the electronic lending systems that qualify the borrower. It is done twenty-four hours a day. The first time I saw it I was horrifided. They play with race, marital status, and other things related to income to get the borrower qualified. I have seen samples that the OCC has provided as fraud studies.

The underwriters stretch the guidelines because they know the borrowers or they are friends of the some officer of the company. So the loan is approved with exceptions. It is obvious that the borrowers cannot pay for the house especially if they used ARM financing.

Then the final investor finds themselves with bad deals and have to write down the value of the portfolio.

When you can take the sales of a region and put them in an excel spreadsheet and show that the prices are based on square feet no matter of quality, number of bedrooms, improvements, etc. One should ask questions. Especially when you see they are done by the same appraisers over and over.

When shopping for a home in Victoria, I found the same appraisers and inspectors overlooking issues on homes and yet listing the homes for higher prices than seemed justified. The homes would automatically be listed to cover existing mortgages even though the quality of property fell so short of what they appraised it for. And comps were from 12 to 15 miles away.

When one finds such abberations do what you can....refer/report the players in the deal for that house to the government agency or whomever that needs to review the case for fraud. The FBI is interested in tracking schemes that seem to be wide spread.

It dismayed me to find such a practice on the home I was reviewing. I referred the entire findings to regional offices and Washington. The sales price dropped $20k to where it was suppose to be. The appraiser had used comparables outside the approved area when there were at least 20 within a 2 mile area.

A buyer should not have to worry about such things. But buyers should remain vigilant so you don't pay absorbant prices. You should not have to pay the penalties just because the seller/mortgage company entered into a bad deal.

Caveat emptor. Buyers should look very carefully at prices people want for real estate and look extra careful at the entire deal.

In reviewing the Victoria area --it is quite evident that appraised values are not based on the values of the homes but on inside equations that are being used across the county with a formulation of square footage set in. When searching for a home it was quite questionable when the quality of one 2000 sq. house was quite poor but yet it appraised for the same price as another 2000 sq. foot home of better quality. Found this across the county time after time. Leaves one questioning are the values being inflated and as someone says a peak is being reached --the bubble may bust.

When the quality and values don't even correlate with other urban areas it is difficult to believe that "Victoria is just better off". Victoria is not an extremely high income county.

Any lender or realtor that sells the program of 100% or above financing is what leads to the entire failure of mortgage programs. It is the same as what happened in the 80's. Low interest rates cause them to overextend and in one to two years when difficulties arise there is no wiggle room to save the family home.

Also when homes are regionally inflated and trends require homeowners to sell or foreclose --you find yourself in foreclosure because the market is selling houses new as the same of used.

I don't buy into the idea that lenders played the only role in this wreck. I know and witnesed real estate agents walk igorant potential buyers into buying more house than they can handle, walking them through how to beat the system, and turn around and draw their six from deal and then turn around the foreclosure for another dash of cush.

For the quoted broker to pretend to be inocent is a sad joke.

Of course, I've known everything from strippers to car salesmen brokering loans too.

woofwoof,

Oh no, another voice of reason for sound money!

I think ol' Jim Traficant really nailed the problem back in 1993 when he spoke before Congress:

Unwittingly, America has returned to its pre-American Revolution, feudal roots whereby all land is held by a sovereign and the common people had no rights to hold allodial title to property. Once again, We the People are the tenants and sharecroppers renting our own property from a Sovereign in the guise of the Federal Reserve Bank. We the people have exchanged one master for another.

Ex, you are right on. We can start with the biggest bank of all. The FEDERAL RESERVE. I understand that it is over due for an audit.

And don't leave out the people we voted in office that made the laws that forced the money changers to house the less fortunate.
For for each foreclosure, it lowers nearby home values approximately 2-5%.
More lost revenue for all tax groups.

Is anyone familiar with the term "penny auction?" This is where we're headed. It is time for people to band together, and stand up for their friends, families and neighbors against the big banking interests which seek to cash in on this misery.

where does the regular guy get info on these homes?? Seems that insider trader ppl get info before it becomes public, imo.

dollysdad,

That is a problem with mortgage brokers, not realtors. The lender is ultimately responsible for making the right decision with their money, not the guy selling the real estate.

254 local foreclosure notices is just the beginning. Wait until next year. I hope the City administration is watching. There is no excuse for not knowing the magnitude of the revenue shortfall. That's 254 properties off the tax roll. It will near double next year, proven by the 60 day delinquency figure, the first step in foreclosure.
Property owners, start saving today to pay the follow on years taxes. The tax masters will pursue relentlessly.

Thanks for revealing the true nature of real estate agents. After up-selling fools into more house than they can afford, they blame someone else for the disingenious practice. Of course, you have to find the fool first.....