Foreclosure Record: Banks Seize 1.05 Million Homes In 2010

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Banks seized more than a million U.S. homes in one year for the first time last year, despite a slowdown in the last few months as questions around foreclosure processing arose, a leading firm said on Thursday.

Banks foreclosed on 69,847 properties in December, bringing the year's total to 1.05 million, topping the prior record of 918,000 homes seized in 2009, real estate data firm RealtyTrac said.

The number of foreclosure filings, which includes default notices, auctions and repossessions, was a record 2.9 million last year, including 257,747 filings in December.

"Total properties receiving foreclosure filings would have easily exceeded 3 million in 2010 had it not been for the fourth-quarter drop in foreclosure activity -- triggered primarily by the continuing controversy surrounding foreclosure documentation and procedures that prompted many major lenders to temporarily halt some foreclosure proceedings," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

"Even so, 2010 foreclosure activity still hit a record high for our report, and many of the foreclosure proceedings that were stopped in late 2010,-which we estimate may be as high as a quarter million, will likely be re-started and add to the numbers in early 2011," Saccacio said.

December filings were 2 percent lower than November and 26 percent lower than December 2009.

The firm said Nevada, Arizona and Florida continued to post the highest foreclosure rates in the country.

And just five states -- California, Florida, Arizona, Illinois and Michigan -- accounted for more than half of all foreclosure activity.

One in every 11 housing units in Nevada received at least one foreclosure filing in 2010, more than four times the national average.

In 2005, before the housing bust, banks took over just about 100,000 houses, according to the Irvine, California-based company.

(Reporting by Corbett B. Daly; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Sarah Miles]

09:22 AM on 01/24/2011

Such a big number... When it wil stop?

Regards
tony
http://www.foreclosurelistings.com/

[David Lies]

03:34 PM on 01/19/2011

Well, if this does not sum up just how irresponsi­ble and incompeten­t the banks are, I don't know what does. The entire economic crisis that exists today is due largely to the greed of the banking industry. Now that they have made a mess of our economy, they have continued to act irresponsi­bly in fixing the problem. DO NOT TRUST YOUR BANK! They are so sinister that they have even promoted propaganda campaigns to make homeowners wary of attorneys that are dedicated to fixing this mess. I am aware of thousands of homeowners that have SAVED their homes by hiring the right mortgage mitigation attorneys. I have a personal experience with Martorana Legal Services and they were awesome in helping me and my family save our home. They were able to stop my foreclosur­e and get my loan permanentl­y modified so that I now have a realistic loan that I can afford. I stongly recommend hiring the firm if you are trying to save your home. They can be reached at 1-877 396-5932 and www.martor­analegalse­rvices.com.

[dporterdvd]

12:29 AM on 01/16/2011

Seems like the Banksters are public enemy #1. Where is Elliot Ness and the FBI when you need them?

[stargazer13]

09:25 PM on 01/15/2011

Banks were bailout and did capitalize Average Hard working Americans lost all and there fore can not recoup from this engineered economic hit that was allowed and those in congress who voted to get rid of safe guard regulations G/S were complicit as far as I am concerned !

and that is not why we as a people voted them in to office !! Now is it !!

my heart Goes out all of my fellow americans who have suffered and continue to suffer !!

Media owes The American People an Apology for slanting them to our fellow americans who still be working as lazy couch potatoes wanting there money for doing nothing and then media took it one step farther and then said our out of work americans could not be trusted by those who still be working !! companies not hiring the unemployed WHAT,s Up With That Crap !!

Bad Form Bad Form And certainly No !!!! Honor in sight !!!!

[Michael Fanghella]

04:53 PM on 01/15/2011

We sit in the shadow of the misinformation provided by the gov't that, the economy is improving and so then will be the Real Estate market. Problem is wages are less than a year ago, cost of personal product are inflating and so the cost of living is the problem as much as the cost of housing. Now comes the fact that the banking entities more likely than not have acted more than improper they have acted willfully to defraud the people they serviced, the gov't judicial body they used to impliment the foreclosure process all across america. "We are looking intensively at the firms' policies, procedures, and internal controls related to foreclosures and seeking to determine whether systematic weaknesses are leading to improper foreclosures," Bernanke said. "We take violations of proper procedures seriously." Yet it took a court case to solidify that which we seemed to be reminded everyday. That the banking community, both investment and financial will abuse their clientile until they are forcably stopped. Michael Fanghella of Santa Fe Advisory Services called this a year ago when the process first started. Today the impact may very well be that that even the orderly foreclosure process in states west of the Mississippi will be toppled by the fact that this illegal process by the banks has in essense co-opted the local judicial process to carry out the illegal foreclosure of homes. When we learn.

[RJII]

12:31 PM on 01/15/2011

America survives on the backs of the middle class.

No middle class, no gobs of revenue to fix the place and keep machines running. The 1% and their Congress better recognize.

middle class is quickly becoming the working poor.

[Ross Schuman]

03:26 AM on 01/15/2011

I have a novel Idea. The Banks should just throw everyone out of there houses now before they lose their job or go through some other financial problem, give them trillions of more dollars, and give the banks all the real estate in America they do not own because the note simply does not describe the obligation according to property laws and their own regulations.

Never mind, the above is already in full swing.

http://livinglies.wordpress.com/2011/01/14/housing-price-drop-tops-great-depression-and-is-going-lower/

[MIKEBC]

04:19 PM on 01/14/2011

More hard times in republican depression #2, Hoover gave us #1 and bush gave us #2

[RJII]

12:19 PM on 01/15/2011

bush gave us #2 and yet his is on Oprah joking about his baffoonery during his old drinking days and selling his book of inspiration.

[ignatzfattis]

01:23 PM on 01/14/2011

Stay in your home -DON'T MOVE OUT. A family moving out of a foreclosed home is very likely to be just the first step in a truly tragic story. Bad credit is nothing compared to what can happen to your family on the street. There is no "safety net".

Staying with family and friends will only work for a little while and is best kept as a last resort for if the police are finally sent and you are physically removed from your house. There aren't enough police to remove all foreclosed families from their homes, and they have more important things to do. Many police refuse to kick families out of their homes or will stall as long as they can. They are on your side. NEVER threaten an officer, for his sympathy for you and your family may be your last hope.

THE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO FAMILIES LIVING ON THE STREET CAN BE TRULY HORRIBLE.

Even if power and water are cut -DON'T MOVE OUT. If you have to leave the house for work or groceries etc., always make sure an adult family member stays behind with a phone to make sure the locks don't get changed and all your belongings are not thrown out on the street while you are gone. Call the police if you need help.

DON'T MOVE OUT

[AllieGoogle]

09:50 AM on 01/15/2011

Interesting how you are so ok with giving people ideas on how to be deadbeats and trespassers. All this will do is create a new industry - one that is private companies that throw folks out rather than sheriffs.

[ignatzfattis]

10:55 AM on 01/15/2011

Interesting how you are so ok with the increasing numbers of American Families living on the streets -sleeping under bridges, in cars, in alleys -normal everyday Fathers you used to know struggling to keep their Families together in the face of cold and street crime, having to sleep during the day because the nights are so dangerous, leading to teenage Daughters being tempted into prostitution just to get a warm place to sleep -why do you hate America?

What makes you so sure your family isn't next?

The Home is the base that holds the Family together -even with no heat or water. It gives dignity even when it's occupants are starving. Because just letting go could very easily lead to the total dissolution of their Family, Children, Grandchildren and Great-grandchildren of the future will thank the Parents of today for holding as tight as they can in their homes through these hard times.

[ignatzfattis]

06:53 PM on 01/15/2011

Interesting how you are so ok with the increasing number of your fellow American Families living on the streets -what makes you so sure yours won't be next?

[RJII]

12:22 PM on 01/15/2011

and if the inevitable is near, don't pay bills, keep what's left of your savings/retire to eat and stay warm.

[ignatzfattis]

11:11 AM on 01/16/2011

I would suggest paying what you can afford towards your mortgage and utilities and pay your property taxes for sure. Not only does it show good faith, and keep your name attached to the home, but if the bank can convince the police that the house is unliveable due to lack of power and water, the police might see it as their duty to the inhabitants to remove them from an unliveable situation -especially if there are any children. I know many people have been told to stop paying their mortgage so they can qualify for relief (which honestly is starting to look like a scam to me) and thats fine, but once it becomes obvious it is not going to work, I would resume paying what I could. It's pretty rare that an organization that spends much of it's energy DEMANDING payment will even know how to REFUSE payment.

[ResearchtheFacts]

11:07 PM on 01/13/2011

Let's see the banks made out on the home sales.  
The banks made out on the insurance attached to the loans (FHA).  
The banks made out on the government taxpayer sponsored bailouts.  
The banks made out on the money they received  bonuses for and the banks made out on foreclosures.

[RJII]

12:23 PM on 01/15/2011

I dreamed I turned into a bank. it was heaven.

[randlethor]

11:34 PM on 01/19/2011

Good day to be a bank!!!!! The new mafia!!!!!

[Gabe61]

09:17 PM on 01/13/2011

The Banksters wanted to take 3 million homes in 2010 but this Lawyer in Maine screwed their plan up. Now the steeling of homes will take a little longer. But soon these banks will get what they deserve. They will eventually collapse. The assets they have in their books in reality only worth 40%. So JP morgan stock in realty worth $ 10.00 Bof A 6.00 and Citi 1.00 Just wait when the truth come out.
Karma always work.

[GeneralJustice]

03:59 PM on 01/13/2011

Recent news reports claim 13 million homes will be foreclosed by 2015. Well, if 4 people live in the home then 52 million people go homeless? Wouldn't this be a dangerous development for society at large? I hope Obama, in the State of the Union, finally adresses this most important issue. Civility is nice. Helping people, when we bailed out the banks, is also something he must address. By the way, if we have 50 million homeless by 2015 where are the banksters going to live?

[sc300nc]

04:09 PM on 01/13/2011

they turn into renters. Why do u assume they all end up on the street?

[Jen Celli]

04:25 PM on 01/13/2011

You're assuming they'll have jobs or some kind of income to enable them to rent.

[haljett]

04:56 PM on 01/13/2011

They may turn into renters but that doesn't fix the debt problem for those who loaned the money out.

[TWOMANY]

05:40 PM on 01/13/2011

What happens when 50-million people learn they defrauded by the banks creating illegal loans - defrauded by the courts by allowing the corrupt banks to illegally foreclose a loan no-longer secured by the property - betrayed by their courts & gov who KNEW this was happening and simply looked the other-way while these families are tossed to the street...

As it stands - it is literally impossible for the courts to know if those families were sold legal loans. These families do not yet realize they were lied to & misrepresented by the banks.

Nightmare On Wall-Street - L. Randall Wray wrote
"Returning to the question -- why would the banks do this? To understand why, you've got to think like a criminal -- that is, like what my colleague Bill Black calls a "control fraud". That leads to a rephrasing of the question: Why would those who control a bank engage in risky and fraudulent activity that is sure to destroy the bank?
The answer, then, is obvious: Because those running the control fraud have no interest in the bank as a going concern -- they are simply looting the institution, running it to maximize their own individual take. They get their bonuses and then jump a sinking ship -- and with luck they move directly into Treasury to arrange bail-outs to let the other rats on their Titanic suck whatever blood remains after the transfusions."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/l-randall-wray/post_1564_b_807877.html?view=print

[becarefulofwhatyoubuy]

08:09 PM on 01/13/2011

"then jump a sinking ship -- and with luck they move directly into Treasury to arrange bail-outs to let the other rats on their Titanic suck whatever blood remains after the transfusio­ns."

Or... they move on to become lobbyists... a well paying postion. Then back to a Wall St. job, back again to gov't and back to lobbying.

[altohone]

02:42 PM on 01/13/2011

Obama presiding over the collections process born of fraud has been a failure or corruption that will stain his record.

The long heralded American Dream was targeted for exploitation and he is standing by if not shielding the criminals.

[Andy17]

02:39 PM on 01/13/2011

Most people do not realize how bad the economy still is...

Engineers like me know that averages are not always that useful.
Systems fail at the weakest point, not the average point.

The federal govt and multi-national corporations are getting way too much taxpayer money,
and it is bringing down cities. Either outcome is bad (defaults or bailouts).
The ripple effect will be enormous.

Millions of people like me are way under water on our home mortgage.
Some of us got behind in payments due to job loss or hours cut way back.
The banks have all the power, especially in my state (CA) where most loans
are jumbo loans and not eligible for HAMP. So we submit our paperwork over
and over, and we spend hours on the phone talking to people who claim the
information is still not in the computer, please FAX it again. So we FAX and we wait,
and hope the bank doesn't delete the loan mod application from the system again,
forcing a complete restart of the endless process.

[cats530]

02:50 PM on 01/13/2011

Don't count on a mod. Servicers profit more from keeping an account delinquent and running up the fees than they do from a mod. Also, the servicer may lack the authority to modify or more likely, is deliberately accruing junk fees which will be reimbursed to the servicer at the investor's expense upon FC. Find out about your loan (if it was securitized, who the investor is, MERS on the deed, how many times its been transferred/sold, etc.) For more info, check out livinglies wordpress, what Moe has to say on loansafe.org about mods (you may be surprised), Mandelman Matters, Matt Weidner law blog, naked capitalism, zero hedge, market ticker, 4closurefraud and of course, here, good old Huff Po.

[slocomgp]

09:57 AM on 01/15/2011

Sounds just like the short sale I am in, it really is unbelievable.

[Coffeegavemefreedom]

02:02 PM on 01/13/2011

I lost my house in the beginning of this madness they would not do anything then my mortgage jumped to $4025 a month from $2300 which we could afford. I gave them back the keys and went on with my life and that was in 2007. Now I rent a house and I pay $1400 a month do not have to contribute tax money to the state because that is the way they wanted it. If I could of kept paying what I was I will still be contributing to the state tax fund. Oh well I am happy not to have all them bills. Anyway in 2010 I decided to stop looking for a better job a looking for an opportunity. I found a business that I love and is profitable. No if I had the house and the mortgage went up I would be able to afford it soon because my goal is to be a Diamond in this company and make some incredible money. Hire yourself people and you won't have to worry about foreclosure or anything else. My business is coffee and even if you broke you are going to drink it. www.mycupofoe.organogold.com Retail is off the chain with this company. I was not a drinker but now I am because it has no caffiene and is healthy with Ganoderma. Just google that. Millionaires are being made in a recession. Keep that house movement 1% is done.

[sc300nc]

02:22 PM on 01/13/2011

not everyone should be a homeowner. I'm glad things worked out for you.

[AllieGoogle]

09:52 AM on 01/15/2011

It's just a set up to spam the board for her 'company'

[slocomgp]

10:00 AM on 01/15/2011

Better yet the banks shouldn't have loaned to ANYONE! They sold the loans to unqualified buyers. Curious what their intentions were, seems time has told?