While Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase & Citi are suspending foreclosures for the holidays, just like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, this is a nothing more than a sick joke on those in Texas.

Why? Quite simply it doesn’t help you one bit.

I will make a fearless promise…ready…no one in the State of Texas will be foreclosed upon from now until January 5^th! I’m going to give everyone in Texas an extra day past their December 21, 2009 through January 3, 2009 moratorium.  Look how easily I one upped these big banks.

How?  No foreclosures can take place except on the first Tuesday of each month.  So the next possible date is…drum roll…January 5^th!   I know it is a shocker but some of these big banks issue positive looking press releases and commitments even when the promises are hollow.

If you or someone you know is facing a foreclosure situation, don’t count on these guys giving you the extra time you need to get your ducks in a row.  Act now!!

-          The Bank Slayer

As reported by Stephanie Armour in USA Today, the next wave is poised to roll in, potentially undermining housing recovery efforts as more homes add to the glut of inventory and drive down prices.

These homes largely represent loans that are delinquent but have not yet resulted in foreclosure sales.

About 7 million properties are destined to go into foreclosure, according to a September study by Amherst Securities Group, compared with 1.27 million properties in early 2005.

“There is a lot of foreclosed property in the pipeline that will hit the market and depress prices,” says Mark Zandi at Moody’s Economy.com. Foreclosed homes often sell at prices below those on the market and can therefore drag down overall home values.

Jumana Bauwens, a spokeswoman at Bank of America, says the bank is projecting an increase in foreclosures in part because customers will not be qualifying for existing loan-modification programs.

There is often a long lag time between a borrower going delinquent and the bank taking the home. Here’s why:

•Moratoriums. New state laws imposing short-term moratoriums have slowed the timeline from delinquency to foreclosure.

•Overwhelmed lenders. Banks dealing with a surge in refinancing, mortgage modifications and defaults are overwhelmed with demand, so it can take longer to initiate a foreclosure sale.

•Modifications. Many loans now are first examined to see if they might qualify for a modification. This drags out the timeline and means it is taking longer for homes to go into foreclosure.

•Asset write-downs. Banks may in part be waiting to liquidate homes through foreclosure because they don’t want to write down the value of the asset. Lenders can keep homes on the books at a higher value until they are sold at foreclosure.

If you are looking to short sell your home make sure:

1. Your REALTOR and/or Loss Mitigation Company knows exactly how to “sell” your short sale to the bank using: BPOs, appraisals, insurance repair  estimates, letters of declining value, mortgage audits and REO comp matrixes.
2. You leverage State or Federal laws to back your lender/bank into a corner to force their hand and tell you exactly what they will take for your house.
3. If necessary, put your lender/bank over a barrel with a with highly focused lawsuit.

- The Bank Slayer