Bank of America - Danville, San Ramon, Pleasanton, Walnut Creek - California

Representatives from Bank of America were back at Keller Williams Realty in Danville, CA today to meet with HarperMees & Associates.

• H. Wayne Perry, Senior Vice President Mortgage
• Rico Alvarado, Mortgage Loan Officer
• Alicia B. Muniz, Mortgage Loan Officer
• Shannon Spangler, Mortgage Loan Officer

Paul, Craig and I spent an hour discussing the real estate and mortgage industries with Bank of America. We are always in the process of evolving our business model to meet the needs of our clients.

The recent meltdown in the mortgage business is resulting in more and more mortgages being handled by traditional big banks. Many of these banks are discontinuing wholesale products and focusing on their retail products to increase their end-consumer business. Bank of America continues it's efforts to be the most recognized banking brand in the United States.

Land America Title Companies Acquired by Fidelity National Title

Land America 1031 Exchange Shuts Down - read the email I received yesterday. This morning, the first email in my box stated that Bank of America must temporarily discontinue placing closing orders and accepting title commitments from any LandAmerica title underwriters.

This morning, Realtors, mortgage brokers, title reps and others in the business were scrambling to get definitive answers to how their opened escrows with LandAmerica would be affected.

• Title underwriter LandAmerica Financial Group has filed for bankruptcy with $2.8 billion in debts. The company has pointed the finger at Fidelity for pulling out of a $126 million takeover offer.
• The off and on combination of Land America Financial Group with Fidelity National Title Title is back again. The two signed a merger, then Fidelity terminated, now they restructured the transaction again. This time, Fidelity is purchasing the Lawyers Title and Commonwealth Land Title subsidiaries.
• LandAmerica's parent holding company and its 1031 exchange company are filing for bankruptcy. That sounds like bad news for anyone with cash sitting in a LandAmerica 1031 account. It turns out that the company had $290 million invested in auction rate securities as part of the its 1031 business.

The "on-again" merger means that means Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Company and Lawyers Title Insurance Corporation will combine with Fidelity National Title, Chicago Title, Ticor Title, Security Union Title and Alamo Title.

The combined company will have almost half of the real estate title insurance market.

It appears that escrows in process with LandAmerica will continue smoothly and future escrows should not be a problem. LandAmerica's 1031 exchange clients with funds in the hands of LandAmerica may be facing some tough challenges.

According to LandAmerica's press release - 

Under the Stock Purchase Agreement, Fidelity and Chicago Title will pay the Company $298 million in total for Commonwealth, Lawyers Title and United (Chicago Title Insurance Company will acquire Commonwealth for $158.6 million and Fidelity National Title Insurance Company will acquire Lawyers and United for $139.4 million). The closing of the transactions under the Stock Purchase Agreement are subject to approvals by the Bankruptcy Court, the Nebraska Department of Insurance, and other state and federal regulatory agencies. The Company intends to work with FNF toward a closing as early as late December 2008 and will request expedited approval from the Bankruptcy Court.

Just another "normal" day in the whacky new world order of real estate.

Will Your Bank Make Your Mortgage Payment if You Lose Your Job?

According to Shannon Spangler, our in-house lender rep (Bank of Amercia), B of A has a home protection policy that will make a home borrowers mortgage payments for up to 12 months - FREE. That's right, you don't have to purchase the policy and it covers you for the first 12 months.

Buyers thinking about buying a home, but worried about possible job cuts, should check out this Bank of America home Protection Plan

Bank of America's Brand - Shelter in the Storm

Worried consumers are looking for a safe haven for their deposits  and Bank of America is clearly benefiting from the flight to safety. Troubles at IndyMac Bank, Washington Mutual, Wachovia and others helped Bank of America to increase it's consumer base.

HarperMees & Associates met with Harold Michaud, Area Manager & Senior V.P. for Bank of America, yesterday at the Keller Williams Realty offices in Danville, CA. Keller Williams Realty in Danville & Walnut Creek recently chose Bank of America to to be their "in-house lender." Businesses are also looking for safety & stabiity.

I asked Harold Michaud what was the foremost message he would like to get out to worried consumers - "Bank of America is Funding Loans."

Bank of America has the largest underwriting base in the United States and Harold Michaud wants consumers to know that B of A's doors are open to consumers looking for shelter from the storm.

• Washington Mutual (WaMU) announced yesterday that it will be laying off 1600 employees in Pleasanton (1200) & San Francisco.
• About 40 percent of Bay Area companies intend to chop jobs during the coming six months, according to a new survey of local executives released Thursday.

Get our FREE In-Depth Marekt reports - updated weekly, breaking data down by zip code and price point.

Contact Paul for more information on how foreclosures are impacting East Bay home prices (925) 963-4246

REOs – bank owned properties – are on the rise nationwide and California is leading the way. According to reports, California has led the nation in foreclosure filings for 15 straight months.

Real Estate Owned properties are houses which do not sell at foreclosure auctions. When houses are returned to the bank, the mortgage is eliminated and the bank negotiates with creditors to remove or reduce liens.

The 680 corridor from Walnut Creek to Pleasanton is one of the most stable real estate markets in the country, but that doesn’t mean that communities like Alamo, Danville and San Ramon are immune to the foreclosure problems.

The big lenders like Bank of America, Countrywide, IndyMac and others are ramping up their foreclosure and REO efforts to help homeowners in trouble and expedite the process.

Three perspectives to the foreclosure/REO situation:

• Homeowners in trouble – need help with restructuring to save their homes or expedited processes that help them move quickly through the difficulties and challenges with as little damage to their financial future as possible.
• Investors – individuals looking to invest in REOs and foreclosures will benefit from expedited procedures.
• Communities – neighborhoods like Danville and San Ramon will benefit by reducing vacant homes in the area and the quicker the inventory is moved, the sooner property values can be freed from the negative impact of REOs in the area.

Countrywide Mortgages Foreclosure Blog  indicates that they currently have over 14,000 properties available representing almost $3 billion of property – $1.3 Billion in California.

Financing REO properties in Danville and San Ramon is the same as any other investment property. Plan to contribute at least 10% or more toward the down payment. Do your due diligence to properly cash flow your investment; with this you will be able to weather any market volatility in the future.