One Nice Home In A Great Area = Only 2 exist on this beach

One of only two beachfront homes in this vibrant beach town on the Marin Coast, just over an hour from SF! Renovated, turn-of-the-century estate with gated parking, patios, private gardens, hot tub, sauna, surfer/dog's shower, sun decks, gourmet kitchen, utility/laundry/exercise rm, 2 master suites, Jack & Jill bedroom w/ bath, guest bedroom suite, living room + den both w/ Mariposa slate fireplaces, covered porch, loft, office, ample storage. ..

The Golden State

More Californians were delinquent on their mortgages in the second quarter this year than the same period a year ago, but fewer lost their homes from April through June than in the second quarter the previous year, a real estate research firm reported today.
Lenders sent out a total of 124,562 default notices during the second quarter – these notices are the first stage in the foreclosure process and are sent when a borrower misses numerous payments. That was down 8% from the previous quarter’s record 135,431 default notices, and up 2.4% from 121,673 in the second quarter 2008, DataQuick reported.
Trustees Deeds recorded, or the actual loss of a home to foreclosure, totaled 45,667 during the second quarter. That’s up 5 % from 43,620 for the previous quarter, and down 28% percent from 63,316 for second-quarter 2008. They reached a record 79,511 during last year’s third quarter before dropping following a state law that slowed the foreclosure process and voluntary moratoriums by lenders.
DataQuick President John Walsh said the bogged-down pace of foreclosures may be ending. "There is a perception that the housing market is dragging along bottom, that it probably won’t get much worse, and that the lenders need to get serious about processing the backlog of delinquencies, either with work-outs or foreclosure. We’re hearing that some lenders and servicers are doing just that, hiring more people to do the necessary paperwork. That means the foreclosure numbers will probably shoot back up during the third quarter," Walsh said

Foreclosures that are getting sold right now are mostly 2/28 subprime loans that stopped in 2006 and were fixed for 2 years before adjusting upwards. It takes about 11 months on average to foreclose and sell a property so the stuff that's selling now was 2/28 paper originated in mid 2006. The next wave will be from 5/1 mortgages, also stopped in 2006. These were loans made to people with great credit, but stated income. They will start adjusting in 2011 and unless values return AND lenders begin doing stated income mortgages again, there is no way that these borrowers can avoid foreclosure. With the 11 month foreclosure cycle, we are looking at a dearth of REO in 2012. Hate to be bearish, but reality is what it is.

Fannie Mae Housing

The former CEO of Fannie Mae Daniel Mudd took a lot of flack last year for chilling in his luxurious Washington, DC, home while the rest of the country reeled in mortgage turmoil. Now, as the NY Post's Gimme Shelter reports it's Mudd's turn to test the market. Mudd is selling his Washington D.C. home and looking to buy or rent in Greenwich, Connecticut or nearby because he starts his new job at New York's Fortress Investment Group on Aug. 11. Mudd's home which earned the nickname Mudd Manor last year is a Georgian-style estate built in 1927. It sits on an acre of land that includes a pool, gated drive and carriage house with a three-car garage. The home has a luxurious master suite, sunroom, brick fireplaces, French doors and original wood details including bookshelves and wainscoting.There is also a home theater, wine cellar and servant's quarters. It is listed at $9.5 million.

Beazer settles $50M mortgage fraud case

Beazer Homes USA Inc. agreed to pay $5 million to the U.S. government and up to $48 million to private homeowners to settle allegations that it was involved in fraudulent mortgage activities, the Justice Department said Wednesday.
The settlement resolved allegations that Beazer and its mortgage unit, Beazer Mortgage Corp. in making Federal Housing Administration insured loans were involved in fraudulent mortgage origination activities, the department said.
The Justice Department, which has focused on pursuing mortgage fraud cases during the economic downturn, said as a result of Beazer's alleged activities unqualified home buyers were "induced" to enter into FHA insured mortgages and interest rates for the loans were "improperly inflated."
The U.S. government agreed not to prosecute the company in connection with the case if the firm satisfies its obligations under the deferred prosecution agreement over the next 60 months.
In Atlanta, the company said in a statement that it has fully cooperated with the investigations by various government authorities and that it had reached a settlement.
"We deeply regret these matters and have used what we have learned to strengthen our control and compliance culture and reinforce our absolute commitment to act according to the highest standards of ethical conduct," said Ian McCarthy, president and chief executive officer.
Separately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday accused Michael Rand, a former chief accounting officer at Beazer, of running a fraudulent scheme to manipulate the builder's results.