Federal plans to market 200,000 foreclosed homes as rentals are drawing major interest among investors including private equity firms, Bloomberg reports.

More than one firm plans to invest $1 billion or more in the opportunity from now to 2016, according to the news source, as they vie for the chance to be involved in a move that is expected to exercise a significant positive impact on the national housing market.

GTIS Partners indicated it expects to invest largely in the hardest-hit states, such as California, Nevada and Arizona. Investors and property management companies in harder-hit states should expect the largest changes, while those in areas with fewer foreclosures will likely experience less of a difference as these new rental homes become available.

Proponents of this move believe it will stem the tide of dropping home prices and reduce lender losses on foreclosed and distressed properties. Proposals for how to go about converting REO properties to rentals have been under discussion since September, and now officials and investors are preparing to move forward.

Amid discussions of how best to deal with the number of foreclosed homes currently in the inventories of the Federal Housing Administration and its sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, HousingWire reports that panelists at the American Securitization Forum stated they are leaning toward rental conversions.

The idea of converting foreclosed homes into rental properties has been under discussion for some time, with some suggesting it would reduce inventory and help the market. The degree of government involvement in such a program has varied between proposals.

Individuals, including Federal Reserve Bank of Boston senior economist and policy advisor Paul Willen, have indicated such a plan might not be successful. According to Willen, the number of properties in circulation may essentially be unchanged and the program will not necessarily address the oversupply problem.

On the other hand, the source notes, the Federal Housing Finance Agency is already considering program structures that might be used if the government goes forward with an REO rental conversion plan.

Depending on the details, such a program could represent a chance for investors and property managers to get involved in a housing recovery while meeting consumer demand for rental accommodations.

photo credit: srbyug

Inevitably as a homeowner you’ll one day want to make an upgrade to your home. Often times in older homes the first thing that gets outdated is the bathroom so it?s no surprise that is one of the most frequently remodeled areas of a home. When remodeling your bathroom it?s important to understand all of the pros and cons of upgrading to a luxury bathroom.
One of the most obvious pros of upgrading to a luxury bathroom is the obvious enjoyment you’ll get from your own extremely nice bathroom. A lot of times it?s important for a homeowner to realize that an upgrade to a home may increase its property value but it?s also got to be something that makes the homeowner happy. Instead of focusing so much time and attention on what the potential homebuyer might want try just doing things to your bathroom that you have always wanted.
Asides from making the home more enjoyable another pro of upgrading to a luxury bathroom is the increase in property value that will be realized from the update. If the bathroom is upgraded properly with luxury materials the bathroom will make a significant increase in the property value of the home. Often times a homeowner can see a 20% increase in the home?s value over 10 years from an upgrade in the bathroom.
While there are many more pros and cons of upgrading to a luxury bathroom one thing that you as a homeowner must consider is the budget. Luxury materials can be expensive and while they do add significant value to your home it?s important to carefully consider the area around your home. If you as a homeowner are looking to upgrade to a luxury bathroom solely for the property value increase its important not to upgrade too much past the norm in your neighborhood. This basically means that if the norm bathroom in the area is title with some granite and a garden tub you may cause your house to be to ?nice? for the area if you install heated tiles, all granite, glass backsplashes and his and her vanities. Essentially you may never realize the total value increase for your bathroom if you don’t carefully consider the surrounding area.
Remember when you go to upgrade your bathroom to carefully consider all of these pros and cons of upgrading to a luxury bathroom.

If you are going to buy a foreclosure there are two important details to keep in mind. For one, you will be buying directly from the bank. With a foreclosure the bank owns the home. This means that you and your agent will have to work with them when it comes to the asking price, etc. Generally speaking, banks do not offer much flexibility.

Secondly, most (but not all) foreclosures are in bad shape. This does not mean that the home will have major problems, but there is a chance that it will be trashed in one way or the next. Are you willing to possibly go through a long clean up process? If you are going to purchase a foreclosure this is something you should be ready to face.

There is no denying that you can save money by purchasing a home that is in foreclosure. But while there are many benefits of buying a foreclosure there are also potential drawbacks such as buying from the bank and getting involved a home that has not been kept up.

At the very least you should consider a foreclosure if you are in the market. Soon enough you will get a feel for the pros and cons of these properties, and whether or not you should buy one.

photo credit: Apollo-Jack

People who are interested in snapping up homes that have hit the market after foreclosures will want to start looking in the Southwestern part of the United States. New foreclosure data reveals that Nevada, California and Arizona are the three highest-ranking states for 2008 foreclosures.

The data is a review of the foreclosure activity that has taken place across the nation in the first three months of the year. It shows that six of the ten cities in the nation which have the highest foreclosure rates are located in California. The leading city with the most foreclosures was Stockton, a city in Northern California located not too far from the state’s capital, an area where foreclosures are running rampant. Other California cities which ranked included Los Angeles, Orange County and Riverside-San Bernardino. The state’s foreclosure activity increased over thirty percent since the preceding quarter.

In spite of these high numbers, California was not the highest-ranked state for total foreclosures in the first quarter. That dubious honor goes to Nevada. The city of Las Vegas is mostly to blame for the high foreclosure rates there.

Of course, the foreclosure problem isn’t something that’s only affecting the Southwest. This just happens to be the area hit hardest at the beginning of this year. The trend towards low housing costs and foreclosure problems does continue throughout the nation with seventeen out of twenty metropolitan areas reporting a decline. People interested in investing in property that is in one of the few areas that doesn’t have this problem will want to look first at Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s one of the few cities to actually see a rise in home values this year.

It seems the older, former property owner had a WWI artillery shell in his possession, which he left behind for the new owner. (How these shells made it to the US after the war, and why people kept them, boggles the mind, but that’s another story.) The startled agent called the Cape May bomb squad, who verified that the shell was live. The authorities transported the rusted shell to Atlantic City’s Bader Field for destruction. Eight homes were evacuated during the incident as a precaution.

If there’s a moral to this tale, it’s to approach foreclosures very cautiously. If you expect at least a few surprises, you won’t be startled by what you find.