The Don Edam Group | Real Estate Professionals Serving Minneapolis, Edina, St. Paul and Surrounding Suburbs

JPMorgan and Citigroup announced last Friday that they would temporarily halt their foreclosures while they wait for the government to finalize some of its foreclosure relief package.  The foreclosure relief package was a portion of the $700 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and was outlined by Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner as being in the neighborhood of $50 billion.  The detail of the plan expected to be worked out by early March.

Citigroup will hold off on foreclosures effective February 12th and will do so until either March 12th, 2009 or until the government finalizes all the details of its foreclosure relief package (whichever comes first).  JPMorgan will hold off on its foreclosures until March 6th (extending a program they had initiated last year).

Fannie Mae has just issued a press release letting it be known that they have ordered their loan servicers and attorneys to suspend any and all foreclosures scheduled from next week to the end of the year in homes that are owner occupied. This is being done while Fannie figures out how to implement a better loan modification program with all of its loan servicers.  This should help out with inventory numbers in early 2009.

There are currently at least 29 short sales that are available for sale in the Edina and Southwest Minneapolis markets (found by searching in agent comments for “bank approval” and “short sale”). In the Camden area of Minneapolis, there are at least 70. If I look at Minneapolis proper, the number is over 315…St. Paul proper gives us over 300 as well. So, needless to say, there are a good amount of short sales out there. The question is, what does that mean to you, the buyer? How can you keep your dream home from vanishing before your eyes (like the one above)? Short sales open a whole new can of worms throughout the buying process…but first, a short (no pun intended) explanation of them. (more…)