Archive for the ‘Foreclosure’ Category

Some recent articles about finance and the real estate markets in North Georgia.

Newcomers are Investing in Foreclosed Property. It’s not just the seasoned real estate investors any more.

More Families Moving to the Mountain areas of Georgia. Trading in the convenience of the suburbs for peace and quiet. This appears to more common with couples that work in the tech industry as more as more of them are working from home.

If you have an original blog post about finance or real estate that you would like to see on Banks of Georgia let us know.

See what David Hopkins of Marble Hill Ga has to say about dealing with foreclosed property marketing for Appalachian Community Bank in his letter dated December 29th 2009

Dec. 30, 2009 – Agreement issued for 2,200,000 shares of common stock, $.01 par value per share to seven investors

Dec. 8, 2009 -

• Chief Executive Officer resigned [ Tracy Newton ]
• Chief Credit Officer resigned [ Adam Teague ]
• Head of foreclosed real estate resigned [ Rusty Beamon ]

Interim COO Danny Jett said the decisions to resign were all personal decisions.

Nov. 17, 2009 -

• CEO is placed on leave pending a review for alleged violations of foreclosed real estate procedures [ Tracy Newton ]
• CCO is placed on leave pending a review for alleged violations of foreclosed real estate procedures [ Adam Teague ]
• Head of Foreclosed Property is placed on leave pending a review for alleged violations [ Rusty Beamon ]

Interim COO is hired that has previous history with a failed Georgia bank [ Danny Jett ]. Appalachian Bancshares hires Stewart Long & Associates as consultants. An Interim Chief Credit Officer [ Fred Smith ] and interim “head of special assets” [ Kirk Rankin ]  join APAB.

Nov, 2009 – Stock trading at 0.30 per share

Oct, 2009 – Voluntary delisting from NASDAQ

April 24, 2009 – An agreement is signed with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to reduce the concentration in real estate loans.

Aug. 15, 2008 – Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President resigns [ Keith Hales ]
Interim COO [ Danny F. Dukes ]

Late 2006 – APAB stock peaks at $24

* The information provided on this page is not guaranteed to be accurate but is believed to be so.

Foreclosures in real estate have become very common given the recent economic crisis that has affected the country.  Many people blame the real estate bubble at least in part for producing the current recession.  It has meant that many people have ended up losing their homes and defaulting on loans.  The Blue Ridge Georgia Mountain area is certainly no exception and in fact has been hit hard by these circumstances. Because the area is ideal for second homes we saw a lot of spec houses being built and the banks were giving builders plenty of construction loans. This resulted in bankrupt builders and market saturation when the economy slowed. Home values have declined and some home owners have found that they owe more than their home is worth.

If you are not familiar with the concept of a short sale it represents a unique opportunity for some buyers to pick up a property at an excellent price.  Although it means you can get a good deal, there are factors that make a short sale a little more difficult and you will need to do your due diligence in order to find the right transaction and make it happen.

In the simplest terms, a short sale occurs when a home owner wishes to avoid a foreclosure and makes a deal with the lending institution to sell the property for less than the balance of the outstanding mortgage.  It may seem odd that the lender would wish to do this but they can often spend much more in legal fees on a foreclosure than they would hope to recoup from a short sale.  The motivation for the homeowner is clear, and that is that they can get out from under a crippling mortgage and not do as much damage to their credit rating as a foreclosure would.

When it comes to buying a property that is a short sale, the transaction becomes more complicated because there will be numerous approvals that need to be made.  The main issue is with the bank or lender and the problem is often that they can take a lot of time to give the approval.  It is also possible that they do not accept the terms of the sale and in the end even though the seller is willing at a certain price, the deal does not go through.

If you retain the services of a real estate agent in the Blue Ridge area and you are hoping that you can take advantage of this market it makes sense to find somebody who is well versed in the process of short selling properties.  They will be able to advise you whether or not deals are likely to go through and they may be better positioned to act as a liaison between the seller, the lending institution and the buyer.  If you have the patience to wait for the right property and you understand that not every deal will go through you may be able to purchase a property in this area for a price that is very reasonable.

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