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Obama targets foreclosures in Calif.

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:52:26 -0800

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Thursday announced that California will receive $145 million to help communities hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis.

The president, speaking to about 1,000 people at a town hall-style event in downtown, said the Department of Housing and Urban Development funds will be used to purchase and rehabilitate vacant, foreclosed homes and resell them with affordable mortgages.

The president says the funds will also provide mortgage assistance and rehabilitation loans for low-income and middle-income families.

Prison sentences handed out in San Bernardino loan-modification scheme

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:29:14 -0800

Three people have pleaded guilty to taking part in a loan-modification fraud scam that was based in San Bernardino and may have involved hundreds of homeowners.

The outfit known as First Gov, but which also went by Foreclosure Prevention Services, Resolution Department, Reinstatement Department and Reinstatement Processing, operated under the auspices of helping homeowners prevent foreclosure, according to a news release from the California attorney general.

Members of the ring told hundreds of people that they would renegotiate their mortgages and lower the monthly payments after receiving an fee of $1,500 to $5,000 from the homeowners, according to the release.

Almost half of homes in the Inland Empire are underwater

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:14:40 -0800

In the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario region, 379,037, or 44.8 percent, of all properties with a mortgage had negative equity as of Dec. 31, according to newly released data from Santa Ana-based First American CoreLogic. That means the owner owes more than the home is worth.

An additional 34,397 mortgages in the region, or 4.1 percent, are near negative equity. On a national level, more than 8.3 million U.S. mortgages, or 20 percent of all properties with a mortgage, had negative equity. California ranked first with more than 1.9 million borrowers having negative equity, followed by Florida (1.3 million) and Texas (498,000).

Read more at The Bizz.

matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com

Rancho Cucamonga council members want to spray dead grass green

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:10:23 -0800

Talk about a quick fix.

Council members Sam Spagnolo and Dennis Michael have been crafting an ordinance to deal with the blight caused by the number of foreclosed properties in the city. Among the tools this subcommittee wants to adopt is a spray-on product to turn dead grass green. Apparently, there are companies out there who'll give abandoned lawns a green treatment.

"We'd pay for that and then we would put a lien on the property," explained Spagnolo. "This ordinance would give us the tool to do what we need to do so there won't be a blight on the neighborhood."

The ordinance will include other measures to deal with abandoned homes. More details will come out when the council votes on it in March.

Read more at RC Now.

wendy.leung@inlandnewspapers.com

Obama unveils $75 billion mortgage relief plan

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 12:12:05 -0800

MESA, Ariz. (AP) -- Seeking to tackle "a crisis unlike any we've ever known," President Barack Obama unveiled an ambitious $75 billion plan Wednesday to keep as many as 9 million Americans from losing their homes to foreclosure.

Announcing the plan in Arizona -- a state especially hard hit by the housing crunch -- Obama said that turning around the battered economy requires stemming the continuing tide of foreclosures. The housing crisis that began last year set many other factors in motion and helped lead to the current, widening recession.

"In the end, all of us are paying a price for this home mortgage crisis," Obama said at a high school outside Phoenix. "And all of us will pay an even steeper price if we allow this crisis to deepen."

Firm: Calif. median home price falls 38 percent

Wed, 21 Jan 2009 15:47:13 -0800

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California home sales rose sharply last month, but the median price plummeted 38 percent from a year ago, as more bargain hunters scooped up foreclosure properties, a real estate tracking firm said Wednesday.

The state's median home price dropped to $249,00 last month from $402,000 in December 2007, according to La Jolla-based MDA DataQuick. The median price is the point where half the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

An estimated 37,836 houses and condos were sold in California last month, up 18 percent from November and 48 percent from December 2007, according to MDA DataQuick.

Foothill Family Shelter to hold fundraiser at Citizens Business Bank Arena

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:48:56 -0800

The Foothill Family Shelter will present "Diamonds on Ice" Feb. 18 at the Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario.

The public is invited to watch a hockey game at 7 p.m. and raise funds for the organization during Foothill Family Shelter Night. Tickets are $17 each and half of the price will go toward the Family Foothill Shelter, according to a shelter news release.

Participants will also have a chance to win a 14k gold and diamond pendant from Grand Jewelers during the chuck-a-puck contest, according to the news release.

For tickets and more information email jeanette@foothillfamilyshelter.org.

lori.consalvo@inlandnewspapers.com

Grand Terrace close to settling lawsuit Grand Terrace pushing to settle lawsuit holding up needed senior housing development

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:45:15 -0800

Grand Terrace is working to resolve legal issues surrounding the long-awaited senior housing project.

The City Council met in closed session Tuesday night and discussed a potential settlement of a 2005 lawsuit filed by a residents' group regarding the 120-unit apartment complex for low and middle-income seniors.

The council directed City Attorney John Harper to attempt to resolve an appeal in the case and enter into a final settlement agreement.

San Bernardino County Supervisors considering $2.5 million investment in foreclosure proposal

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:08:49 -0800

The Board of Supervisors is expected to vote Tuesday on Chairman Paul Biane's recent proposal intended to help stop home values in San Bernardino County from plummeting further.

The plan is for the county to contract with the newly formed Inland Empire Recovery Corporation, which would buy foreclosed properties in bulk, rehab them and resell them.
Biane is asking the board for $2.5 million to get the program rolling.

Supervisors Josie Gonzales and Neil Derry have previously expressed concerns about the proposal.

UPDATE: Housing fraud operation nets 23 arrests

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:32:53 -0800

Authorities made 23 arrests during an operation today to combat affordable-housing fraud in the High Desert.

There are 30,000 people on a waiting list for federal housing assistance in San Bernardino County, according to a sheriff's news release.

As of 4 p.m., deputies were still in the field.

Along with sheriff's officials, federal law enforcement personnel and officials with the county Probation Department, District Attorney's Office, state Corrections and the county's Housing Authority took part in the operation in the Victorville area.

Of the 23 arrests, 18 were on suspicion of purjery and fraud to obtain aid, two for parole violations, one on a warrant and two on suspicion of obstructing an officer in his duties. Authorities also found a counterfeit operation and $2,000 in counterfeit bills.

Biane talks foreclosures with state secretary of business, transportation and housing

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:40:57 -0800

Dale Bonner, state secretary of business, transportation and housing, got the rundown today from Board of Supervisors Chairman Paul Biane on San Bernardino County's plan to work with the private sector to buy foreclosed properties from the federal government.

The formation of the Inland Empire Economic Recovery Corp., approved Dec. 1 by the Board of Supervisors, is an effort to stimulate the local economy and thwart the depreciation of real estate in the Inland Empire.

"I think it's an innovative concept, and obviously there's still some details and things to work out," Bonner said today.

Housing summit to be held tonight in San Bernardino

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:07:44 -0800

San Bernardino is hosting a Housing Summit tonight to discuss the city's future housing needs.

The Inland Empire has taken a bruising during the current foreclosure crisis and the summit could be a chance to learn about how San Bernardino officials are reacting to economic developments.

The meeting is scheduled to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight at the former Woolworth building at 396 North E Street.

Read more at SB Now.

andrew.edwards@inlandnewspapers.com

Contractor hired to prepare for San Bernardino redevelopment project

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:45:10 -0800

A redevelopment project intended to replace a once-troubled neighborhood with a new Home Depot store took a small step forward when the City Council approved a contract with a local firm to make maps for the planned shopping center.

The City Council, acting in its role to oversee redevelopment work, voted Monday to hire San Bernardino-based Mapco Corp. to help prepare a patch of eastern San Bernardino land for redevelopment as a new shopping center.

Home Depot currently has an exclusive right to negotiate with San Bernardino officials to develop the land. However, EDA Project Manager Colin Strange said that agreement expires in March 2009 and that it's not currently certain whether the project will move forward.

San Bernardino County votes on contract to acquire foreclosed homes

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:05:42 -0800

The Board of Supervisors rolled out another program today aimed at stemming the foreclosure crisis in San Bernardino County.

"Most likely, we're probably looking at another wave of foreclosures that are going to happen in the next few years as people recognize they are upside down in their equity," said Supervisor Paul Biane.

Earlier in November, the board adopted a plan to use millions of dollars in federal money to help homebuyers purchase foreclosed homes and enable government agencies to acquire and either resell or rent foreclosed houses in the county.

San Bernardino County allocates $22.8 million to ease foreclosure crisis

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:55:18 -0800

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is trying to stem housing market woes by tapping into a federal program that will free up money for home buyers who want to purchase foreclosed houses.

The program also will allow government agencies to buy blighted properties and rehabilitate them.

The board approved a plan Tuesday that allocates nearly $23 million in federal money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program.