The animals often are left behind without food or water, suffering a slow death of starvation and dehydration — unless they happen to be found in time by a real estate professional surveying the property. 

Some real estate professionals are reaching out to help the forgotten pets. For example, Cheryl Lang, president of Integrated Mortgage Solutions in Houston, formed a nonprofit group, No Paws Left Behind, a network of those in the real estate industry. Her group has rescued at least 1,000 animals nationwide since it started in 2008. 

Source: “Foreclosure Pets Often Left Starving in Abandoned Homes,” Asbury Park Press (Oct. 26, 2011)

 Anyone in the western El Dorado County, Placerville, CA. regions may contact organizations like the Grace Foundation of El Dorado County for assistance. They also accept monetary donations and volunteer assistance…here’s there website: http://www.thegracefoundationofnorcal.org/

REO sales make up one of every four county home sales. That’s not surprising when comparing prices of REO and non-REO properties. The average selling price of a county REO home is $253,000 while non-REOs sales average $397,000. REO sales typically take 49 days to attract an offer which is usually at or slightly above the listed price. The non-REOs home will typically take 79 days to and attract offers at 95 percent of the current listed price.

There is some evidence the number of new loan defaults is decreasing. Notices of Default, the first step in the foreclosure process, edged up slightly from May to June but according to ForeclosureRadar, decreased 45 percent from June of 2009.  That’s a good signal the worst is probably over. If so, it’s about time. The excessive number of foreclosures has decimated property values and erodes confidence in the housing market.     

Information provided by Ken Calhoon, Broker, Placerville, CA.

The company reported that 70,051 notices of default were filed at county recorder offices in California during the second quarter, down 13.6 percent from the first quarter and down 43.8 percent compared to second-quarter 2009.

Also, the share of resale, foreclosed homes sold in the state dropped to 36 percent in the second quarter, down from 49.9 percent in second-quarter 2009 and 42.5 percent in first-quarter 2010. NODs, which mark the formal entry of a home into the foreclosure process in California, peaked at 135,431 in first-quarter 2009.

The share of foreclosure resales ranged from 9.5 percent in the San Francisco area to 61.7 percent in the Imperial Valley area during the second quarter, DataQuick reported.

“Obviously, motivated sellers and accommodating lenders have played a part in bringing the default filings down, especially when it comes to short sales,” said John Walsh, DataQuick president, in a statement. “Public policy has also been a factor. We also need to remember that prices have come up off bottom over the past year. If they continue to rise, fewer homeowners will find themselves underwater, which is a significant factor in letting a home go.”