OKC in top 5 of Fastest Growing Cities

This according to Forbes magazine article dated Oct. 11, 2010



"Oklahoma City, Okla.
Oklahoma City-- with its business-friendly environment and abundant oil and natural gas reserves--ranked No. 11 in Forbes' list of the best big cities for jobs. A KPMG study named it the least costly metro area to do business among U.S. cities with populations between 1 million and 2 million, and according to the Census Bureau Community Survey, it has the third-shortest commute time among the 52 largest cities. Such factors--plus its exciting new basketball star, Kevin Durant--have definitely attracted plenty of new residents. An article in the Sacramento Bee reported that many Californians were migrating to the former Dust Bowl town in search of jobs and more stable housing prices, and its population, at 1.2 million, is expected to grow 9.8% in the next 10 years, according to the Greater Oklahoma City Partnership. "

To see the rest of the article go to: The Fastest Growing Cities in the US

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Natalie Flaming
Realtor - Broker Associate
The VIP Team
Metro First Realty
Direct: 405.412.5452
www.TheVIPofOKC.com

Bank of America Halts ALL Foreclosures Nationwide

...An update to my previous blog Oct 5th "Foreclosures Screach to a Halt"

The foreclosure mess threatens to become full-blown chaos today as Bank of America, the nation's largest bank, halts all foreclosure procedures nationwide and raises the pressure on other lenders to do the same. For those in the real estate industry, this doesn't come as a surprise. Bank of America spokesperson Dan Frahm declined to disclose how many foreclosures would be affected by the move.

As animosity grows about how lenders have prepared documents to support thousands of evictions, Bank of America is the first U.S. bank to institute a nationwide moratorium on foreclosures. The freeze on foreclosures will take effect on Saturday and will also include current sales of their foreclosed property.

The Senate Banking Committee will hold hearings after the Nov elections (on Nov 16th) to look into allegations that the nation's largest lenders have foreclosed on struggling borrowers without following lawful & correct procedures. You can expect this situation to be long lasting as Democrats are expected to face heavy losses at the polls in Nov, therefor not giving new members their official positions in office until January.

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Natalie Flaming
Realtor - Broker Associate
The VIP Team
Metro First Realty
Direct: 405.412.5452
www.TheVIPofOKC.com

Foreclosures Screach to a Halt

It's like watching a big, bad old-fashioned train wreck. If you haven't already heard, several big banks across the US have suspended all foreclosures in 23 states due to inpropper procedures. The contorversy is over "robo-signing", where employees did not follow required legal procedures to read and verify all documentation relating to each foreclosure case.

One Bank of Amercia employee acknowledged in a legal deposition that she had signed 7,000 - 8,000 documents relating to foreclosures every month without reviewing the documents. A GMAC employee admitted in depositions that he authorized up to 10,000 foreclosures a month without seeing the files associated with them. At Chase, a "robo-signer" in Ohio, stated that she signed off on about 18,000 foreclosure affidavits and other documents a month without reviewing all the files.

The 23 states are: Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

The Office of Comptroller of the Currency last week ordered the nation's largest loan servicers to review their foreclosure processes. They directed Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Citibank, HSBC, PNC Bank, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo and GMAC Mortgage to verify that they are following proper procedures, and that their practices haven't harmed borrowers in the past.

To add to the dilema, all major Title Insurer's such as Old Republic, First American, and Stewart Title have all indicated they will no longer write policies for the banks involved until the issue has been resolved. This could bring Real Estate sales themselves to an even louder screaching halt.

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Natalie Flaming
Realtor - Broker Associate
The VIP Team
Metro First Realty
Direct: 405.412.5452
www.TheVIPofOKC.com