October 22, 2007 by Mimi Miller.

Foreclosures not slowing down

Daily Staff Report
Vail CO, Colorado
September 10, 2007

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There were 10,017 new foreclosure filings issued in Colorado during the second quarter of 2007, bringing total foreclosure filings to 19,460 for the first six months of the year. The new statistics, released today by the Colorado Division of Housing, show that foreclosure filings increased 6 percent from the 1st quarter to the 2nd, and that the state is on pace to see a 25 percent increase in foreclosure filings this year, topping 36,000 by year’s end. 28,435 foreclosures were reported for 2006.

The report also tracks how many foreclosing properties proceeded through the foreclosure process to sale at public auction. During the first six months of 2007 there were 11,908 foreclosure sales compared to 13,643 for all of 2006. Foreclosure sales increased 118 percent from 2003 to 2006. “Foreclosure sale” is the stage in the foreclosure process at which the property is sold at public auction 45-60 days after the initial foreclosure filing. The sale also marks the point at which the homeowner has lost the right to repay missed payments and reinstate the home loan.

Most of the growth in foreclosure filings was found in Adams and Denver counties. Adams County filings increased 19 percent from 1,456 to 1,734 over the last two quarters. Denver County filings increased ten percent from 1,940 to 2,151. In many counties, there was little growth in foreclosure filings between the first and second quarters. This is consistent with seasonal factors which generally point to less growth in foreclosure activity during the second quarter.

Foreclosure sales at auction, on the other hand, increased in all large Front Range counties. In Arapahoe County foreclosure filings actually decreased 6 percent, but there was a 13 percent increase in foreclosure sales from the 1st quarter to the 2nd. Pueblo County reported a 5 percent decrease in filings, but a 17 percent increase in foreclosure sales. In Colorado overall, foreclosure sales at auction increased 13 percent from 5,586 during the 1st quarter to 6,322 during the 2nd.

Foreclosure activity is the strongest on the Front Range from Larimer County to Pueblo County. Adams County reported the highest foreclosure rate with 1 foreclosure filing for every 45 households. Denver and Weld counties reported 1 filing per 60 households and 1 filing per 62 households respectively. Boulder County reported a lower foreclosure rate than any other Denver Metro county with 1 filing per 264 households.

Excluding the Denver Metro area and Weld County, Pueblo County reported the highest foreclosure rate with 1 filing per 78 households. The Western Slope fared much better with Garfield County and La Plata counties reporting only 1 filing per 506 households, and 1 filing per 479 households respectively. Statewide, there was 1 filing per 181 households.

“It looks like we’re very unlikely to see any declines in foreclosure rates this year.” said Kathi Williams, Director of the Colorado Division of Housing. “There are still plenty of adjustable-rate mortgages set to readjust, and there is plenty of inventory on the market. If you can’t make your payments, and you need to sell your house, odds are that you won’t be able to sell it quickly or easily. That’s certainly part of what’s driving the foreclosure numbers we’re seeing along the front range.”

Zachary Urban, administrator of the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline (1-877-601-HOPE) and director of housing counseling for Brothers Redevelopment, Inc. notes that there’s been no drop off in hotline activity. “What concerns us the most though, is that there is an increasing number of properties going to sale at auction. A foreclosure filing is not the end of the world, but once the home is sold at auction, there’s very little that can be done. People need to call us because there’s a lot that can be done between the filing and the sale.”

The new foreclosure numbers contradict foreclosure statistics released earlier this year by Realtytrac, a real estate investment firm in California. Realtytrac reported that there were over 17,000 new foreclosures in Colorado during the second quarter. The Division of Housing maintains that Realtytrac’s methods are flawed, and that they are overstating the foreclosure numbers in Colorado.

“Since we fund foreclosure prevention efforts, we need the best information possible,” said Susan Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs. “Ultimately, the foreclosure issue is a local issue, and it’s about homeownership in Colorado communities. We need to know with accuracy which communities are most affected.”

The Colorado Division of Housing collects foreclosure data from public trustees on a quarterly basis. The report, and past foreclosure reports, can be accessed online at the Colorado Division of Housing Web Site at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdh/researchers/index.htm

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October 22, 2007 by Mimi Miller.

Five Habits of Millionaires
by Barbara Reinhold
Monster Contributing Writer

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According to a study of college students at the Ernst & Young International Intern Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, 59 percent of these young leaders expect to be millionaires within their lifetime. What’s more, 5 percent of them expect to hit the million-dollar mark while in their 20s.

And the super-rich are a growing group. The top 0.1 percent of the population’s average income was $3 million in 2002, up two and a half times the $1.2 million, adjusted for inflation, that group reported in 1980.

Earned Money vs. Easy Money

Easy money usually comes from inheritance or luck, such as winning the lottery. The track record of people who get their money through the lottery or other windfalls is usually very different from those who created their wealth themselves or who planned for an expected inheritance. Lottery winners are often a sorry lot; more than 90 percent use up their winnings within 10 years — some go through their money in weeks or months.

But there are some consistent patterns among those people who earn or plan to inherit their money, and these five strategies may be worth emulating.

1. Avoid the Earn-to-Spend Mentality

Michael LeBoeuf, author of The Millionaire in You, points out that to increase wealth, it’s essential to emulate millionaires who view money as something to save and invest, rather than income to spend. Many wealthy people live quite simply, he points out, choosing less pretentious homes than they could theoretically afford and opting for financial independence over material showmanship.

2. Focus

LeBoeuf also counsels resisting the impulse to be scattered in your efforts and interests: “Winners focus; losers spray.” And goals that are clearly written down are easier to keep in focus.

3. Do Whatever Is Necessary to Meet Your Goal

People who earn their millions are able not only to focus but persevere in the pursuit of their goals. One single mom entrepreneur, Melissa Clark-Reynolds, started her first business, a health and safety consultancy, when she had a young son. En route to her goal of being a millionaire by age 35, Clarke-Reynolds and her son ate lots of pizza, did homework late at night and often slept at the office. She is now a chief executive mentor for Empower New Zealand, a global business consulting firm headquartered in London.

4. Take Calculated Risks

You have to take strategic risks to earn and grow money. And a little rebelliousness seems to help too. One interesting study found a majority of male millionaire entrepreneurs had been in trouble with school authorities or the police during their adolescence.

5. Be Generous

And why doesn’t it surprise us that millionaires are often very generous? Sometimes it’s for the tax breaks, obviously, but often it’s not. One Jewish Swiss millionaire, for instance, flew to Israel to give $5,000 in cash to a waiter at a Jerusalem café who foiled a Palestinian suicide bombing. Among the most generous of millionaires are those from North America, who are, according to a Merrill Lynch Cap-Gemini report, two to five times more likely to give to causes they value than their European counterparts.

These five habits are a pretty good prescription for living happily even if you’re not a millionaire.

But LeBoeuf insists it’s not so unusual to be a millionaire. As of 2004, there were 8.2 million households with a net worth of more than $1 million. And are the folks in those households happy? Yes, says professor Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in the UK. After studying more than 9,000 people over eight years, Oswald concluded that people who come into money are happier. The happiest among them, he says, seem to be “highly educated, well-paid women who have jobs.”

And how much money does the professor say it takes to be happy? “About $1 million, give or take a little.”

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October 22, 2007 by Mimi Miller.

Boulder County foreclosures reach record high in August
By David Clucas

September 28, 2007 –
BOULDER - A record 103 foreclosures were filed in Boulder County this August.
The triple-digit figure is the highest in the past decade, according to the Boulder County Public Trustee’s electronic database. The recent record high had been 84 foreclosures filed in March of this year.

The nationwide housing downturn and a recent tightening of the credit markets seem to be taking their toll locally.

For the year, foreclosures filed are up 17 percent to 611 cases through August.

Foreclosures are typically filed after a borrower is 75 to 90 days late on his or her mortgage payment. Deeds issued for foreclosures are up 9 percent this year to 352 cases through August. This number represents when the bank seizes the property.

The foreclosures filed number is viewed as the more significant statistic because it shows the number of people struggling to pay their mortgage bills. The deeds issued number does not account for homeowners who sell their home to pay off the mortgage before the bank seizes the property.

Nearly two-thirds of this month’s foreclosures were filed for properties in Longmont. Foreclosures in Boulder County have been rising steadily since 2000, when only 190 cases were filed.

Nationwide, a total of 243,947 foreclosures were filed in August, up 115 percent from August 2006, according to Realty Trac Inc. The monthly figure was the highest Realty Trac has reported since beginning to track foreclosures two years ago.

Contact David Clucas at 303-440-4950 or e-mail dclucas@bcbr.com.

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