With two months left until the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit and the $6,500 move-up homebuyer tax credit expire, it’s time to get serious about your Roswell real estate shopping list. Now while the tax credit is a nice little incentive, you’d also like a great deal as well, right?

So we’ve compiled a list of the hottest new Roswell foreclosures for you. We have some high-end luxury foreclosures in neighborhoods such as Chatham Park, Cambridge Walk and Stonewyck priced anywhere from $600,000 to $1.6 million.

In addition, we have some foreclosures priced perfectly for the Roswell first-time homebuyer in neighborhoods such as Magnolia Walk, Foxhall, Brookfield Country Club and Horseshoe Bend.

Click here to see a complete list of Roswell foreclosures available right now.

Our team specializes in Roswell real estate and we’ll be glad to meet with you to get you started toward owning the perfect Roswell home. Contact us today to get started.

Aaron Hofmann receives Certified Distressed Property Expert designation.

Aaron Hofmann of the H2 Realty team at Keller Williams Realty Cityside has earned the prestigious Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE) designation, having completed extensive training in foreclosure avoidance and short sales.  This is invaluable expertise to offer at a time when the Roswell area is ravaged by “distressed” homes in the foreclosure process.

Short sales allow for the homeowner who is does not have enough cash to continue paying for their mortgage by allowing them to repay the mortgage at the price the home sells for, even though it is lower than what is owed on the property.  With plummeting property values, this can save many people from foreclosure and even bankruptcy.  More and more lenders are willing to consider short sales because they are much less costly than foreclosures.

In the Roswell area, many homes are in danger of foreclosing. It is happening in all price ranges. Local experts say that even high-priced homes are not immune. Currently there are over 200 homes, condos & townhomes that are currently marketed as distressed properties (short sales or foreclosures).

“This CDPE designation has been invaluable as I work with sellers and lenders on complicated short sales,” said Hofmann. “It is so rewarding to be able to help sellers save their homes from foreclosure.”

“To help educate the consumers, our team has developed an informational site called ShortSalesCentral.com. The site provides a lot of valuable information for both distressed homeowners as well as buyers looking to purchase a home,” according to Mr. Hofmann.

Alex Charfen, founder of the Distressed Property Institute in Boca Raton, Fla., said that Realtors® such as Aaron Hofmann with the CDPE designation have valuable training in short sales that can offer the homeowner much better alternatives to foreclosure, which virtually destroys the credit rating. These experts also may better understand market conditions and can help sellers through the emotional experience, he said.

If you are behind in your mortgage payments or contemplating not making your payments, contact Aaron Hofmann and his team to understand your options and identify the solutions that are best for your situation.

On Tuesday of this week the Bush administration unveiled a new program that will modify mortgages to help stabilize the real estate market.

Eligibility of the new plan is determined by several factors:  Homeowners must be 90 days or more late in their mortgage payments, owe at least 90% of their home’s current value, live in the home on which the mortgage was taken and have not filed for bankruptcy.

Under the plan, homeowner’s mortgage payments would be adjusted through lower interest rates or longer repayment schedules…in some cases up to 40 years.  The goal of the plan is to bring payments to 38% of monthly household income.

Currently the plan only applies to loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie and Freddie, however officials are hoping that it will soon be adopted industrywide.

Of the 18 million loans owned by Fannie and Freddie only 1.7% of them are delinquent by 90 days or more, this works out to be about 300,000 mortgages that could be eligible.

There is a strong interest from banks and mortgage finance firms to halt foreclosures because of the chain reaction they produce.  The market already has more homes for sale than there are qualified buyers and thus more foreclosures will drive down home prices further which will in turn lead to more foreclosures.  If you are behind on your mortgage loan it is strongly urged that you contact your lender as most are willing to setup some sort of plan to help with your payments and keep you in your home.

Last month a total of 279,561 struggling borrowers received foreclosure filings, including default notices, notices of auction sales and bank repossessions.  A total of 84,868 homes were lost to foreclosure in October.  A total of 936,439 homes have been lost to foreclosure since the housing crisis hit in August 2007.

Many states have adopted legislation to combat foreclosures allowing homeowners a chance to modify their mortgages, however foreclosures are still up 25% from a year ago.

Fueling the increase in foreclosures is the struggling economy in which many companies are laying off employees, thus putting strain on these employees being able to pay their mortgages.

Home prices nationwide have been on a steep decline.  According to a Case-Shiller study, Phoenix has seen a one year decline of -30.7%.  The Atlanta metro area is quite fortunate, only seeing a -8.5% decline.

The metro Atlanta area has not been hit as hard as other parts of the country mainly due to the growth and economic development of the city and its surrounding metro areas.