Dear Friends

Every market offers the opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade. At ETC REO Management, the financial strength of our parent company Trident Fox Roach enables us to capitalize on opportunities in market conditions that are otherwise challenging to others. It’s my pleasure to announce that ETCREO Management has recently reached an agreement with New Vista Asset Management, a nationwide minority-owned asset management company, to handle the volume of bank-owned properties it gets through lender partners.

New Vista Asset Management’s mission is to turn REO properties into affordable housing solutions that increase minority homeownership across the country. This is an innovative approach to the market as foreclosed properties do indeed represent affordable housing opportunities for first-time homebuyers. The company is led by Gary Acosta, founder of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), and Jim Park, CEO of the Asian Real Estate Association of America – both of whom are veterans of the minority-housing segment. The potency of this partnership and market intelligence is threefold with the added leadership of ETCREO’s own Frances Martinez Myers, who is immediate past chair of NAHREP and an expert in the Hispanic market.

We will work closely together with New Vista Asset Management to build a vast network of minority-owned real estate companies to make these properties widely accessible to low and moderate-income homebuyers across the nation. We are thrilled by this opportunity and committed to making this strategy a great success.

Stay tuned for more updates in the months ahead.

Regards,

Linda Zanzinger
Vice President
ETCREO

New Vista Asset Management has tapped ETC REO Management for a business deal that brings together three of the nation’s minority housing leaders. Under the partnership, ETCREO Management will handle property disposition services and will help New Vista market REO properties as an affordable housing solution for minority homebuyers through a nationwide network of minority real estate and mortgage professionals. Read More...

August's 243,947 foreclosure filings compares with 179,599 foreclosure filings in July and 113,300 in August 2006, said RealtyTrac Inc., which tracks foreclosure properties.

Filings include default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions, RealtyTrac said.

August's figure was the biggest in a single month since RealtyTrac began issuing a monthly report in January 2005, it said.

The national foreclosure rate last month amounted to one filing for every 510 households, the company said.

"The jump in foreclosure filings this month might be the beginning of the next wave of increased foreclosure activity, as a large number of subprime adjustable-rate loans are beginning to reset," Chief Executive Officer James Saccacio said.

Bank repossessions also jumped, to 42,789 homes nationwide, compared with 20,116 a year earlier, RealtyTrac said.

Nevada, California and Florida had the highest foreclosure filing rates, with Nevada reporting one foreclosure filing for every 165 households -- more than three times the national average.

Three California cities -- Modesto, Stockton and Merced -- had the highest rates among metropolitan areas, RealtyTrac said.

United Press International

NAR joined with the Mortgage Bankers Association and the National Association of Home Builders in asking Director Lockhart to approve a temporary increase in the portfolio caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to meet urgent credit needs, consistent with safety and soundness. "Congress should act now to increase Fannie Mae’s and Freddie Mac’s conforming loan limits to help borrowers in higher cost areas who are finding it extremely difficult to secure affordable financing. This would have the effect of making more money available for more of our nation’s borrowers," said NAR President.

Pat V. Combs.
National Association of REALTORS

Default Research Inc., a foreclosure research company, reported this week that the number of foreclosures recorded in California jumped 300-percent in August when compared to the same period last year.

According to the data firm, foreclosure filings in Los Angeles County hit 6,040, up 2,047 when compared to August of 2006.

“Unfortunately, much of California, like most of the United States, can't avoid the foreclosure problems that were caused by the housing boom from 2001-2005,” said Serdar Bankaci, president and chief executive officer of Default Research Inc. “Many of the areas hardest hit by the foreclosure problems are not economically challenged areas. California's Sun Belt is a perfect example of that phenomenon, as the foreclosure crises stretches from Riverside up the coast to Sacramento.”

You can access a full list of foreclosure statistics by county by clicking on www.newsletter.defaultresearch.com

DS News

Amidst the rise of foreclosures across the state, the annual Fund Homeownership survey recently found that 16 percent of Florida homeowners have been or know somebody who has been in the foreclosure process. Read More...

The Fund

Whether they're waiting out the housing storm, or smack in the middle of it, an increasing number of Americans are choosing to rent, not own. And that's good news for landlords and investors.

Foreclosures and risky lending have dogged the housing market. As lenders have tightened their standards, attractive mortgages have grown harder to come by. Yet rental fundamentals have remained strong, especially in the 10 areas that made our list of Best Markets for Landlords. Read More...

The Fund