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88 Will 'Unaffordable' Homes Ever Become 'Affordable' to Millennials? While buying a home that fits the defini- tion of "unaffordable" to millennials (age 25 to 34) according to the federal government—that is to say, a home with monthly mortgage pay- ments that exceed 31 percent of the household's monthly income—is generally a bad idea, re- search released by Trulia on Wednesday indi- cates that sentiment may be reversing its field. In many housing markets that have seen strong wage and income growth, the share of a household's monthly income put toward a mortgage payment is shrinking, hence the once "unaffordable" house could become affordable within a matter of just months in some cases, according to Trulia. Interestingly, the majority of the markets where unaffordable houses become affordable over the life of a 30- year mortgage (or are already affordable) are in the northeast or on the east coast (Providence, Rhode Island; Newark, New Jersey; New Ha- ven, Connecticut), while the majority of those markets that are defined as unaffordable and likely to stay that way are located on the west coast (primarily in California). Initial mortgage payments are already affordable to millennials in 73 out of the 100 largest housing markets in the country, ac- cording to Trulia—in other words, the initial mortgage payments make up 20 percent or less out of that household's monthly income. In a market where house prices are low and income growth is strong, such as Columbia, South Carolina (another market in the eastern U.S.), the payments begin the life of the mortgage as 17 percent of the household's monthly income; by the end of the life of the loan, the payments drop to 6.6 percent. e households in the top 10 affordable markets all will end up paying less than 7 percent of their monthly income toward their mortgage payment by the end of the loan. e top five affordable markets are all in the eastern part of the country: Detroit, Bir- mingham, Pittsburgh, Akron, and Columbia. In 17 out of the largest housing markets, however, a median price home is defined as unaffordable to millennials; but the good news is, though the monthly payments may be ini- tially unaffordable, it becomes affordable in less than two years into the life of the mortgage in markets like Washington, D.C.; Silver Spring, Maryland; Madison, Wisconsin; and Tacoma, Washington. Even in some pricier east coast markets like Boston, Cambridge, and Long Island, due to strong predicted wage growth, the median price home will become affordable to a millennial six years after purchase. New Haven, Connecticut, was the market with the largest expected decline in percent- age of monthly income put toward a mortgage payment over the life of a mortgage, due to projected strong income growth in that area. Millennials purchasing a median priced home in New Haven now can expect to pay 37 percent of their monthly income toward a mortgage payment; by the end of the loan, that share will drop to 11.2 percent, a decline of more than 25 percentage points, according to Trulia. "Buying a home is one of the biggest finan- cial decisions a household can make," Trulia said in the report. "In general, buying is a bet- ter financial decision than renting, but at the same time, median housing prices in several markets are unaffordable and down payments can be hard to come by. So the decision can be tough. If households plan on staying in their home for a long period of time, buying an un- affordable home probably isn't a terrible idea. If a household moves often, it's almost certainly a better idea to rent." Chronos Solutions, RealtyBid Unveil Trustee Sale Plus Auction Service Chronos Solutions, formerly Matt Martin Real Estate Management, a diversified national real estate services firm, recently introduced a new service to help sellers in the disposition of HUD, VA, and non-performing loan (NPL) sales via its affiliate company, Re- altyBid. Trustee Sale PlusSM is designed to dimin- ish servicers' transaction risk in the event a third-party doesn't purchase the property at the courthouse auction, according to the Chronos. RealtyBid is the only company in the country that can immediately provide second chance online auctions, "plus" title curative, and Chronos' signature HOA/Condo Lien Identification and Resolution service, collec- tively called ConveyancePrep. Chronos noted in their release that Con- veyancePrep is available to support any servicer or institutional investor with assets in need of conveyance or marketable title assistance, and is included for free when utilized under the Trustee Sale Plus program. Matt Martin, CEO and co-founder of Chronos Solutions, noted that the new program offers "unparalleled value to the servicing community. e title curative process can be expensive and many servicers simply aren't set up to do it." Martin also pointed out that a number of other realities routinely make the process cumbersome for servicers. "Some foreclosure attorneys fail to cure title completely, leading to costs and delays. HUD requires any Home Owner Association obligations, such as liens and fees, to be current at the time of convey- ance, but identifying those obligations can be a major challenge," he said. "Also, if a property isn't conveyed in a timely manner, the resulting fees and penalties can be massive and cost prohibitive for the ser- vicer," Martin continued. "ere are significant time and cost savings for a servicer by allowing a trusted third-party provider such as Chronos to manage its auction programs through a prod- uct like Trustee Sale PlusSM. We are aware of no other service program in the industry that overcomes the inherent challenges as compre- hensively." "We have very strong experience and a proven track record in driving traffic and sell- ing distressed assets through various channels including at the courthouse steps, online, and in ballroom settings," said RealtyBid President Tony Isbell. "is service offering will drive more third-party sales for sellers and assist in reducing carrying costs associated with distressed assets. For those assets that don't sell at auction, we provide the additional peace of mind through our "plus" program of helping make sure those properties are ready to be disposed of by other means by providing clear, marketable title. It's the best of both worlds." Chronos can provide other niche services, including title, valuations, and inspections to further assist in the process. "Sellers are attuned to bundled services today more than ever, particularly given the concerns posed by additional vendor manage- ment scrutiny by regulators" Martin said. "e faster and more comprehensive you can be in the disposition process, the better the results for everyone. Trustee Sale Plus promises to make that happen and raise the bar for trustee sales as a comprehensive and cost-effective solution." California has had the most cumulative bankruptcy filings of any state in the nation through the first 10 months of 2015 with 68,884, according to AACER bankruptcy data reported by Epiq Systems. KNOW THIS

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