Media Coverage

Canadian foreclosure info takes some digging

The following article was published in The Georgia Straight August 14, 2008

Canadian foreclosure info takes some digging

By Charlie Smith

Media reports from the United States routinely list a litany of horrors about the number of foreclosures. According to an August 4 New York Times report, 8.41 percent of subprime-mortgage loans from 2005 were in arrears by 90 days or more or in foreclosure in the month of June. Of subprime-mortgage loans from 2007, 16.6 percent were delinquent, according to the report.

This is creating huge problems for U.S. real-estate lenders, who have to put properties in foreclosure and then find a buyer in a market that is already glutted with distress sales.

Fortunately, in B.C. there haven’t been nearly as many foreclosures, which are legal processes in court to extinguish all rights, title, and interest in an owner’s property so that it can be sold to pay a lien against it.

See Kap Hiroti in foreclosure article on GlobalTV

Foreclosures on the rise here, but there's no need to panic over stats

The following article was published in Business In Vancouver July 1-7, 2008; issue 975

Foreclosures on the rise here, but there's no need to panic over stats

REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP: By Peter Mitham

Numbers a bit misleading as there are more mortgages in B.C. than ever before

The stats gathered by New Westminster real estate educator and investor Kap Hiroti, who tracks B.C. foreclosures using B.C. Supreme Court filings, suggests the volume of foreclosure proceedings initiated in the province has risen from 10 a week in 2006 to 20 a week today.

Foreclosures heat as market cools

The following article was published on the front page of the Money section in The Province, June 8, 2008.

Foreclosures heat as market cools

Rate surge in Lower Mainland, but not comparable to U.S.-style meltdown

Ian Austin, The Province

Lower Mainland foreclosures have doubled in the last two years as affordability has decreased along with the promise of quick profits.

Kap Hiroti, who tracks Lower Mainland foreclosures at ForeclosureList.ca, says foreclosures stand at 20 per week, up from 10 per week in 2006.

Foreclosures can be jackpots

Foreclosures can be jackpots

But capitalizing on these homes can also be a risky business, says local realtor

Darrell Bellaart, Daily News

In the real estate foreclosure business, one man's pain can be another's opportunity.

Foreclosure investing is one of the hottest new markets to rise from the ashes of the U.S. mortgage meltdown, and it's now gaining a foothold in B.C.

Here, the opportunity is in rapidly growing real estate values in the Lower Mainland, and the spillover effect of inflated prices on nearby markets, including Nanaimo.

There are risks to buying a foreclosed property, but Kap Hiroti, a Vancouver real estate investment coach said big bucks are available for those who pick the right property.