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foreclosure crises: Was President Clinton the cause of the housing meltdown? - 03/03/08 08:35 AM
This isn't intended as an opinion post, nor is it intended to inform. It's intended only to provoke thought and to draw attention to Gene Wunderlich's new group: Mortgage, Foreclosure & Elder Abuse Housing Fraud. I plan on contributing a significant number of short posts featuring links to facts and opinions about mortgage fraud, foreclosure statistics, the housing meltdown, etc. that you won't find aggregated in any other place. BusinessWeek had an article last week that bashed the Clinton administration for abusing public policy, visa vie HUD, to intentionally inflate domestic housing statistics. It's an interesting perspective when you think about … (14 comments)
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foreclosure crises: When Deals Go Bad: Baltimore's Foreclosure Debacle - 01/13/08 04:07 PM
Baltimore, sometimes called "Charm City," isn't all that charming beyond the inner harbor complex that's featured by media when the Ravens or Orioles are playing at home. Sheila Dixon, Baltimore's newly elected mayor, along with the city's council have filed suit against Wells Fargo Bank to recover alleged losses caused by a wave a foreclosures ravaging the city's neighborhoods. The complaint, filed in federal court, seeks damages for municipal expenditures, including fire and police protection and the loss of tax revenue, correlated to a stark escalation in the number of vacant homes. The New York Times, in a related article written … (13 comments)
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foreclosure crises: Five Years : A Desparately Long Time Indeed! - 12/07/07 02:18 PM
You've heard the news by now, the Bush Administration has revealed its plan to rescue housing markets. The idea is to save certain consumers from themselves and to save the economy at large from the grips of ruination. While I dislike everything about the proposal, it's the length of time that introductory rates would be frozen that disturbs me the most. Five years is a very long time! The American Civil War lasted only four years, yet the epic struggle redefined the fabric of our society. John F. Kennedy was in office less than three years before being assassinated, still his … (33 comments)
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foreclosure crises: Worrying Rationally - 12/04/07 12:26 PM
This is probably my final word on the housing crises. That is, unless a prophetically new issue with devastating implications rears its ugly head.Let's temporarily remove conjecture from the mix to deal directly with facts. It's a generally accepted fact that 1 in every 196 U.S. households is currently in foreclosure. Notice I said households. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that there were 116,011,000 households in this country in 2006. Using that number as the basis, simple math tells us that 591,893 U.S. households face the distinct possibility of losing their homes at this time. A recently released study commissioned by … (23 comments)
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foreclosure crises: A Technological Conundrum - 11/30/07 07:36 PM
I spoke to a good friend of mine the other day. Mike and I each started in the business more than two decades ago. Mike pursued a career as a loan originator while I always preferred the research oriented work found within title companies. Mike has an extraordinary knowledge of lending guidelines and practices. He's been around long enough to know everything and everyone. During the course of our catch up session, I decided to ask Mike to join Active Rain. The guy would make a wonderful addition to the community. His answer was startling. Mike, who like me is in … (17 comments)
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foreclosure crises: The Metrics of a Market Correction - 11/26/07 01:25 PM
The housing crises, as many of you know, has been the topic of recent interest on Active Rain. I've weighed in with a couple of posts knowing full well that my opinions are far different than most who gravitate to this site. My perspective is unpopular here. Still, 2007 was a year of extensive travel that put me face to face with title agents and underwriter executives from many different states. In one prolific instance, my meeting was with elected officials from across the land. Unquestionably, the dubious creed of personal responsibility among borrowers is part of the problem. But, let's … (72 comments)
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foreclosure crises: A Coin Has Only Two Sides - 11/24/07 01:11 PM
There's a story that I've wanted to tell for some time. I've avoided it only because family members are involved. The recent commentary thread to Lenn's post California Subprime Borrowers May Get Relief? - More Questions Than Answers convinced me that it was time to share and delve even deeper into the mess that's now referred to as a national credit crunch. While a credit crunch most certainly exists, it's a mere symptom of a complex series of broad and interacting issues. It's not the problem. Unlike a coin that has only two sides, our industry faces a problem with a … (67 comments)
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foreclosure crises: A Recipe for Unmitigated Disaster - 11/23/07 06:13 PM
Earlier today, Lenn Harley posted California Subprime Borrowers May Get Relief? - More Questions Than Answers. It's Lenn's insightful commentary to posts written by Bryant Tutas and Gena Riede concerning the frightful number of looming foreclosures in certain markets. Specifically, Gena emphasized the concerned efforts of California's governor to offer some relief to borrowers in serious financial distress. The governor of Massachusetts was the first to offer a plan of sorts earlier this year. While the initiative shown by state governments to confront the foreclosure epidemic is laudable, I doubt that localized efforts can pack the punch needed to make an … (35 comments)
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foreclosure crises: My Thoughts on Mortgage Fraud and Foreclosure - 07/07/07 04:25 PM
The historical correlation between the economy and foreclosure rates is amazingly weak. I've spent several days compiling and studying foreclosure statistics from the 1950's through the present. You would think unemployment numbers would have a direct effect on foreclosure trends nationally. They don't.
Interest rates undeniably trigger defaults among contemporary products like adjustable rate and subprime mortgages.
But, researchers struggled unsuccessfully to link an external causation factor, prior to 1990, to the non-payment of conforming loan products.
Subprime, or risk based, mortgages have been widely available to consumers for only 15 years or so. Since the mid 1990's, a … (18 comments)
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foreclosure crises: An Angry Consumer is a Formidable Opponent - 06/28/07 09:47 AM
I received an email recently from a woman who had read my Active Rain posts. From her message, I gleaned that a lender had taken advantage of her during a refinance transaction. I receive similar emails fairly often, but somehow this one was different. The lady's name is Paula and she wasn't looking for an elixir to somehow solve a serious problem. She had already taken a stand and had decided to make a difference. Paula had written to tell me about her newly launched web-site.
That's right, a site hosted by an angry consumer who is fighting back. Before … (36 comments)
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foreclosure crises: In the beginning ... - 05/20/07 12:26 PM
Last week, I wrote about the mortgage fraud concerns that were shared anonymously by title agents during the past month. Click here to view previous post. In keeping with the spirit of the Active Rain community, your assistance was selflessly offered when I asked for it. Your outpouring of support was both overwhelming and greatly appreciated. I apologize that I haven't had the opportunity to respond to everyone who sent an email. I will ... it's a promise.
I spent yesterday morning categorizing the information provided to date. My original thought was to provide an educational resource in the form of a … (17 comments)
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foreclosure crises: 2007 from my perspective - 01/07/07 08:10 AM
I'm admittedly concerned about the real estate and mortgage fraud outlook for 2007 after considering the developments of the past year. Real estate and mortgage fraud is a complicated issue presenting a spectrum of societal challenges in the form of costs and consequences. Industry leaders express grave concern without revealing a concise and cohesive strategy to combat the epidemic. The U.S. Justice Department continues a misguided agenda of prosecuting mostly "notorious" fraudsters in metropolitan areas. State and local authorities often recognize the existence of a problem, but lack the resources to confront this sophisticated form of theft. As a matter of … (2 comments)
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