foreclosure: How much would you pay for this building? Sign of the times...
- 03/31/09 10:01 AM
The image you are looking at is the Hancock Building in downtown Boston. It was sold today at a foreclosure auction. What would you bid for this landmark? In 2006, this commercial investment was worth around $1.2 billion to a group of investors who purchased it, hoping for a solid CAP rate and increased rents from the various businesses leasing space in the tower. Like many properties purchased before the bubble burst, their goals were not reached, they fell behind on payments, and ultimately ended up in foreclosure. What did it sell for today? A paltry $660.6 million. In case you … (1 comments)
foreclosure: President Obama's 'Homeowner Stability Initiative'
- 02/18/09 06:02 AM
President Obama announced a plan today designed to help millions of homeowners around the country. While final details and rules & regulations will not be announced for two weeks, we learned some details today. The plan is scheduled to begin March 4. Some homeowners will be able to refinance their existing mortgages, only on owner-occupied properties. There are several criteria they must meet. Owners must be current on their mortgage payments, must have a conforming loan (less than $417,000) that is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and apparently must owe more than 80% of their home’s value. … (0 comments)
foreclosure: Will speculators prevent a housing recovery?
- 01/27/09 05:37 AM
Kathleen M. Howley wrote an interesting article recently. Check it out on Bloomberg.com. Howley's thesis, built in large part upon interviews with Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and co-creator of the widely used S&P/Case Shiller real estate price index Robert Shiller, submits that speculators are largely to blame for the current housing recession and these same flippers/professional investors will keep prices down for some time to come. How did this happen? Flippers bought more than they could afford thanks to no-documentation loans and other risky mortgage products during the housing market bubble in the late 1990s and early 2000s. When many … (1 comments)
foreclosure: Stemming the foreclosure crisis: MA Attorney General's plan
- 01/27/09 03:55 AM
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, together with several State Senators and Represenatives, has filed two pieces of legislation aimed at reducing foreclosures and negating some of the negative effects of abandoned properties as a result of foreclosures. What is Ms. Coakley’s hope? According to the AG website, “We hope that this legislation can provide for Massachusetts some relief while we wait for action at the national level. The effects of the housing crisis have rippled through all sectors of our economy, and until we tackle the underlying problem of the subprime lending crisis, no bail out package, no matter how big, … (0 comments)
foreclosure: Was the bailout ill-conceived? Say it ain't so!
- 11/12/08 05:31 AM
My main man Hank Paulson, head of the HPHF, has changed his mind about spending some of the $700 billion that he hopes to soon access. As of today, Paulson has roughly $60 billion left of the initial $350 billion which has been spent buying preferred shares of banks and insurer AIG. Remember the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)? The initial plan was to buy illiquid/mis-priced mortgage securities in order to get them off the balance sheets of huge companies in order to stabilize the market/economic system. The Treasury is the only entity that could afford to hold them for a … (3 comments)
foreclosure: Cleaning up the housing mess, FHFA style
- 11/11/08 05:57 AM
James Lockhart, Director and Chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), announced a large loan modification plan today. How big is it? According to Lockhart, tens of thousands of mortgages can be renegotiated. Servicers of these loans have agreed to this plan and will receive $800 for each loan modified by the program. Unfortunately, it appears that the only folks eligible at this point are borrowers who are at least three months delinquent in their mortgage payments, and the loans must be owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The plan is designed to get homeowners into mortgages … (2 comments)
foreclosure: Update: Solving the foreclosure crisis. Any ideas?
- 10/30/08 08:50 AM
Some smarty-pants Professor from Yale got the NY Times to publish his thoughts about solving the foreclosure crisis. As I was unable to get an op-ed piece in a major newspaper, you can read a few of my thoughts on this same issue from a previous post. That stated, Mr. Geanakoplos, along with coauthor and fellow smarty-pants Susan Koniak, provide a sound argument for enacting new legislation based on their ideas. If you are a home owner, potential home buyer, potential home seller, or engaged in business with any of these parties, take a few minutes to read Mortgage Justice Is … (0 comments)
foreclosure: 'Fundamental' agreement reached on bailout
- 09/25/08 05:58 AM
The power brokers in Washington just met for a photo shoot and gave some brief comments about the pending bailout that has dominated the news in recent days. After negotiations between both parties, Sen. Chris Dodd announced that they have agreed, in principle, to the principal amount. Got it? Here are the vague details that Dodd, among others, provided. Congress will give Paulson the money he needs (assumption: $700 billion) They have agreed on protecting home ownership (how?) They have agreed on executive compensation limits (will be part of the terms of the bailout bill) There will be taxpayer protection (likely … (4 comments)
foreclosure: Update: Who's gonna fix Fannie and Freddie?
- 08/19/08 04:11 AM
I wrote recently about the troubles that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing currently. Increased foreclosures and uncertain finances are dogging these two GSEs. Jonathan R. Laing reported in Barron's that both companies may well be on their way to becoming extinct, at least in their current forms. To wit, "Heaven knows, the two government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs, both need resuscitation. Soaring mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures have led the companies to gush red ink for the past four quarters, and their managements concede the outlook is even grimmer well into next year." As if Laing's statement isn't harsh enough (sometimes … (1 comments)
foreclosure: Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008
- 07/30/08 12:56 PM
President Bush signed into law today the oft-debated housing bill that recently passed through the House of Representatives on July 23 (vote was 272-152) and the Senate on July 26 (vote was 72-13). Many were pessimistic about the possibility this bill would make it through both sides of Congress - specifically the Senate, where most Republicans threatened to vote against it, but Bush changed his stance and decided not to veto the bill. There are many implications for the housing market as a result of this bill being signed into law, and many are calling it the most important piece … (0 comments)
foreclosure: Housing bill is one step closer to becoming reality
- 07/27/08 02:47 PM
David Herszenhorn wrote about the House of Representatives’ recent passing vote on the housing bill that has been in the news quite a bit. This bill was primarily authored by Barney Frank of my home state of Massachusetts. You can read about the bill and its potential pros and cons at The New York Times‘ website. Why should you care about this bill? Your tax dollars are funding parts of it, but that’s nothing new. What is new is that some of those dollars will be paying for cities and towns to buy and refurbish foreclosed homes. Is this a good … (4 comments)
foreclosure: Solving the foreclosure crisis. Any ideas?
- 06/23/08 09:24 AM
I've been thinking lately. Maybe not always a good sign, but I've come up with some harebrained incredible ideas for solving or at least mitigating the foreclosure crisis in this country. 1. Have lenders agree to work with buyers who are behind on payments but are trying to still live in the home i.e. not flippers etc who put zero down and can just walk away. Work with them how? Cancel fees for a set period of time as they try to catch up on payments. Allow them to refinance to fixed rates with low or no closing costs. Offer interest … (1 comments)
foreclosure: Hope Now not providing enough hope. Foreclosures way up, again.
- 06/16/08 02:23 AM
Are you in trouble with your mortgage payments? You are not alone. I found an informative article over at Yahoo! Finance that provides more discouraging detail about the foreclosure crisis that is facing this country and has not abated yet. Of note - 1 in every 483 homeowners across the country have received some sort of foreclosure notice. There are basically three types of these notices - default notice (owners are very late on payments), auction sale notice, and bank repossession. About half of the current foreclosure proceedings will be taken care of via sale or payment by the owner, but … (4 comments)
foreclosure: The subprime mess - who's to blame? How can we fix it?
- 06/11/08 08:50 AM
Shouldn’t we blame REALTORS® for this mess that we currently find ourselves in? A recent study asking consumers how they felt about real estate agents came to some interesting conclusions. When asked about REALTORS® in general, people were mostly wishy-washy - some were in favor, some were not, most were unsure how they felt. But when asked about their particular REALTOR®, about 80% of respondents stated they would work with their agent again. What gives? The majority of business for most agents comes from repeat clients, referrals, and word-of-mouth. Agents should have a long-term interest in the area in which they … (6 comments)
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John Morrison
Exclusive Buyernulls Agent, CBR - Boston Area Real...
The image you are looking at is the Hancock Building in downtown Boston. It was sold today at a foreclosure auction. What would you bid for this landmark?
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