“Just in case you’re one of those not yet at risk of foreclosure, and therefore don’t think that what you’re hearing about today impacts you, I can assure you that you’ll change your mind about that soon enough, because as it stands the fraud perpetrated here is going to impact everyone in this country for… oh, I don’t know… let’s be optimists about this and call it the next 50 years. I assure you that no one is getting out of this one unscathed.”
Archive for October, 2010
“… the question is, Why haven’t there been more bank failures? In 2008, there were 25 failures, last year there were 140, and so far this year 129 have been seized on Friday nights. The greatest real-estate bubble in history has popped — first residential and now commercial — and we only have 294 failures?”
“The recent news coverage has returned many mortgage and MBS-related issues, both real and illusory, to prominence. The initial headlines that stemmed from the announcement of problems with GMAC’s foreclosure filings have morphed into questions about the foreclosure process, the extent and potential cost of loan buyouts and the legal standing of the securitized mortgage market itself. This article addresses some of the issues currently roiling the financial markets.”
“First, a federal mortgage guarantee is really just another kind of subsidy. The government is taking on default risk, instead of forcing either banks or borrowers to bear the risk. Some people, including me, would argue that the government shouldn’t guarantee any mortgages. But as long as it’s going to, it might as well only back the mortgages for those who would need that subsidy to afford to buy a home. In other words, there’s definitely no reason the government needs to guarantee the mortgages of rich Americans”
“Despite banks’ assurances that they’re fixing foreclosure documentation problems and that the crisis may amount to a “blip in the housing market,” the lawyer who helped spark the foreclosure furor said that the banks’ solutions to the problem have so far been inadequate and don’t address the underlying structural deficiencies that plague the foreclosure process.”
“Lowe’s Companies Inc. has dramatically increased the amount of money it is prepared to offer customers whose health or homes were harmed by defective drywall they bought from its stores. Those customers are now eligible for up to $100,000 in cash, instead of the maximum $4,500 in cash and gift cards that was previously agreed upon in a class action lawsuit that is being negotiated in a Georgia state court.”
“My conclusion: The servicers – the big banks – are lying and the chain of title on all these properties is severely damaged and might be completely trashed.”
“Fannie Mae, which has temporarily suspended certain REO sales because of the foreclosure-gate scandal, plans to hold its servicers responsible for increased carrying costs on these properties, industry sources told National Mortgage News.”
“Mortgage rates today are edging back down toward 3.8% following the release of Consumer Sentiment this morning, which fell short of expectations.”