Some entrepreneurs find opportunity in foreclosure meltdown

Some entrepreneurs find opportunity in foreclosure meltdown
Miami Herald

South Florida's housing boom cratered fast and, like the epicenter of an earthquake, left a trail of destruction in its wake.

But in the aftershocks of plummeting home prices, unemployment and continuing foreclosures, some professionals and entrepreneurs have found ways to make money amid the ruins.

Foreclosures Force Ex-Homeowners to Turn to Shelters
The New York Times

CLEVELAND — The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri West endured the darkness in her Hyundai sedan. She parked in her old driveway, with her flower-print dresses and hats piled in boxes on the back seat, and three cherished houseplants on the floor. She used her backyard as a restroom.
The second night, she stayed with a friend, and so it continued for more than a year: Ms. West — mother of three grown children, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to one — passed months on the couches of friends and relatives, and in the front seat of her car.

Adjustable mortgage rates to rise, raising foreclosure fears
Journalgazette.net

WASHINGTON – Take a look around the corner.
Millions of adjustable-rate mortgages are going to reset in the coming years, possibly to higher interest rates, creating the prospect of a new round of foreclosures.

Mountain of modifications
Marketwatch

SAN DIEGO -- Millions of homeowners are struggling to make their monthly mortgage payments and the continued deterioration in the job market guarantees millions more will be at risk in the coming months.

That is putting a huge burden on mortgage-modification programs, both those run by the government and an increasing number operated by private industry, which are in a struggle of their own to stay ahead of the tide of potential foreclosures.

California Bank Marks 99th Failure in 2009
DSNews

Breaking from the norm that has prevailed for most of the year, there’s only one bank failure to report on this week – San Joaquin Bank in Bakersfield, California.

San Joaquin brings the FDIC’s tally of failed banks in 2009 to just one away from the 100-mark. But the single collapse last week follows no bank closures the week prior – the first time that has happened since the week of June 8th.