More Homeowners are Opting for 'Strategic Defaults'
More Homeowners are Opting for 'Strategic Defaults'
March 17, 2010, Los Angeles Times
Nearly one-quarter of U.S. mortgages, or about 11 million loans, are "underwater," i.e. the houses are worth less than the balance of their loans. While home values are regaining ground — median prices rose 10% in Southern California last month to $275,000 compared with a year earlier — they remain far below the July 2007 peak of $505,000. Many homeowners are just coming to grips with the idea that prices will take years to reach the pre-crash peak: as long as 14 years in California, according to economist Chris Thornberg.
An Odd Way to Measure the Success of Mortgage Mods
March 15, 2010, Wall Street Journal
The Obama administration has an odd way of assessing the results of its $50 billion Home Affordable Modification Program, or HAMP. When the program was announced a year ago, the administration said it would “offer reduced monthly payments for up to three million to four million at-risk homeowners,” people in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. That phrase, though qualified by the words “up to,” set high expectations. Despite the huge expectations the administration built up for HAMP, dealing with this situation was never going to be easy. Nearly eight million U.S. households, or 15% of those with mortgages, are behind on payments or in foreclosure in what has become by far the worst wave of defaults since the 1930s. Stand by for more rescue plans from Uncle Sam, and perhaps more inflated expectations.
Home Builders Can't Compete With Foreclosures
March 15, 2010, Forbes
As U.S. home builders grew more wary of the housing market in March, besieged by competition from cheap foreclosures, real estate auction companies are booming. Real Estate Disposition, a home auctioneer, has sold off 7,000 properties for $382 million so far this year, says spokesman Rick Weinberg. The total dollar value of auctioned properties is 10% higher than it was in the last three months of 2009 when Real Estate Disposition moved 6,351 homes across the U.S.
Obtaining Due Process in Non-Judicial Foreclosure States
March 16, 2010, RISMEDIA
Things are starting to get really ugly out here on the front lines. The banksters latest tactic has them confirming in writing that the homeowner’s eligibility for a modification is being considered while secretly continuing to foreclose.The homeowner breathes a huge sigh of relief and waits….and waits….and waits. Then comes a knock on the door and the homeowner is out on the street. And, in more and more cases, the borrowers are not even being served with notice as required by law.
Fed Leaves Interest Rates At Record-Low Level
March 16, 2010, NPR
The Federal Reserve decided Tuesday to keep its benchmark interest rate near zero, reinforcing a commitment that rates should stay at record lows as the nation grapples with high unemployment and tight credit. Concluding a one-day policy meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee said the target rate for overnight loans between banks would remain in the zero-to-0.25 percent range "for an extended period."
24-story Trump Condo-Hotel on Ft. Lauderdale Faces Foreclosure
March 16, 2010, Palm Beach Post
The unfinished Trump International Hotel & Tower on Fort Lauderdale beach is facing foreclosure, after developers defaulted on a $139 million loan on the long-awaited condo-hotel project. The new mortgage holder filed for foreclosure against the developers, SB Associates LLC. The suit also names more than 80 people who put deposits on condos, but never received the units or refunds, and now seek liens on the high-rise that was to include 298 condos.