Strategic Default: Walking Away from Mortgages

Strategic Default: Walking Away from Mortgages
May 9, 2010 — 60 Minutes

(CBS)  Despite some indications that the economy is recovering, the housing market remains a disaster area. Currently, about seven million homeowners are behind on their mortgages and that number is only getting worse.

Most underwater owners would not walk away
May 21, 2010 — Inman News

More than half of homeowners with a mortgage say they would not walk away from their home if it were underwater -- i.e., they owed more than the home was worth -- according to the results of a periodic survey by foreclosure data company RealtyTrac and property search site Trulia.com.

Mean Street: The White House’s Own Little “Abacus” Deal
May 19, 2010 — Wall Street Journal

If Goldman Sachs ends up paying a billion dollars as punishment for misleading investors in the Abacus deal, what should Washington pay for misleading the American people?

9 Southern California men charged with operating foreclosure-relief scam
May 21, 2010 — Los Angeles Times

Nine Southern California men have been charged with operating a foreclosure-relief scam that allegedly stole at least $2.3 million from about 1,500 homeowners across the U.S., the state attorney general's office announced Thursday.

LA City Council considers ordinance on maintaining foreclosed homes
May 21, 2010 — KPCC

Under the proposed ordinance, the city would create a registry of foreclosed properties, whose owners would be told about requirements for keeping the property "clean and free from accumulation of debris, rubbish, garbage, trash, overgrown vegetation and other similar material."

Senate Passes Finance Bill
May 21, 2010 — Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON—The Senate on Thursday approved the most extensive overhaul of financial-sector regulation since the 1930s, hoping to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis that hit the U.S. economy starting in 2007.