Foreclosure community blog resource powered by RealtyTrac : mortgage meltdown

Number of Modified Mortgages Jumps Sharply

Octavion — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Number of Modified Mortgages Jumps Sharply February18, 2010, Los Angeles Times The number of mortgages with permanently lowered monthly payments under the Obama administration's foreclosure prevention program increased dramatically in January. Under...(read more)

Half of Mortgage Borrowers Will Be 'Underwater'

Octavion — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:58:00 GMT

July Unemployment Rate Drops USA TODAY Employers throttled back on layoffs in July, cutting just 247,000 jobs, fewest in a year, and the unemployment rate dipped to 9.4%. It was a better-than-expected showing that offered a strong signal that the recession...(read more)

America Needs a Single Bank Regulator

Octavion — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:49:00 GMT

America Needs a Single Bank Regulator Financial Times In recent weeks our financial markets have shown signs of recovery thanks to unprecedented action to stabilize markets and stimulate the economy. Yet this crisis has many distressing qualities. Perhaps...(read more)

Brother, Can You Spare a Trillion?

Octavion — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:02:00 GMT

As big banks on government life support — particularly Bank of America and Citigroup — continue to struggle amid rising fears that they are mortally wounded “zombie banks,” a growing chorus of industry leaders are calling for the...(read more)

25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis

Octavion — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:33:00 GMT

25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis
TIME Magazine

Who’s at fault? The good intentions, bad managers and greed behind the financial meltdown is exposed by TIME Magazine. View the list.

HUD Secretary, Congress Debate Foreclosure Plans
Washington Post

Against a backdrop of record-low new home sales and ballooning losses from foreclosures, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told lawmakers Thursday that the lending industry is set to launch the Obama administration's $75 billion foreclosure prevention program next week.

Final details will be released Wednesday, but Donovan said the plan will allow borrowers with big debts from car loans, credit cards and unaffordable mortgages to have their home loans modified to lower the monthly payment, even if they are not in default.

House of Cards: The Faces Behind Foreclosures
TIME Magazine

In the one-strike economy, it's not just the subprime suckers going down. Trouble stretches beyond the province of liar loans, condo-flipping and the collateralized debt obligations that no one fully understands. A hard rain now falls on the just as well as the unjust. Consumers have stopped spending, factories have stopped operating, employers have stopped hiring — and home values continue to fall. For millions of people, the margin between getting by and getting buried is becoming as thin and as bloody as a razor blade.

Citigroup is Bailed Out Yet Again by the American Government
The Economist

In a matter of weeks the nationalization of America’s banks has gone from taboo to talking point. Politicians on both left and right accept that America’s sickest banks may need to be taken over and restructured and their good parts returned to private ownership. On Friday February 27th Citigroup and the Treasury reached a deal that took a big step towards what would in essence be partial nationalization. Through conversions of preferred stock the government will end up with up to 36% of Citigroup, though the final figure will depend on how many preferred shares private holders agree to swap.

Calif. Offers Tax Break for New-home Buyers
San Francisco Chronicle

California is offering a big carrot to people who buy brand-new homes in coming weeks: a $10,000 state tax credit for new-home buyers who close escrow starting Sunday.

With the housing sector in near-collapse and construction starts at record lows, home builders hope the credit helps them clear out inventory and kick-start their beleaguered industry.

New Bailout May Top $1.5 Trillion

Octavion — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:40:00 GMT

New Bailout May Top $1.5 Trillion
Washington Post
February 10, 2009

The gravity of the financial crisis confronting the Obama administration will come into stark focus today when officials unveil a three-pronged rescue program that may commit up to $1.5 trillion in public and private funds, and possibly more, lawmakers and other officials said.

Mortgage 'Cramdowns' Could be on the Way
Los Angeles Times
February 7, 2009

Proponents call them the crucial tool needed to get us out of the foreclosure morass. Critics say they could be disastrous -- pushing up interest rates on future mortgages, even for people with excellent credit, and creating huge new losses for already ailing banks.

In Florida, Despair and Foreclosures
New York Times
February 7, 2009

Desperation has moved into this once-middle-class exurb of Fort Myers, where hammers used to pound.

For Some, Mortgage Meltdown Means Opportunity

Octavion — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 23:09:00 GMT

Cracks are appearing in the foundation of the housing market as shock waves — triggered by concern over a surge in bad subprime mortgages — jolted the stock market this week, sending the Dow Jones industrial average downward by more than 243 points, amid fears that a mortgage meltdown in the subprime lending sector could have broader economic implications.

Warning signs already had begun to manifest themselves last year as the recent housing boom was starting to reverse. Although the trend started late in 2005, it accelerated to 1.2 million foreclosure filings in 2006, up 42 percent from the previous year, according to RealtyTrac. That's one home mortgage foreclosure filing for every 92 households. And this may only be the beginning, as the last three months have indicated a speedup in such a destabilizing process.

As the market for risky mortgages collapses, dragging home values and stock prices down with it, many real estate investors and home buyers are seeing opportunities emerging on the horizon.

One of the biggest reasons for increases in foreclosures comes from borrowers buying more house than they can afford. During the height of the housing boom, homeowners avoided foreclosure by refinancing to more risky adjustable-rate mortgages with lower monthly payments.

Now, however, those homeowners — and the many investors who used the same mortgages to buy multiple houses — are struggling to hold on as their payments begin to increase. With fewer loans, fewer sales and fewer options available to struggling subprime borrowers, the future looks bleak for subprime lenders and their battered customers.

As more and more mortgage lenders get stuck with owning over-priced distressed properties, RealtyTrac customers and real estate investors nationwide could be the solution to the broader economic housing woes.

Things could get very interesting in the months to come. Stay tuned to RealtyTrac for all the latest foreclosure news.