Posts tagged as:

housing

U.S. consumer spending visualized

July 12, 2009

How The Average U.S. Consumer Spends Their Paycheck | Visual Economics (via BoingBoing)

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Produce the note!

February 26, 2009

Sometimes the court system actually works. The AP has an interesting article on homeowners who are forcing lenders to <gasp> produce the note—the proof the lender issued a mortgage. Apparently some people are having some success in delaying or stopping foreclosure by simply asking whomever is trying to foreclose to produce the original mortgage note. [...]

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Speculators owned 60% of Florida county’s foreclosures

February 23, 2009

Buried in an article about the “rocket docket” in Fort Myers, Florida is this quote:
Sixty percent of the cases handled here involve homeowners who were speculators and out-of-towners. They don’t bother showing up for the court hearing, so the process is quick, and many are handled in seconds.
I assume that figure is higher, in part, [...]

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Senate votes to re-inflate the housing bubble

February 5, 2009

The Senate has approved an addition to the economic stimulus package that would give a $15,000 tax credit to anyone who buys a home within two years of the bill’s passage. The credit only applies to a principal residence, and would have to be repaid if the buyer sells the home within two years..
On the [...]

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It’s a wonderful mortgage crisis

December 24, 2008

Newsweek analyzes the mortgage crisis though the lens of my favorite holiday movie.  For those who don’t know the story, Frank Capra’s masterpiece is a film about overcoming greed through the power of friendship (with a little help from spirituality), family and love.
I wish I had a million dollars – hot dog!
It’s A Wonderful Mortgage Crisis [...]

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Nursing home evictions

August 18, 2008

Nursing home evictions | Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

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Bush signs housing rescue law

July 30, 2008

“President enacts controversial measure that aims to help borrowers, bolster the housing market and provide a fail-safe for Fannie and Freddie.” Bush signs housing rescue law | CNN Money

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Minnesota has less than half as many mortgage originators this year. Good.

June 6, 2008

In response to the tanking housing market, Minnesota passed some pretty strong mortgage industry regulation last year. Alex Stenback points to an article in the Strib reporting that there are now less than half as many mortgage originators as last year. And 50 mortgage brokers surrendered their licenses, as well.
More than 50 Minnesota mortgage brokers [...]

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Governor Tim Pawlenty loves the homeless so much he wants more of them

May 30, 2008

The Minnesota legislature put the Subprime Borrower Relief Act on Governor Pawlenty’s desk last week. The Act would have put Minnesota home foreclosures on hold for a year to give homeowners a chance to sell, refinance, or negotiate a workout plan with their lenders.
It was, in all respects, a reasonable and fair compromise that would [...]

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National Association of Realtors finally caves on internet listing

May 29, 2008

The Justice Department and the National Association of Realtors reached a tentative settlement in an antitrust lawsuit. The NAR was seriously hampering the ability of newer, lower-cost realtors to list properties for sale online. As anyone who has recently gone house-shopping knows, you have to go to a traditional broker if you want to see [...]

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Minnesota legislature passes Subprime Borrower Relief Act

May 20, 2008

The Subprime Borrower Relief Act gives borrowers with subprime loans the right to defer a foreclosure sale of their residence for one year after the bill becomes law.

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Mortgage servicers make their money by screwing consumers and lenders

May 19, 2008

I was amused to read Mark Ireland’s post saying he came under fire by members of a panel on foreclosures at the recent Equal Justice Conference in Minneapolis for suggesting that mortgage loan servicers are not acting in the best interest of either consumers or lenders. I thought that was common knowledge.
Servicers make money from [...]

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Monday consumer blog roundup

May 12, 2008

Here are the blog posts I starred in Google Reader last week. (If you use Google Reader, you can subscribe to my shared items.)

The Alphonso Jackson Legacy. Mark Ireland comments on the Washington Post’s look at the legacy of HUD chief (and Bush appointee) Alphonso Jackson. While Jackson oversaw the government body in charge of [...]

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How the candidates would address the foreclosure crisis

April 28, 2008

Mark Ireland, former Minnesota Assistant Attorney General, took a look at what the three remaining presidential candidates are saying about the foreclosure crisis and translated their campaign-speak into good ol’ American English.
According to Ireland’s commentary, only Obama has a real plan. He would increase penalties for fraudulent lending, create a foreclosure-prevention fund, create a standardized [...]

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The impact of the subprime mortgage squeeze across the U.S.

April 10, 2008

From the New York Times, a beautiful graph (seriously, look at that!) showing the impact of the subprime mortgage mess across the U.S.:

(Click for big.)
The Twin Cities is definitely one of the hardest-hit, but just look at Florida!
[via City Pages, The Blotter]

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YouWalkAway.com was one of those “right place, right time” startups

March 6, 2008

Looks like YouWalkAway.com was one of those “right place, right time” startups. Bloomberg reports that foreclosures are skyrocketing as more and more homeowners just give up. Mortgages are secured loans, after all. Banks just never counted on having to accept the collateral instead of the payback. [via Consumerist]

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F.B.I. opens subprime inquiry

February 4, 2008

I guess better late than never. The NYTimes is reporting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the troubled mortgage industry. The F.B.I. is supposedly looking into possible accounting fraud, insider trading or other violations in connection with loans made to borrowers [...]

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What the Fed rate cut means

January 22, 2008

This morning, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors made an “emergency” rate cut today of .75% to the federal funds rate. (Federal Reserve press release.) The Fed, in addition to everyone else, seems to be worried about the state of the economy and the potential for recession.
But what does this really mean? If you already [...]

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Subprime borrowers shouldn’t get all the blame

December 20, 2007

In today’s StarTribune there is an opinion piece by Steve Chapman in which he complains that many of the solutions coming out for the subprime mess are misguided because “they punish lenders for the failings of borrowers. Why should someone who has kept the terms of a contract be penalized for the benefit of [...]

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Subprime rescue plan: few get “rescued”

December 6, 2007

While it is good news that the government will not bail out lenders, President Bush’s announcement today of his plan to deal with subprime loans. As it turns out, the plan is pretty limited. The only borrowers who will be able to take advantage are those whose adjustable-rate mortgage has not yet adjusted. The plan [...]

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