Posts tagged as:

subprime meltdown

Wall Street Hoped They’d Be “Wealthy And Retired” Before The House of Cards Fell

October 23, 2008

Wall Street Hoped They’d Be “Wealthy And Retired” Before The House of Cards Fell | Consumerist

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Chicago sheriff goes rogue, refuses to carry out foreclosure evictions

October 10, 2008

Over-leveraged landlords are losing their rental properties in droves, and banks have no interest in being landlords. As a result, renters are often innocent victims of the foreclosure epidemic.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has decided to take measures into his own hands. He announced a moratorium on evictions for homes, apartment buildings, and condominiums [...]

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This American Life explains the financial crisis & the bailout

October 4, 2008

This American Life has done two excellent shows to help ordinary folks like you and me understand the morass that is the U.S. economy.
A few months ago, in The Giant Pool of Money, Ira Glass and his crew explained the link between the housing crisis, the turmoil on Wall Street, subprime lending, and more. Follow [...]

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Fannie and Freddie taken over by the U.S. Government

September 8, 2008

The mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac funded more than two-thirds of U.S. home loans. If you are reading this and you own a home, that means there is a 66% chance that Fannie or Freddie wrote a check for your home.
But like everyone else, apparently, Fannie and Freddie were funding a lot of [...]

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Throwdown! Connecticut Sues Countrywide For Deceptive Lending

August 8, 2008

Throwdown! Connecticut Sues Countrywide For Deceptive Lending | Consumerist

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Milwaukee man faces foreclosure because he didn’t pay parking fine

August 6, 2008

Milwaukee man faces foreclosure because he didn’t pay parking fine | Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

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Former Countywide Employee Arrested For Stealing, Selling Customer Identities

August 4, 2008

Former Countywide Employee Arrested For Stealing, Selling Customer Identities | Consumerist

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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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Bush Administration Considering A Takeover Of Freddie And Fanny

July 11, 2008

Bush Administration Considering A Takeover Of Freddie And Fanny | Consumerist

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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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Why few seem to be able to work out better loan terms

April 25, 2008

Call it what you will, the borrower bailout/rescue/whatever does not seem to be working. Foreclosures are still on the rise along with defaults and sad stories. And while those numbers go up, the economy continues to worsen.
This is not doing the banks any good, either. Banks lose a ton of money every time they have [...]

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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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Bank of America to pay two Countrywide execs $19 million for running company, economy into the ground

March 30, 2008

In an odd sort of thank-you note, Bank of American will give two top Countrywide executives, CEO Angelo Mozilo (pictured) and President David Sambol, $19 million in stocks. Bank of America took over Countrywide, the company made famous by writing loans all but guaranteed to fail. Countrywide’s loose lending habits were a significant contribution to [...]

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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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More on walking away from your mortgage

February 29, 2008

More on walking away from your mortgage from the New York Times. [via Consumerist]

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Barack Obama on the subprime mortgage crisis

February 20, 2008

Here is a short video from Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama in which he promises to create a ten million dollar fund to help keep people in their homes and a tax deduction for homeowners who do not itemize on their income tax returns.

[via Consumer Rights Watch]

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How the candidates stand on the subprime meltdown

February 5, 2008

Bankrate.com highlights the major-party presidential candidates’ stances on the subprime meltdown. Romney, Huckabee, and McCain favor a light touch, perhaps freezing interest rates or offering some aid to borrowers. But they are vague as to what, if anything, they would do. Paul favors a return the gold standard and the abolition of the Federal Reserve.
Democrats [...]

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Caveat Emptor playlist: the mortgage foreclosure mess explained

February 5, 2008

In Part 1 and Part 3, Sarah Ludwig and Herman De Jesus discuss the foreclosure crisis in New York City. De Jesus points out that subprime loans are the only loans available in many minority neighborhoods.
Part 2 features Nerida Soto-Cuccia, an ordinary, well-educated, middle-class homeowner who landed in foreclosure as a result of a subprime [...]

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New financial plan: walk away from your mortgage

January 29, 2008

I am torn. I don’t know whether I should post this link or hope it dwindles into obscurity (unlikely). The website says it all:

You Walk Away promises to help homeowners walk away from their current mortgage with no debt, no strings, and says ballsy things like this:
You will immediately know the exact amount of days [...]

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Barack Obama calls for safeguards against predatory credit cards

December 10, 2007

“The truth is, our middle-class families are not going to be secure so long as they can’t get out of debt,” Obama said Monday, sharpening the populist rhetoric of his presidential campaign. “If we’re serious about stopping Americans from falling deeper in debt, we’ve got to crack down on predatory credit card companies that are [...]

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