Monthly Archives: August 2007

Hold on to those hats…

Posted on August 27, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 203 Comments

From Bloomberg: Tough Times Are Still Ahead for U.S. Home Market: John F. Wasik If you think the worst is over for the U.S. home market, hold on to your hats. The credit crunch is not only making mortgage financing … Continue reading →

One in three chance of a recession?

Posted on August 27, 2007 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Wall Street Journal: Debt Issues Top Economists’ Fears Terrorism Falls in Poll On Short-Term Threats Amid Market Turmoil By SUDEEP REDDY and KELLY EVANS August 27, 2007; Page A2 The combined risk of mortgage defaults and heavy debt … Continue reading →

“Getting off financial steroids will not be easy for any of us.”

Posted on August 27, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 3 Comments

From the NY Daily News: Feeling pain of real estate on steroids Once in a generation, an event occurs that changes the rules of investing and the way we live. Some are massive events, like the 1929 stock market crash. … Continue reading →

“Countrywide was the worst lender”

Posted on August 27, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 1 Comment

From the New York Times: Inside the Countrywide Lending Spree ON its way to becoming the nation’s largest mortgage lender, the Countrywide Financial Corporation encouraged its sales force to court customers over the telephone with a seductive pitch that seldom … Continue reading →

“If the sale doesn’t go through, what do they do?”

Posted on August 26, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 7 Comments

From the Record: When mortgage cash dries up Lisa Meserole was two weeks away from closing on her new Hackensack condo when she got a shock: Her lender, American Home Mortgage, was not going to fund her loan — or … Continue reading →

Weekend Open Discussion

Posted on August 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in General | 427 Comments

This is the time and place to post observations about your local areas, comments on news stories or the New Jersey housing market, open house reports, etc. If you have any questions you wanted to ask earlier in the week … Continue reading →

“It’s hard to imagine that we’re anywhere near a turnaround”

Posted on August 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, New Development | 1 Comment

From Bloomberg: New Home Sales in U.S. Probably Fell to Lowest Level in 7 Years New home sales probably dropped to the lowest level in seven years in July, showing a deepening housing recession that will drag down U.S. economic … Continue reading →

“Like a cash-strapped shopaholic reaching for a credit card”

Posted on August 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 6 Comments

From NorthJersey.com: N.J. needs $2B loan to pay its bills By ADRIENNE LU Friday, August 24, 2007 Like a cash-strapped shopaholic reaching for a credit card before payday, New Jersey is planning to borrow $2 billion to cover expenses over … Continue reading →

“Don’t ask + don’t tell = sell.”

Posted on August 24, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off

From Bloomberg: It’s Time to Meet Subprime Devil We Don’t Know: Caroline Baum Aug. 24 (Bloomberg) Ever since financial markets went into their summer swoon, economists, analysts and journalists have been trying to explain why a small number of defaults … Continue reading →

“What do you do after that?”

Posted on August 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Property Taxes | 3 Comments

From the Herald News: Senior’s cherished home going on block If the reasons Theresa Skibicki had to sell her house were lined up like a row of dominos, the latest tax bill gave those tiles a mighty push. The 76-year-old … Continue reading →

“We can Make a Dream Come True”

Posted on August 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate | 5 Comments

From the NY Daily News: HOME BUYERS: WE WERE DUPED A federal judge yesterday green-lighted a discrimination suit by eight black home buyers who say shady real estate brokers, lawyers, appraisers and subprime lenders duped them into buying rundown Brooklyn … Continue reading →

Delinquent loans at 16 year high

Posted on August 23, 2007 by grim
Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | Comments Off

From Reuters: Late loans soar on troubled mortgages: FDIC The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation said on Wednesday delinquent loans at U.S. banks jumped 36 percent to $66.9 billion in the second quarter, the biggest quarterly increase since 1990, largely fueled … Continue reading →

Homeownership a poor decision for some?

Posted on August 22, 2007 by grim
Posted in Economics, National Real Estate | 212 Comments

From the Wall Street Journal: Payback August 22, 2007; Page A14 BUSINESS WORLD By HOLMAN W. JENKINS, JR. Bailout has been a busy word in the last two weeks. But lending so solvent institutions won’t go under for lack of … Continue reading →

No rescue for NJ foreclosures

Posted on August 22, 2007 by grim
Posted in New Development, Risky Lending | 8 Comments

From the Asbury Park Press: Mortgage misery Homeowners facing foreclosure will get no help soon from a $30 million state rescue program because officials have suspended the effort before it even started. The decision comes as foreclosure lawsuits in New … Continue reading →

Looking for a new career?

Posted on August 22, 2007 by grim
Posted in General, National Real Estate | Comments Off

From the Record: Real estate as a 2nd career Charlie Chichizola remembers the moment when he decided to switch careers. He was a cable TV technician in the 1980s, and found himself “hanging off a pole in the dead of … Continue reading →