Category Archives: Risky Lending

Cash-out party not over yet

Posted on January 21, 2007 by grim

From MarketWatch: Cashing out People looking to extract equity from their homes have increasingly been turning to cash-out refinancing, industry observers say. A big reason that people are tapping their equity through refinancing comes down to dollars and cents, according … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 11 Comments

Understanding Toxic Loans

Posted on January 14, 2007 by grim

From the Washington Post: Mortgage-Trapped At 64, and looking toward his retirement next year, Willie Lee Howard agreed to refinance his duplex in Northeast Washington, thinking that a fixed-rate loan would help stabilize his finances. What Howard got instead was … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 3 Comments

Penn. passes Nontraditional Mortgage Guidance

Posted on January 13, 2007 by grim

From the Pocono Record: Guidelines put mortgage lenders, brokers on notice guidelines Pennsylvania’s 3,000 mortgage lenders and brokers are being put on formal notice of new state Banking Department guidelines for “acceptable” conduct. Acting Banking Secretary Victoria A. Reider outlined … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 2 Comments

“After every good party there’s a hangover”

Posted on January 10, 2007 by grim

From Inman News: Lean times for mortgage lenders foreseen in 2007 Private-label, subprime mortgage originators will have a more difficult time selling Wall Street investors risky loans in 2007, experts say, even as they face tougher underwriting and disclosure standards … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 130 Comments

New Jersey issues CSBS non-traditional mortgage guidance

Posted on January 9, 2007 by grim

From the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance: BULLETIN NO. 07-01 – GUIDANCE ON NON-TRADITIONAL MORTGAGE PRODUCT RISKS On November 14, 2006 the Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) issued … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 21 Comments

Wouldn’t it be easier to sell the state?

Posted on December 22, 2006 by grim

From the Asbury Park Press: New bill would allow lease of toll roads The state may raise as much as $10 billion by leasing its toll roads, said state Sen. Raymond Lesniak, who plans to introduce a bill next month … Continue reading →

Posted in Property Taxes, Risky Lending | 6 Comments

“Foreclosure Factories”

Posted on December 21, 2006 by grim

From BusinessWeek: The “Foreclosure Factories” Vise Randy and Jennifer Rimstad of Minnetonka, Minn., refinanced their mortgage in 2004 to replace a 50-year-old furnace and pay for their youngest daughter’s wedding. In May, their interest rate jumped to 8.55% from 5.55%, … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 7 Comments

Massive subprime defaults? Or not?

Posted on December 20, 2006 by grim

From the Center for Responsible Lending: Losing Ground: In this report, the Center for Responsible Lending presents research on how homeowners have fared with subprime mortgages. Analyzing the performance of more than six million subprime mortgages made from 1998 through … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 243 Comments

Refinancing the American Dream

Posted on November 16, 2006 by grim

From Demos: House of Cards (Large PDF) In response to ever-increasing financial pressures, families have come to depend on high-cost credit as a way to bridge the gap between stagnant or decreasing incomes and rising costs. How are families coping … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 74 Comments

“The house is killing me”

Posted on November 13, 2006 by grim

From the Herald News: A bitter ending The “For Sale” sign at 549 Broadway is an unwelcome addition to Manuel Maldonado’s neat little yard. The Maldonados, like many other homeowners, faced financial difficulties and refinanced with a nontraditional mortgage — … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 44 Comments

Foreclosures on the rise

Posted on November 13, 2006 by grim

From Businesswire: New York, New Jersey Lead Northeast in Foreclosures The nation’s foreclosure epidemic has infected even the rural Northeast as consumer credit woes, creative mortgages, and high energy costs tighten the squeeze on homeowners. … “That sub-prime ARM or … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 13 Comments

Mortgage-credit spiral

Posted on November 10, 2006 by grim

From Inman News: Mortgage credit to impact housing next year Housing markets are the slowest-roller of all. The last buyers in the party get burned by a routine and minor retreat in price in the year after the peak, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 43 Comments

A wave of bankruptcies on the horizon?

Posted on November 10, 2006 by grim

From CFO.com: Experts Predict Wave of Bankruptcies Most professionals involved in bankruptcy restructuring expect a rise in bankruptcies within the next 12 to 18 months, according to a survey. Over 70 percent of 90 restructuring pros in a survey by … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Risky Lending | 14 Comments

Mortgage debt more significant than expected

Posted on November 4, 2006 by grim

From the New York Times: A Growing Burden of Home Debt By BOB TEDESCHI CREDIT counselors are finding that mortgage debt is playing a bigger role in the deteriorating financial health of consumers contemplating bankruptcy. In a survey released last … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 50 Comments

“Why not take a little cash out?”

Posted on November 3, 2006 by grim

From the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: Many Americans living precariously on debt When mortgage rates were at historic lows a few years ago, Victoria Bolton and her husband refinanced their home in St. Paul, Minn., taking out cash to pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 6 Comments