Category Archives: Risky Lending

National foreclosures up 17% in Q3

Posted on October 30, 2006 by grim

From RealtyTrac: National Foreclosures Increase 17 Percent in Third Quarter According to RealtyTrac(TM) U.S. Foreclosure Market Report RealtyTrac, the nation’s leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its Q3 2006 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report showing that 318,355 properties entered … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 28 Comments

80% of ARM holders concerned

Posted on October 30, 2006 by grim

From the AP via Yahoo Business: Survey: Rising Rates Worry Homeowners By Eileen Alt Powell Homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages worry about rising interest rates, but many believe they will be able to refinance their loans if necessary, according to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 24 Comments

Every little thing gonna be all right

Posted on October 30, 2006 by grim

From the New Brunswick Home News Tribune: Amboy bank to cover loan losses By JASON METHOD

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 50 Comments

Just another piece of paper to sign at closing

Posted on October 25, 2006 by grim

From RealtyTimes: Robbins Calls for Personal Commitment by Lew Sichelman The new chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association has called for an “industry-wide commitment to personal responsibility.” Taking over the reins of the MBA at the group’s annual convention in … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 11 Comments

Strong demand for non-traditional mortgages

Posted on October 24, 2006 by grim

From Inman News: ‘Nontraditional’ mortgages rise as overall origination falls A slowing housing market has put a damper on first-mortgage origination volume for the first half of the year, an industry survey released Monday shows. First-mortgage origination volume decreased 16 … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 61 Comments

“The slumping U.S. housing market is about to get a lot worse”

Posted on October 23, 2006 by grim

From Bloomberg: Housing in U.S. Poised to Worsen, Derivatives Show By Darrell Hassler and Hamish Risk The slumping U.S. housing market is about to get a lot worse, according to traders of mortgage-backed securities and the so-called derivatives on which … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 19 Comments

A “potent cocktail of easy money and exotic mortgages”

Posted on October 20, 2006 by grim

From MoneyWeek: Why reckless use of credit will cause financial disaster Man greatly extended his domain by learning to consume energy he did not create. In financial terms, he has accomplished a similar thing. He has learned how to consume … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 22 Comments

Back to [mortgage] basics

Posted on October 13, 2006 by grim

From the New York Times: New Rules for ‘Exotic’ Loans By BOB TEDESCHI IS the era of the “exotic” mortgage near an end? Some analysts say the answer is yes, thanks to a new set of lending guidelines set forth … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 22 Comments

When home loans go bad

Posted on October 9, 2006 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal: Bad Loans Draw Bad Blood As the housing sector cools, the mortgage market faces an awkward question: Who takes the hit when loans go bad? A generation ago, nobody asked. Banks made loans and suffered … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Risky Lending | 53 Comments

Tightening credit standards

Posted on October 9, 2006 by grim

From the LA Times: Mortgage Standards Tightened Starting this month, federally chartered lenders are being discouraged from qualifying buyers based on the low starter rates, when only the interest or a portion of the interest is due. Instead, they are … Continue reading →

Posted in General, Risky Lending | 13 Comments

State questions risky loans

Posted on October 6, 2006 by grim

From the Record: Mortgage risks worry regulators By RICHARD NEWMAN Banking regulators are increasingly concerned about consumers’ ability to withstand payment shock when rates go up on adjustable-rate mortgages. Regulators also fear that borrowers may not have been adequately informed … Continue reading →

Posted in New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 23 Comments

Putting the brakes on risky loans

Posted on October 1, 2006 by grim

From the Christian Science Monitor: Keeping real estate real Relying on false wealth usually has its moment of truth. That moment’s here for many US homeowners who hear a leak in a housing bubble. And as prices cool, those who … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 1 Comment

Putting an end to Orwellian affordability

Posted on September 30, 2006 by grim

From Marketwatch: Lenders Gone Wild More than a year after Alan Greenspan warned of the “potential for individual disaster” from a new breed of mortgages that were helping to fuel the housing boom, federal regulators finally are trying to do … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 15 Comments

Clamping down on risky loans

Posted on September 29, 2006 by grim

From Reuters: US regulators finalize rules on exotic mortgages By Al Yoon Federal banking regulators on Friday finalized rules for underwriting “exotic” mortgages, a move that the biggest U.S. lenders say may stifle the use of loans that make houses … Continue reading →

Posted in Risky Lending | 4 Comments

A “good thing” or “opportunity for crooks”?

Posted on September 28, 2006 by grim

From the Wall Street Journal Town’s Residents Say They Were Targets of Big Mortgage Fraud By JAMES R. HAGERTY and MICHAEL HUDSON Federal and state authorities are investigating allegations of an elaborate mortgage fraud involving about 100 people living in or … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 7 Comments