Category Archives: Risky Lending

Who is to blame? Borrowers or Banks?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by grim

From Reuters: Modification blunders bedevil U.S. housing recovery Shirley Burnell, a community activist from Oakland, California, has been trying to get her subprime loan restructured since 2007. She never missed a payment, but the adjustable rate mortgage she got in … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, Risky Lending | 129 Comments

FHA: Nothing to see here, move along

Posted on November 28, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: What Housing Risk? Before the 2007 housing bust, financial analysts who raised questions about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s shaky finances were dismissed as cranks. So it’s worrying to see a thoughtful critique of another taxpayer-backed monolith—the … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 121 Comments

Mob extorts subprime lender, not sure who the crook is

Posted on November 2, 2011 by grim

From the Post: Mortgage firm is Mafia Inc: feds It was a hostile corporate takeover — Mafia-style. The son of jailed former Lucchese boss Nicodemo “Little Nicky’’ Scarfo used the trusted mob technique of extortion to gain control of a … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 92 Comments

Wrong title – We already made the big bet

Posted on October 10, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: U.S. Gambles With Mortgage Retreat hree years after virtually nationalizing the U.S. mortgage market, the government has embarked on a pullback to see whether private industry picks up the slack. Some people in the housing industry worry … Continue reading →

Posted in Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 88 Comments

Fed out of bullets?

Posted on September 29, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Bernanke calls for more housing help from Washington Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke delivered a speech Tuesday afternoon on emerging market economies, but it was his remarks about the state of the still-ailing U.S. economy in a Q&A … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Housing Recovery, Mortgages, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 148 Comments

Screwed over a second time

Posted on September 12, 2011 by grim

From the NY Post: $1T in sour notes It’s the flip side of foreclosure fraud: Not only is the city fireman in danger of losing his home, he also might wind up with smaller retirement checks because his pension invested … Continue reading →

Posted in Foreclosures, Housing Bubble, Risky Lending | 62 Comments

“Feeling the pains of an old-fashioned recession”

Posted on August 29, 2011 by grim

From the Record: Bad loans continue to rise for NJ banks Toxic loans held by New Jersey-based banks continued to climb in the second quarter even as bad loans at U.S. banks declined, according to new government data. The Federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 116 Comments

Pleas to “hit the number” largely ignored

Posted on August 24, 2011 by grim

From Reuters: U.S. housing faces extra drag – low appraisals When Sean McGowan signed a contract to buy a New Jersey home in November, he didn’t expect he’d still be living with his parents nearly a year later. The deal … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 115 Comments

Bye bye PMI

Posted on August 23, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: PMI Group units forced to stop writing new insurance The PMI Group’s market share “is going to be eaten up by competitors” in the aftermath of Arizona regulators placing the mortgage insurer under state supervision and curtailing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 121 Comments

Armageddon Open Discussion

Posted on August 8, 2011 by grim

With all eyes on the market this morning, why bother posting something about real estate. Predictions for closing prices on the Dow, S&P, Gold and Oil are due in by noon.

Posted in Economics, Risky Lending | 339 Comments

Yearning for the days of easy money

Posted on June 25, 2011 by grim

From the WSJ: Tighter Lending Crimps Housing The percentage of mortgage applications rejected by the nation’s largest lenders increased last year, spotlighting how banks’ cautious lending practices are hampering the nascent housing market recovery. In all, the nation’s 10 largest … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 80 Comments

Will reduced loan limits kill the high-end?

Posted on June 2, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Lower loan limits deadline may not boost housing prices The Federal Housing Finance Agency is expected to reduce conforming loan limits on mortgages guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac this October. The hopeful anticipation is that demand … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 128 Comments

Happy days are here again!

Posted on May 27, 2011 by grim

From the Record: “Liar loans” still available, but not for everybody Stated-income mortgage loans, which do not require borrowers to verify their income, came to be known as “liar loans” during the subprime lending bust when many of the loans … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, New Jersey Real Estate, Risky Lending | 147 Comments

Strategic defaults on the decline

Posted on May 17, 2011 by grim

From HousingWire: Signs show strategic default on the decline The trend of borrowers choosing to default on their mortgage when they otherwise might have been able to afford payments is on the decline, JPMorgan Chase (JPM: 42.88 0.00%) analysts said … Continue reading →

Posted in Housing Bubble, National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 145 Comments

As the market changes, so do the scams

Posted on May 10, 2011 by grim

From the Philly Inquirer: ‘Flopping’ – a new type of scam in the housing market Although reports of mortgage fraud nationally fell 41 percent in 2010 from 2009, the continuing downturn in the housing market has fostered new ways of … Continue reading →

Posted in National Real Estate, Risky Lending | 107 Comments