For the third time in the last five months a new record for foreclosure filings has been reached says foreclosure tracking firm RealtyTrac. July saw an increase of 7% from June of this year and, even more telling, a 35% increase from last year.
mortgages
Family Lives Alone In 32-Story Tower
By 7.30.09
Thanks to their bank, Victor Vangelakos and his family live by themselves in a 32-story tower.
Banks That Reap Fees From Bad Loans Won't Want To Help Beleaguered Homeowners
By 7.30.09
The White House has asked mortgage executives to come up with the manpower to stop precarious loans from becoming foreclosures, but a New York Times story says finance experts say a lack of bodies isn’t the problem. It’s greed.
Guy Who Protested Mortgage Denial And Took Out $190,000 In Twenties Ends Up Putting It All Back In Very Same Bank
By 7.24.09
withdrew $190,000 in $20 bills. Take THAT! Then he and his bag o’loot were all over the internet, and he received hundreds of supportive emails. But what to do with $190,000 in $20 bills??? Well, he decided to deposit it at NBS, a rival bank. Good move! Except that… NBS sends its cash to Westpac for safekeeping. Which means poor old Roger’s money is back with the beast.
Mortgage Mod Scams Using Paperthin Lawyers As Legit Front
By 7.24.09
“Let me put it this way. It’s like food stamps,” said the mortgage modification telemarketer trying to talk consumer advocate and Red Tape Chronicles blogger Bob Sullivan into a new loan. Following the trail of who this guy works for lead Sullivan to discover a new kind of mortgage modification scammer.
Man Withdraws $190,000 in $20 Bills After Being Denied A Mortgage
By 7.23.09
A New Zealand bank irritated the wrong customer by declining his application for a mortgage. After hearing the reason for his rejection, Roger Griffiths decided to make life difficult for the bank and withdrew his savings — $190,000 in $20 bills.
Here Comes The Consumer Financial Protection Agency!
By 6.30.09
Shhh, everyone, gather near and listen to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner deliver the most beautiful, wonderful mandate we could give to a new federal agency: “The agency will have only one mission—to protect consumers.” And with that, the Treasury Department sent to Congress legislation that will create the brand new Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Obama To Call For Financial Watchdog Agency
By 6.16.09 — Updated: 2.24.17
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to call for the creation of a new watchdog agency that would help protect consumers from abusive credit card, mortgage, banking practices. The banking industry is not happy about the idea, reports CNN. But hey, they’re just looking out for us: “It’s bad for consumers,” a banking industry lobbyist told the network. Oh, well, never mind then, and pass me some more delicious subprime!
Interest Rates Will Rise Within The Year, Markets Bet
By 6.8.09
As growing global economic optimism begins to build, the market is betting that the Fed will raise interest rates by the end of this year. This will mean mortgages will get more costly and credit card APRs will rise, but the interest you make off your savings account will go up. [Bloomberg] (Photo: Ben Popken)
Your Member Of Congress Can Help Renegotiate Your Mortgage
By 6.6.09
If your bank isn’t willing to renegotiate your mortgage, see if your Member of Congress can’t give them a little push. Maxine Waters (D-CA) rings up the C.E.O.s of Bank of America and Wells Fargo on her constituents’ behalf, while Elijah Cummings (D-MD) hired a staffer who’s helping more than 120 constituents avoid foreclosure.
First-Time Home Buyers: Use $8k Tax Credit For Down Payments Or Closing Costs?
By 6.3.09
BusinessWeek has an interesting article about a little known program that will allow first-time home buyers (technically, those who have not owned a home in three years) to use the 8k tax credit to offset down payments or closing costs.
Tax-Saving Moves For 14 Big Life Events
By 6.2.09
Life is full of surprises and challenges. Luckily, there’s a tax form for just about all of them. Via Kiplinger’s, here’s 14 major life events that allow for smart tax-saving moves, and how to make those moves.
Judge Slaps Ameriquest Hard For Selling Mortgage, Then Pretending To Still Own It
By 6.1.09
Ameriquest originated a mortage, securitized it, and sold it. Then pretended it still owned the mortgage to a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge. Whoops.
65% Of Modified Loans Will Default Again Anyway, Study Predicts
By 6.1.09
Many homeowners that couldn’t afford their home the first time around, can’t afford it the second or third, a new study finds. Fitch Ratings predicts that 55-65% of home loans getting modified will end up at least 60 days behind within a year. The percentage is even higher for those in subprimes…
WSJ Asks, "Is Your Home A Good Investment?"
By 5.26.09
Brett Arends at The Wall Street Journal has compared Case-Shiller house price data to annual inflation rates, and speculates that owning a home may not be a very good investment. “You can often do better on long-term inflation protected government bonds,” he writes.
Hank Paulson Admits He Never Really Understood How Mortgage-Backed Securities Worked
By 5.25.09
Here’s more proof that the people who probably should have known how they were making all that housing bubble money never did—even those who personally made tens of millions off of it. The Business blog at The Atlantic notes a quote Hank Paulson, former Goldman Sachs CEO and Treasury Secretary, gave Newsweek: “I didn’t understand the retail market; I just wasn’t close to it.”
Seth Green Gives Sound Financial Advice In Special Cribs Clip
By 5.22.09
Seth Green takes you on a tour of his crib in this clip from Un-Broke, a financial program airing next Friday on ABC. “BOOM! That’s math all over your face!”
Acting CFO Of Freddie Mac Found Dead This Morning
By 4.22.09
David Kellermann, a former Freddie Mac senior vice president who had been serving as the acting chief financial officer of the mortgage buying company since its takeover by the federal government last September, was found “hanging in the basement of his Reston home, dead from an apparent suicide” early this morning. Police were called to his home by someone inside the house at about 5 am today and found Kellermann’s body.
