China 'faces subprime credit bubble crisis' - Telegraph
Monetary tightening in China threatens to pop the $1.7 trillion (£1.07 trillion) credit bubble in local government finance and expose the country's simmering "subprime" crisis, according to the Communist Party's economic guru.
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Did you know that virtually all the new housing being constructed in China is in private communities? And this is a source of massive corruption, because developers pay off the local government officials, who control all the land. Reading on:
"The audit office said the loans have reached $1.7 trillion (£1 trillion). While some of the money has been used to finance much-needed investments in water systems and roads, a large part has fuelled unbridled construction with a dubious rate of return. The local governments depend on land sales for 40pc of their revenue so the process has become incestuous and self-feeding. Such reliance on property sales revenues has greatly aggravated the post-bubble crisis in Ireland."
Saturday, October 08, 2011
Thursday, October 06, 2011
Biggest drop in home ownership rate since Great Depression
News from The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures released Thursday.
The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents.
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Part of the reason is that from 1995 to 2008 the rate increased so much. The National Home Ownership Strategy that began in 1995 was intended to expand home ownership, based on the fear that it was falling. However, the subprime fiasco jacked the rate way up to 70%, and it has fallen as the foreclosure crisis threw people from owner to renter (or homeless) status. Will it ever go back to 70% again? I doubt it--at least not in the forseeable future. But I don't think that's a bad thing in itself. We don't all need to be home owners, and in fact lots of condo buildings should and will become apartment building in the years to come.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures released Thursday.
The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents.
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Part of the reason is that from 1995 to 2008 the rate increased so much. The National Home Ownership Strategy that began in 1995 was intended to expand home ownership, based on the fear that it was falling. However, the subprime fiasco jacked the rate way up to 70%, and it has fallen as the foreclosure crisis threw people from owner to renter (or homeless) status. Will it ever go back to 70% again? I doubt it--at least not in the forseeable future. But I don't think that's a bad thing in itself. We don't all need to be home owners, and in fact lots of condo buildings should and will become apartment building in the years to come.
Attorneys General Settlement: The Next Big Bank Bailout? | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
Attorneys General Settlement: The Next Big Bank Bailout? | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone
In fact, any federal foreclosure settlement along the lines of what’s been proposed will amount to a last round of post-2008-crisis bailouts. I talked to one foreclosure activist over the weekend who put it this way: “[The AG settlement] will be a bigger bailout than TARP.”
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I have been reading up on foreclosure abuse recently and spent yesterday morning talking with some attorneys who do a lot of work with people who have been victimized by these sleazy practices. There are so many scams going on that you can't keep track of them. Remember all those fly-by-night subprime mortgage companies that went out of business? They sent out zillions of colorful postcards offering all these great mortgages, with no down payment, teaser rates, negative amortization loans, selling subprime mortgages to people who would have qualified for conventional ones, and getting paid by the bank for doing it, and so forth? Well, guess what? Lots of them have a new gig and are sending out zillions of new postcards. They have re-emerged from the sewer as "mortgage rescue" companies. That's right. After sticking people with exploding mortgages that were bound to explode in their faces, now they offer their services as the folks who will save you from the consequences of those very same toxic deals. The first round of these scams involved the mortgage rescue artist finding an "investor" who will help you out. But the investor is really one of their cronies who will get title to your house and then lease it back to you while you get back on your feet. But in the meantime the rescuer and the investor will strip any equity out of the house and stick you with payments so high that you will never be able to get your house back. They have other scams for owner who don't have any equity to strip, mainly involving a lot of up-front attorney fees that skirt the prohibition on taking up-front mortgage rescue fees and then producing nothing.
Fannie Mae knew that mortgage foreclosure fraud was being committed by their own retained attorney network as early as 2003 and did nothing about it. Read the report from the Inspector General.
In fact, any federal foreclosure settlement along the lines of what’s been proposed will amount to a last round of post-2008-crisis bailouts. I talked to one foreclosure activist over the weekend who put it this way: “[The AG settlement] will be a bigger bailout than TARP.”
----------
I have been reading up on foreclosure abuse recently and spent yesterday morning talking with some attorneys who do a lot of work with people who have been victimized by these sleazy practices. There are so many scams going on that you can't keep track of them. Remember all those fly-by-night subprime mortgage companies that went out of business? They sent out zillions of colorful postcards offering all these great mortgages, with no down payment, teaser rates, negative amortization loans, selling subprime mortgages to people who would have qualified for conventional ones, and getting paid by the bank for doing it, and so forth? Well, guess what? Lots of them have a new gig and are sending out zillions of new postcards. They have re-emerged from the sewer as "mortgage rescue" companies. That's right. After sticking people with exploding mortgages that were bound to explode in their faces, now they offer their services as the folks who will save you from the consequences of those very same toxic deals. The first round of these scams involved the mortgage rescue artist finding an "investor" who will help you out. But the investor is really one of their cronies who will get title to your house and then lease it back to you while you get back on your feet. But in the meantime the rescuer and the investor will strip any equity out of the house and stick you with payments so high that you will never be able to get your house back. They have other scams for owner who don't have any equity to strip, mainly involving a lot of up-front attorney fees that skirt the prohibition on taking up-front mortgage rescue fees and then producing nothing.
Fannie Mae knew that mortgage foreclosure fraud was being committed by their own retained attorney network as early as 2003 and did nothing about it. Read the report from the Inspector General.
The Chicago Model | ThinkProgress
The Chicago Model | ThinkProgress
Chicago, though by no means perfect, is largely doing real estate development policy right. It’s a city that’s both sprawling and dense. It has its share of heavy rail transit serving the center of the city, and downtown where land is expensive the buildings get very tall. At the same time, it also spreads out a great deal since lots of people have a perfectly authentic preference for single family homes and varying degrees of low density neighborhoods.
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It's a good point. And if you live in the suburbs you can take the commuter rail system, METRA. I have used either the CTA or METRA to get to work since 1994.
Chicago, though by no means perfect, is largely doing real estate development policy right. It’s a city that’s both sprawling and dense. It has its share of heavy rail transit serving the center of the city, and downtown where land is expensive the buildings get very tall. At the same time, it also spreads out a great deal since lots of people have a perfectly authentic preference for single family homes and varying degrees of low density neighborhoods.
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It's a good point. And if you live in the suburbs you can take the commuter rail system, METRA. I have used either the CTA or METRA to get to work since 1994.
Wednesday, October 05, 2011
Principal reduction plan for struggling homeowners could be part of settlement between lenders and states
Principal reduction plan for struggling homeowners could be part of settlement between lenders and states
Florida homeowners facing foreclosure could see their debt reduced by banks under a proposal being negotiated this week by state attorneys general. In return for cutting loan balances, banks would pay less in penalties for foreclosure and mortgage-related wrongdoing. The principal reduction plan, which is being discussed as part of a settlement agreement between lenders and states, would accompany a second program that would provide funding to states to pay for their own foreclosure-rescue activity.
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It's about time somebody took this approach seriously. How can the housing market recover with 25% of the nation's mortgages underwater?
Florida homeowners facing foreclosure could see their debt reduced by banks under a proposal being negotiated this week by state attorneys general. In return for cutting loan balances, banks would pay less in penalties for foreclosure and mortgage-related wrongdoing. The principal reduction plan, which is being discussed as part of a settlement agreement between lenders and states, would accompany a second program that would provide funding to states to pay for their own foreclosure-rescue activity.
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It's about time somebody took this approach seriously. How can the housing market recover with 25% of the nation's mortgages underwater?
Tuesday, October 04, 2011
Bruce Bartlett: Misrepresentations, Regulations and Jobs - NYTimes.com
Bruce Bartlett: Misrepresentations, Regulations and Jobs - NYTimes.com
Lifelong Republican and Reagan, Bush, Kemp, and Ron Paul advisor Bruce Bartlett says:
"As one can see, the number of layoffs nationwide caused by government regulation is minuscule and shows no evidence of getting worse during the Obama administration. Lack of demand for business products and services is vastly more important."
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Lifelong Republican and Reagan, Bush, Kemp, and Ron Paul advisor Bruce Bartlett says:
"As one can see, the number of layoffs nationwide caused by government regulation is minuscule and shows no evidence of getting worse during the Obama administration. Lack of demand for business products and services is vastly more important."
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Fannie Mae Ignored Foreclosure Misdeeds, Report Says - NYTimes.com
Fannie Mae Ignored Foreclosure Misdeeds, Report Says - NYTimes.com
Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, learned as early as 2003 of extensive foreclosure abuses among the law firms it had hired to remove troubled borrowers from their homes. But the company did little to correct the firms’ practices, according to a report issued Tuesday.
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If your engine isn't started yet, this story should do it.
Fannie Mae, the mortgage finance giant, learned as early as 2003 of extensive foreclosure abuses among the law firms it had hired to remove troubled borrowers from their homes. But the company did little to correct the firms’ practices, according to a report issued Tuesday.
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If your engine isn't started yet, this story should do it.
Monday, October 03, 2011
California and Bust | Business | Vanity Fair
California and Bust | Business | Vanity Fair
The smart money says the U.S. economy will splinter, with some states thriving, some states not, and all eyes are on California as the nightmare scenario. After a hair-raising visit with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who explains why the Golden State has cratered, Michael Lewis goes where the buck literally stops—the local level, where the likes of San Jose mayor Chuck Reed and Vallejo fire chief Paige Meyer are trying to avert even worse catastrophes and rethink what it means to be a society.
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Long article, but full of details. Worth a read.
The smart money says the U.S. economy will splinter, with some states thriving, some states not, and all eyes are on California as the nightmare scenario. After a hair-raising visit with former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who explains why the Golden State has cratered, Michael Lewis goes where the buck literally stops—the local level, where the likes of San Jose mayor Chuck Reed and Vallejo fire chief Paige Meyer are trying to avert even worse catastrophes and rethink what it means to be a society.
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Long article, but full of details. Worth a read.
Grandmother nearly loses condo to foreclosure after $4.70 fee balloons to nearly $3,000 | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com
Grandmother nearly loses condo to foreclosure after $4.70 fee balloons to nearly $3,000 | FLORIDA TODAY | floridatoday.com
Well, they quoted me, but they didn't use anything I said about abuses of the foreclosure power.
Well, they quoted me, but they didn't use anything I said about abuses of the foreclosure power.
USA, 250,000 empty public properties should be used to address the housing crisis / Inhabitants of Americas / News / Home - International Alliance of Inhabitants
USA, 250,000 empty public properties should be used to address the housing crisis / Inhabitants of Americas / News / Home - International Alliance of Inhabitants
Now, the FHFA, the Treasury and HUD are looking to get rid of yet another huge supply of viable homes and quickly. The proposal: large bulk sales of the foreclosed homes they have collected throughout to foreclosure crisis to “market participants” with the “financial capacity” to buy in bulk and ensure the properties’ “productive use.” ...We believe that the nearly 250,000 properties currently in the hands of the U.S. government should be used as part of the solution to the massive human right to housing crisis. In particular, we call upon the FHFA, the Treasury and HUD to challenge the conditions that lead to homelessness, serial displacement, and extreme rent burdens, and to protect the right to housing, by issuing an entirely new RFI that ensures policies and practices meet the following principles:
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So now there is a global association representing "inhabitants," and opposing the bank-centered housing policies.
Now, the FHFA, the Treasury and HUD are looking to get rid of yet another huge supply of viable homes and quickly. The proposal: large bulk sales of the foreclosed homes they have collected throughout to foreclosure crisis to “market participants” with the “financial capacity” to buy in bulk and ensure the properties’ “productive use.” ...We believe that the nearly 250,000 properties currently in the hands of the U.S. government should be used as part of the solution to the massive human right to housing crisis. In particular, we call upon the FHFA, the Treasury and HUD to challenge the conditions that lead to homelessness, serial displacement, and extreme rent burdens, and to protect the right to housing, by issuing an entirely new RFI that ensures policies and practices meet the following principles:
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So now there is a global association representing "inhabitants," and opposing the bank-centered housing policies.
HUD asks Congress to restore housing counselor funding « HousingWire
HUD asks Congress to restore housing counselor funding « HousingWire
In April, Congress cut all $88 million in HUD nonprofit counseling funds appropriated for 2011 as part of the budget negotiations. Last week, the department tapped $10 million in unspent funds from the year before to be used for the program.
Deborah Holston, acting deputy assistant secretary for single family housing at HUD, told a House subcommittee Wednesday in 2012, counseling agencies will face a gap in funding going forward.
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This is one of the cuts that Obama went along with to avoid a government shutdown, during one of those Republican-created hostage crises. There is zero money in the 2012 budget for this as well. It is hard to imagine a stupider or more heartless budget cut. These foreclosures are wrecking any chance of an economic recovery. The federal and state programs to help people facing foreclosure are premised on the availability of counseling. HUD's list of approved counselors includes only the non-profits, because the for-profit counselors include a lot of predators who want to get title to people's homes (among other shady practices). The non-profits depend to a sizable extent on HUD funds. They also get money from the banks, but not enough for them to keep operating. Even the banks want the funding restored. But with the Tea Party Caucus running the House of Representatives, the only way this can happen is if it is "balanced" by taking away money for handicapped children or people with Alzheimer's or otherwise making life miserable for somebody with no political power.
But in the meantime, the federal government will continue to provide vast quantities of taxpayer-subsidized super-cheap water to right-wing Republican, Tea Party-loving, corporate farmers in Arizona and Utah so they can grow crops in a desert. Not to mention the giant HOA-run subdivisions in the Phoenix and Tucson areas that wouldn't even exist except for the water welfare we have been giving them since the Central Arizona Project was built.
In April, Congress cut all $88 million in HUD nonprofit counseling funds appropriated for 2011 as part of the budget negotiations. Last week, the department tapped $10 million in unspent funds from the year before to be used for the program.
Deborah Holston, acting deputy assistant secretary for single family housing at HUD, told a House subcommittee Wednesday in 2012, counseling agencies will face a gap in funding going forward.
------------------------------
This is one of the cuts that Obama went along with to avoid a government shutdown, during one of those Republican-created hostage crises. There is zero money in the 2012 budget for this as well. It is hard to imagine a stupider or more heartless budget cut. These foreclosures are wrecking any chance of an economic recovery. The federal and state programs to help people facing foreclosure are premised on the availability of counseling. HUD's list of approved counselors includes only the non-profits, because the for-profit counselors include a lot of predators who want to get title to people's homes (among other shady practices). The non-profits depend to a sizable extent on HUD funds. They also get money from the banks, but not enough for them to keep operating. Even the banks want the funding restored. But with the Tea Party Caucus running the House of Representatives, the only way this can happen is if it is "balanced" by taking away money for handicapped children or people with Alzheimer's or otherwise making life miserable for somebody with no political power.
But in the meantime, the federal government will continue to provide vast quantities of taxpayer-subsidized super-cheap water to right-wing Republican, Tea Party-loving, corporate farmers in Arizona and Utah so they can grow crops in a desert. Not to mention the giant HOA-run subdivisions in the Phoenix and Tucson areas that wouldn't even exist except for the water welfare we have been giving them since the Central Arizona Project was built.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
The Long Arm of Debt Stretches into Condo Fees, Car Repos - Deal Journal - WSJ
The Long Arm of Debt Stretches into Condo Fees, Car Repos - Deal Journal - WSJ
But deficiency judgments aren’t just for soured mortgages.
Lawsuits are also piling up against borrowers who still owe money to the bank after their car is repossessed, according to lawyers for people sued by lenders. In addition, homeowners living in condominium complexes battered by foreclosures are going after unpaid condo-association fees.
“We help homeowners so they aren’t left holding the bag for deadbeats,” says Ben Solomon, a partner at Association Law Group, a law firm in Miami that has received more than 500 requests in the past year from condo complexes trying to recover fees from homeowners whose condos went into foreclosure.
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These collections lawyers are such charmers. Some poor slob who lost his job, can't find another one, and lost his condo to the bank is a "deadbeat." Right.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. Yet another chapter in the sorry history of "affordable mortgages."
But deficiency judgments aren’t just for soured mortgages.
Lawsuits are also piling up against borrowers who still owe money to the bank after their car is repossessed, according to lawyers for people sued by lenders. In addition, homeowners living in condominium complexes battered by foreclosures are going after unpaid condo-association fees.
“We help homeowners so they aren’t left holding the bag for deadbeats,” says Ben Solomon, a partner at Association Law Group, a law firm in Miami that has received more than 500 requests in the past year from condo complexes trying to recover fees from homeowners whose condos went into foreclosure.
---------------------------
These collections lawyers are such charmers. Some poor slob who lost his job, can't find another one, and lost his condo to the bank is a "deadbeat." Right.
Thanks to Fred Pilot for this link. Yet another chapter in the sorry history of "affordable mortgages."
Florida homeowners facing foreclosure could be stripped of their homes faster - Sun Sentinel
Florida homeowners facing foreclosure could be stripped of their homes faster - Sun Sentinel
So...the mortgage foreclosure industry is trying to get nonjudicial foreclosure adopted in Florida. Look--the evidence that foreclosure mills and mortgage servicers, etc., have engaged in widespread predatory foreclosure practices is overwhelming. Having a judge oversee the process is the only hope anybody has to hold these people to any standards of honesty. How can any public officials even seriously consider making it easier for them to run these scams on people? Read Nye Lavalle's description of what he has learned--and he is the one who saw all this coming in 1999. I found this link on the web page of attorney Thomas Ice of Florida, where there are many linked articles and videos on foreclosure abuse.
So...the mortgage foreclosure industry is trying to get nonjudicial foreclosure adopted in Florida. Look--the evidence that foreclosure mills and mortgage servicers, etc., have engaged in widespread predatory foreclosure practices is overwhelming. Having a judge oversee the process is the only hope anybody has to hold these people to any standards of honesty. How can any public officials even seriously consider making it easier for them to run these scams on people? Read Nye Lavalle's description of what he has learned--and he is the one who saw all this coming in 1999. I found this link on the web page of attorney Thomas Ice of Florida, where there are many linked articles and videos on foreclosure abuse.
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