The meltdown began with cowboy mortgages Unemployment rocketed as the recession began to hurt What is to be done, now that HAMP has run out of steam? The American economic meltdown that spread to the four corners of the globe began quietly enough under the previous administration, and in terms of a policy to make [...]
Continue Reading: HAMP is not working, and probably never will
Federal bailouts to Freddie Mac are not easy money The enterprise is paying interest above market rates Or rather, America’s taxpayers are Freddie Mac (or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) is a government-sponsored enterprise tasked with providing a secondary market for American residential home loans. It has once again announced a loss, and is [...]
Continue Reading: Freddie Mac pays the penalty for being a government sponsored enterprise
The rate of fall in prices is finally leveling out Foreclosure sales no longer dictate the terms in Illinois The Assessor’s Office at Cook County, Illinois began sending our re-assessment notices last week for Niles Township once again confirming the falling values of real estate in Illinois. The median assessed value of a single-family home [...]
Continue Reading: Chicago northern and northwestern suburbs look like good investments
Despite what people say, HAMP has made a contribution It is important to understand, and to follow the process Are you having difficulties servicing your house loan? If either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac are the ultimate owners of your mortgage, then you might be able to use HAMP (a federal foreclosure-blocking program) to save [...]
Continue Reading: Use a HAMP Mortgage Loan Modification to Save Your Home
Extending and pretending did have benefits during 2009 America needs a fresh injection of imagination urgently When President Barack Obama introduced his Making Home Affordable Plan (HAMP for short) in the unlikely venue of the Dobson High School in Mesa Arizona back in February 2009 he used words like would “enable as many as three [...]
Continue Reading: Should Barack Obama repeat his grade?
Landlords required to be more reasonable Tenants to sleep easier at night More time for mortgage negotiations too Representatives in both houses of the Boston Legislature have forwarded a consumer protection bill to the Governor of Massachusetts that aims to protect homeowners and tenants against questionable foreclosure practices that continue in the face of an [...]
Continue Reading: Massachusetts Governor set to Sign Bill
HAMP was designed for underwater sub-prime borrowers It has been shown to be incapable of assisting the involuntarily unemployed Urgent action is required to turn the ship around The financial crisis that came almost out of nowhere in September 2008 was initially blamed on structural imbalances in the American property market. Other focus points may [...]
Continue Reading: Is Obama fiddling while America burns?
Greenspan expresses concerns about a possible second dip Bananke’s outlook is unusually uncertain America’s best hope seems to be a flattened out 2010 The well-known American consultant and commentator Alan Greenspan, who also served as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve during the years 1987 through to 2006, has expressed concerns that the slow-down in [...]
Continue Reading: Alan Greenspan expresses concerns about the state of the economy
The Senator for Ohio writes a personal letter to Bank CEO’s Will this have any effect? The Democratic Representative for Ohio and Member of the Senate Banking Committee has sent a personal letter to America’s four biggest banks, urging the lenders to work more carefully with responsibly minded troubled American homeowners, and find ways to [...]
Continue Reading: Ohio Senator fires a broadside at the banks
The conference will take place on August 17 A wide spread of interest groups are expected to attend Whose politics will dominate? The fluctuating fortunes of President Obama’s making homes affordable program have begun to seriously affect the general reputation of the current administration. Sober-minded market analysts are joining opposition politicians in pointing out that [...]
Continue Reading: A new future awaits America`s mortgage industry
The corporation does good work But, what about the bigger picture? As even the most enthusiastic hacks yawn over the latest chapter of the American foreclosure puppet show, and give up guessing who is really pulling the strings up there, one bright light in the corner of the stage reminds us that there are still [...]
Continue Reading: Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America to the rescue again
Streamlining the process seemed like a good idea But Counties lose income, and families their right of access to the Courts Counties in the immediate area surrounding Chicago are faced with millions of dollars lost from foreclosure proceedings, adding further woes to local treasuries already struggling with reduced income from property taxes. This latest threat [...]
Continue Reading: Will Illinois allow banks to control the foreclosure process?
The cries in Washington are too little, to late Not true, says Treasury, wait and see According to Inspector-General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky, HAMP has fallen short of its objectives precisely because the Treasury Department failed to formulate these clearly enough in the first place, and this was the core thought [...]
Continue Reading: Is HAMP a boat without a tiller?
Auctions and short sales are on the increase Worse could lie ahead And builders say they can no longer afford to build The tidal wave of new foreclosures flooding through, as banks tidy their backlogs and start to shed their inventories, is bad news for America’s building industry too. This is not just because the [...]
Continue Reading: Builders fall foul of foreclosures too
Once again, there were more failures than successes. “Shut it down”, cry the Republicans. “Not fair,” says HUD. “Good things have come out of it.” Evidence keeps rolling in that President Obama’s making homes affordable program (HAMP) has served its purpose, and is already winding down. Why do I say that? Consider the following data [...]
Continue Reading: More criticism for an embattled HAMP
HAMP is running out of steam President Obama needs to find another white rabbit in his hat Following the exuberant ramp-up of HAMP, many American households thought that their mortgage troubles were over, and that their good days would return. With well over a year of HAMP behind us, its time to take stock, and [...]
Continue Reading: Is HAMP winding down?
Property values on Nantucket Island traditionally reflect Wall Street sentiments Things have started to improve Could this be the sign of better times to come? In terms of real estate, things are still fairly quiet on Nantucket Island, which is traditionally regarded as a temperature gauge for the enthusiasm with which Wall Street bankers regard [...]
Continue Reading: Life returns to Nantucket Island real estate
Retired judges return to Orange County foreclosure Courts Hopefully, just to clear the backlog Foreclosures are becoming big business once again in Orange County, California, where the Courthouse steps are busy, and the once dusty rooms the subject of long queues. What has happened to disturb the administrative peace? Consider the following: Average Orange County [...]
Continue Reading: California recalls retired judges
Distressed properties continue to account for one third of property sales Bank reo properties represent the best bargains The greatest discounts are in Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky As the results for the first quarter of 2010 finally become comprehensively available, it has become evident that one third of all American properties sold during that period [...]
Continue Reading: Bank reo properties sell for between 25 and 30 percent discount
The tax credit mini-boom is over for now Sellers are keen to sell while buyers await fresh bargains The volatility below the surface is cause for concern The property market has been livelier on the Peninsula in Virginia recently. June sales were up 2.5% year-on-year, confirming the January to June improvement of 8% in total. [...]
Continue Reading: America remains a property buyer`s market
