mortgage

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At-Risk Owners Pay Big Bucks to Mortgage Modifiers

Some take advantage of patchwork laws, charge for services non-profits offer for free

(Newser) - A growing mortgage-modification industry has cropped up amid the housing bust, the Washington Post reports, charging homeowners thousands to help them negotiate better loans. The problem? Non-profit groups already offer those services gratis. “It is very frustrating to find a homeowner who has paid a for-profit company $3,000...

Mortgage Applications Leap 48%

Low rates bring out the borrowers

(Newser) - Mortgage applications skyrocketed last week, shooting up 48% from the previous week, and 124.6% over the same week last year, according to a Mortgage Bankers Association’s survey. The borrowing blowout was prompted by falling mortgage rates, which left the 30-year fixed-rate at its lowest level since June 2003,...

Hey, Gen-Xers, Housing Mess Is Your Fault

They borrowed too much to avoid fractured family of their youth

(Newser) - Stung by the divorces and TV dinners of their youth, Gen-Xers spent whatever it took to make a happy home for themselves and their kids—even when they couldn't afford it, writes Susan Gregory Thomas in Babble. OK, that may be "harsh and exaggerated," she notes. But from...

White House Slams NYT Story as 'Gross Negligence'

Perino: Shoddy 'reporting' behind housing crisis story

(Newser) - The White House accused the New York Times of “gross negligence” today in response to a page one story that largely places the housing and financial messes at the feet of Bush policies, Politico reports. “The Times’ ‘reporting’ in this story amounted to finding selected quotes to...

How Bush Fueled the Mortgage Mess
 How Bush 
 Fueled the 
 Mortgage 
 Mess 
ANALYSIS
Dec 21, 2008 6:52 AM CST

How Bush Fueled the Mortgage Mess

His philosophy at center of housing crisis

(Newser) - A range of factors led to the housing crisis that dragged the economy into the toilet—but President Bush’s philosophy likely played a key role in the collapse, reports the New York Times. Dozens of interviews point to both Bush’s drive to expand homeownership and his steadfast belief...

Cash-Poor NYT Seeks $225M Deal for Building

Tight credit market, falling profits hurt paper

(Newser) - Facing declining profits and tight credit, the New York Times is looking to raise $225 million by borrowing against the 58% share the company holds in its new Renzo Piano-designed skyscraper in Times Square, the paper reports. The Times hopes to either take out a mortgage on the 52-story building...

Bernanke Plugs More Help for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly...

Obama: We've Got to Stop Foreclosures

President-elect also backs aid for auto industry, but not a 'blank check'

(Newser) - Saving people's homes from bank foreclosures will be a priority of his economic crisis plan, President-elect Obama said in an interview airing tonight on 60 Minutes. "We've got to set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes. That is going to...

Fannie, Freddie to Offer Mass Loan Modifications

Housing giants aim to reduce foreclosures

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will roll out a plan today to modify hundreds of thousands of loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The mortgage giants, under federal conservatorship, aim to reduce mortgage payments to no more than 38% of household income. Private banks...

Fannie Mae Posts Stunning Losses
Fannie Mae
Posts Stunning
Losses
Nov 10, 2008 5:00 PM CST

Fannie Mae Posts Stunning Losses

Lender bled $29B last quarter, dwarfing total bubble gains

(Newser) - Fannie Mae lost more in the third quarter of this year than it gained from soaring house prices between all of 2002 and 2006, the New York Times reports. The massive $29 billion loss, mainly from asset writedowns, means the company may need more than the $100 billion pledged from...

JPMorgan Plans Relief for $110B in Mortgages

WaMu customers included in measure to avoid foreclosures

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase will help distressed homeowners by reducing interest rates or principal balances for $110 billion in mortgages, Bloomberg reports. The restructuring applies to clients of Washington Mutual, which JPMorgan agreed to buy last month. Foreclosures will be suspended on all loans for the next 90 days while the relief...

Feds Near $50B Plan to Guarantee 3M Mortgages

Treasury, FDIC working on measure to help avoid more foreclosures

(Newser) - The Treasury Department and the FDIC are working on a plan to guarantee the mortgages of 3 million struggling homeowners, the Washington Post reports. Under the plan, lenders would reduce monthly payments so owners could avoid foreclosure. If the homeowners defaulted anyway on the reconfigured loan, the government would repay...

Clinton Housing Chief Paved the Way for Risky Loans

How American Dream Became Economic Nightmare

(Newser) - The top housing chief of the Clinton administration helped launch a major financing wave that transformed the American dream of homeownership into reality for thousands of people—whether they could afford it or not, reports the New York Times. From his post, Henry Cisneros loosened mortgage restrictions for first-time buyers,...

McCain's Housing Rescue Plan: What Is It? Is It New?

Candidate surprises with question-laden bailout proposal

(Newser) - John McCain’s proposal to bail out homeowners by buying up their troubled mortgages, the only policy surprise in last night’s debate, left observers scrambling to understand how it was—if it was—different from the Treasury’s existing bailout plan. The proposal, fleshed out by the campaign, would...

GM May Sell Detroit Home Base
 GM May Sell Detroit Home Base 
Oct 7, 2008 4:46 PM CDT

GM May Sell Detroit Home Base

Firm seeks investment from pension funds in landmark Renaissance Center

(Newser) - General Motors will ask to borrow $500 million from pension funds for Detroit city employees to refinance its headquarters, the Renaissance Center, the News reports. The firm will make a pitch to the police and fire retirement system Thursday; GM will consider selling the landmark and leasing office space inside...

Mortgage Forgiven After 90-Year-Old Shoots Herself

Fannie Mae dismisses foreclosure action after House hears of woman's plight

(Newser) - Fannie Mae will let 90-year-old Addie Polk keep her house and forgive her mortgage, the Akron Beacon-Journal reports. The widow shot herself in the chest Wednesday as deputies arrived to evict her from her home of 40 years. Rep. Dennis Kucinich raised the Ohio woman's plight in the House yesterday...

What Will Taxpayers Shell Out for All This?
What Will Taxpayers Shell
Out for All This?
analysis
Sep 28, 2008 1:44 PM CDT

What Will Taxpayers Shell Out for All This?

Some bailouts are more risky, some less—and add up to $1 trillion

(Newser) - If a $700 billion federal bailout sounds like a lot, it is—but Washington will actually shell out $1 trillion in all of its present and proposed plans. Between Henry Paulson's plan, and bailouts of Bear Stearns, AIG, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal breaks down...

As Foreclosures Rise, Fraud Cases Balloon

Equity scammers take advantage of ignorant, desperate owners

(Newser) - Running parallel with spiking foreclosure rates, so-called “foreclosure rescue scams” have reached epic proportions, and many state and local agencies aren't equipped to fight back, MSNBC reports. Companies that promise to help floundering property owners keep their homes and avoid the stigma of foreclosure are instead milking them for...

Feds Outline Fannie, Freddie Bailout

Gov't will step in as conservator; Treasury will buy preferred stock

(Newser) - Citing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "critical to turning the corner on housing," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this morning announced a bailout of the beleaguered mortgage companies that includes his agency purchasing preferred stock, while the Federal Housing Finance Agency will step in as conservator. Additionally, Treasury...

Forget Renting: Friends Now Buying Homes Together

Bargain housing prices lure young professionals looking to invest

(Newser) - The cooled-down housing market and lower prices are attracting new buyers: groups of young professionals who want to invest but don’t quite have the dough to buy their own place. Instead, they’re buying homes with friends and splitting the mortgage, maintenance costs—and the tax break, Time reports....

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