Note: I covered this research a few weeks ago: Researchers: “Few Preventable Foreclosures” , but this is worth repeating … From the WaPo: Foreclosures Are Often In Lenders’ Best Interest Government initiatives to stem the country’s mounting foreclosures are hampered because banks and other lenders in many cases have more…
The main reason for the collapse of our financial system is that people got home loans they couldn’t afford. Could a consumer financial protection agency stop that from happening again? I say it could be a big help if the agency has the power to prohibit certain products —…
I visited a couple of foreclosure auctions in recent weeks and wrote about how investors bought 30% to 50% of the houses and condos for sale. But visiting an auction, known as a trustee’s sale, at random could give a misleading impression. That’s why I decided to post this…
The House Appropriations Committee approved an extension of the $729,750 loan limits through September 2010 for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and for mortgage insurer the Federal Housing Administration, reports National Mortgage News. The larger limit, up from $417,000 for Fannie and Freddie, will expire at the…
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday seized Vineyard Bank , which was based in Rancho Cucamonga and had a branch in Irvine, and immediately turned its $1.6 billion in deposits over to California Bank & Trust in San Diego. The failure could cost the FDIC’s insurance fund $579…
Buyers grabbed more than half the properties offered at a foreclosure auction in Santa Ana on Thursday, amid discounts as large as 70% off debt owed on the houses and condos. I visited another trustee’s sale at the Courthouse — and enjoyed meeting a reader there — on July…
Randy Johnson, president of Independence Mortgage Co. in Newport Beach, author of “How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Home Mortgage” and a mortgage broker since 1983, answers questions… DesperateforAnswers in Lake Forest asks: Q. My husband and I have been working with our mortgage company, Wells Fargo,…
( correction: four in Orange County, changed from eight in second sentence.) Attorney General Jerry Brown revealed today that he has filed suit against 21 people and 14 companies, alleging that they scammed homeowners seeking to avoid foreclosure. At least four of those being sued are in Orange County.…
From Treasury Secretary Geithner (via Tom Petruno at the LA Times ): “I think all economists believe, and this was inherent in the design of the program, that the biggest thrust or force would start to take effect in the second half of this year. And we’re going to start…
From ABC’s This Week , George Stephanopoulos interviews Vice President Joe Biden: STEPHANOPOULOS: While we’ve been here, some pretty grim job numbers back at home — 9.5 percent unemployment in June, the worst numbers in 26 years. How do you explain that? Because when the president and you all were…