Negative Equity Nation for 1 out of 5 Homeowners: The Psychology of the 10 Million American Homeowners with Zero Equity.
Recent data suggests that the number one factor for walking away from a home is negative equity. For us to understand this dynamic, it is important to understand why someone would leave a home with a mortgage. According to the U.S. Census Bureau some 51.6 million owner occupied homes have a mortgage. This is data […]
S&L Crisis Part Two: Are We Repeating Mistakes from the S&L Crisis? Accounting Sleight of Hand and Mortgage Fraud.
During the savings and loan crisis (S&L crisis) of the 1980s and 1990s a total of 745 thrifts failed. If we look at the history of the crisis, total losses were largely saddled to the American taxpayer. It is estimated that some $160.1 billion was the total bill for the crisis with roughly $124.6 billion […]
Housing and Banking Deception: 23,000 to 28,000 Foreclosed Homes kept off the MLS or Public View in California each Month.
The math in California housing simply does not add up. Given the amount of sales and monthly foreclosures over the past few months, it would appear that banks are sitting back while a gigantic backlog of foreclosures grows. A few in the media are calling attention to this obvious fraud but not many. The California […]
Underwater Mortgages: HUD Announces Eligibility for up to 125 Percent Loan to Value. Why This is Smoke and Mirrors Financial Theatre.
Only a few days ago HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan announced that mortgages with a 125 percent loan to value would now be eligible for the Home Affordable Refinance Program. I received a few e-mails from readers dismayed about this announcement since it would be troubling for the government to simply buy mortgages that are severely […]