MetaFilter posts tagged with mortgage

Homeowners! You Have Nothing to Lose But Your Mortgages!

jonp72 — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:05:20 -0800

The Moral Dimensions of Ditching a Mortgage: University of Arizona law professor Brent T. White has written a provocative new paper (pdf) that urges homeowners with "underwater" mortgages" to walk away by strategically defaulting on their mortgage debts. White argues that most "underwater" homeowners don't default on their mortgages, because "social control agents," ranging from the housing industry to President Obama, enforce an "asymmetry of norms" that makes it immoral if an individual homeowner walks away from a debt, but allows banks to walk away from debt with impunity. Meanwhile, other economic research appears to confirm White's argument that main barriers to homeowners engaging in "strategic default" are moral and social, not economic and legal.

Minority bounty

hayvac — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 10:32:22 -0800

Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks: "They referred to subprime loans made in minority communities as ghetto loans and minority customers as 'those people have bad credit', 'those people don't pay their bills' and 'mud people,' " [a Wells Fargo subprime loan officer] said in his affidavit, filed in the NAACP's lawsuit (pdf) against 13 mortgage lenders. "The company put 'bounties' on minority borrowers. By this I mean that loan officers received cash incentives to aggressively market subprime loans in minority communities."

Michael Osinski wrote the software that turned mortgages into bonds

blasdelf — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:09:01 -0800

My Manhattan Project: How I helped build the bomb that blew up Wall Street. [print version]

Blow-by-blow of Wachovia's Demise

SeizeTheDay — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:48:14 -0800

A blow-by-blow analysis of Wachovia's demise, as told by the bank's local paper, The Charlotte Observer.

Tanta Vive!

mullacc — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:12:53 -0800

The Compleat ÜberNerd: a fascinating series of blog entries detailing the nitty-gritty behind the mortgage industry by Calculated Risk's "Tanta." If you're curious about automated underwriting systems or the ins and outs of mortgage servicing or if you just enjoy some Mortgage Pig Excel art, Tanta was the blogger for you. Tanta, otherwise known as Doris Dungey, passed away on Sunday morning (NYT obit, CR obit).

They laughed at Peter Schiff

thisisdrew — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:20:22 -0800

The laughed at him. Foretelling the doom and gloom of the mortgage crisis as a pundit in these 2006-2007 interviews, Peter Schiff held to a grim economic outlook. Recently in the Washington Post, Schiff writes: "Our leaders irrationally promoted home-buying, discouraged savings, and recklessly encouraged borrowing and lending, which together undermined our markets."

Trickle Up Bailout?

puckish — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:16:21 -0800

Jonathan Koppell and William Goetzmann on why Congress should let Wall Street hang for a bit and use the $700 billion to directly refinance homowners' bad mortgages. Fire away, mefites! Notable points: "Implementation could follow the example of the Home Owners' Loan Corp., which in the 1930s issued new mortgages to a quarter of American homeowners. The government could offer to refinance all mortgages issued in the past five years with a fixed-rate, 30-year mortgage at 6 percent. No credit scores, no questions asked; just pay off the principal of the existing mortgage with a government check." "All this could be done through the Federal Housing Administration, with the help of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have the infrastructure to implement this plan rapidly. An equity participation structure would prevent thousands of foreclosed homes from being dumped on a strained housing market and would allow prices to reach a new equilibrium that is based on realistic demand for houses rather than on easy money or impending foreclosures. " (from today's WSJ)

And then there were...?

empath — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:11:41 -0800

Washington Mutual seized by FDIC, sold to JP Morgan.

If God gives you lemons...

Skeptic — Wed, 28 May 2008 12:19:49 -0800

Among European countries, Spain has been hit particularly badly by the global credit crisis. Miguel Marina, a recently unemployed real estate agent (what else?) has been one of its victims. Unable to keep up with his mortgage payments or to find a buyer for his home, he has found an original solution: he's raffling his apartment at 5€ a ticket. Considering that the total value of the tickets he's selling is 320,000 €, and that the Spanish press (which is all over the story) is reporting that his previous asking price for the apartment was 200,000 €, and that his current debt is of 188,000 €, Mr. Marina may end up pocketing a tidy profit, after all. The lawfulness of the raffle is however disputed (in Spanish).

The Giant Pool of Money

empath — Sun, 11 May 2008 22:20:37 -0800

The Giant Pool of Money. This American Life teams up with NPR News to explain the Housing Crisis. (I know everybody here already knows about TAL, but this is an exceptionally well done episode, and worth checking out even if you don't get the podcast.)

Real Estate Links

greensweater — Mon, 05 May 2008 09:41:08 -0800

You're familiar with the grand-daddy of (overhyped) real estate AVMs, or even some lesser known, but more accurate competitors. In this market, it can be tough to get out from under your current home before buying new. But did you know that you can also swap your home?

Value-added housing costs

Blazecock Pileon — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:04:16 -0800

How far away from work do you live? How much of your pay gets used up to get you to and from work, get you around town, and pay for where you live? As gas and food prices continue to rise, "affordability" has become a more critical notion for everyday Americans. The Center for Neighborhood Technology developed their Housing + Transportation Affordability Index, which aims to help better inform renters and owners about the relationship of transportation options to where one lives.

Housing Crisis: 1 in 33 Face Foreclosure Within 2 Years

jacobw — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:30:35 -0800

Will States Respond to the Foreclosure Crisis? Their headline is that 1 in 33 homeowners are projected to face foreclosure in the next two years. But I found the stat that neighboring homes will lose $356 billion in value a rather staggering number to swallow for those not facing the threat of foreclosure.

America's Captains of Industry!

uaudio — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:02:50 -0800

As is the custom these days, GMAC Bank is suing mortgage broker HTFC for selling them improperly secured loans. The deposition of HTFC's CEO Aron Wider reads like a Joe Pesci role with 73 creative uses of the f-word over twelve hours of testimony. A federal judge fined Mr. Wider and his attorney $29K for Mr. Wider's constant use of bad language, insults, refusals to answer questions, and his lawyer's failure to control his client.

Subprime Artistry

afx114 — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 11:00:14 -0800

The Subprime Primer. [via] An entertaining, lo-fi, comic-book style explanation of the complex Subprime Mortgage mess.

living in a gilded cage

geos — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:09:04 -0800

America 's debtor prisons .

Newsfiltered: A Big National Story That's A Lot of Big Local Stories

wendell — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:53:02 -0800

Yes, the Subprime Mortgage Crisis was 2007's top national business news story for the second year in a row (and odds on favorite to Threepeat), #2 news story overall (TIME put Pakistan at #1, for AP, it was the Virginia State Massacre). But then I saw that it was the #1 local news story in my town. We know it hit some areas harder than others, like Bend, Oregon, Trenton, New Jersey and Jerusalem?!? If local newspapers notice it more, it may be because it's hurting local newspapers. In Ohio and Michigan, they didn't need the Subprime Loan problems to have a crisis. And it's so bad in Stockton, California, that the BBC took notice. But London is having its own troubles.
But the most interesting local story of all involves tracing the crisis to its source: Orange County, California

DOOOOOM! Oh wait, Nevermind. We're fine. You're still doomed though.

Lord_Pall — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 23:42:40 -0800

Some see an economic apocalypse. Others see an err.. economic apocalypse. But have no fear! A solution is at hand. Step 1 : Print up a lot of money. Auction it. Step 2: Take whatever people have lying around for collateral. Step 3. Make sure not to mention of what happens if you default. Make it anonymous. Tada! The banks are saved! Note - Not an economist but I found all of these to be interesting. Feel free to tear it apart and explain how this is misinterpreted.

Graphical explanation of CDOs

russilwvong — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 00:06:44 -0800

A graphical, animated explanation of how collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) work, by Felix Salmon, Maryanne Murray, Jeffrey Cane, Jacky Myint, and Shazna Nessa. The collapse in CDO valuations and the resulting losses to investors played a major role in the recent banking crisis. Via Paul Krugman.

Two hedge funds that predicted sub-prime crisis see corporate debt as next casualty

janetplanet — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 13:16:26 -0800

Two hedge funds that predicted sub-prime crisis see corporate debt as next casualty Two hedge fund firms that racked up huge gains betting on the subprime mortgage meltdown have begun winding down those trades and looking elsewhere. They're now betting against corporate debt using derivatives.

So, it wasn't the Happiest Town on Earth?

amberglow — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:54:55 -0800

Remember the Town Disney Built? -- 50% of the homes in Celebration, Florida are up for sale. A failure of corporate-owned and -planned Community™? or just a fallout of the bursting of the housing bubble? And whither New Urbanism? Celebration's Front Porch (home page) a neo-traditional architectural view: The Celebration Controversies

Minsky Meltdown ahead?

umop-apisdn — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 08:56:28 -0800

Minsky Meltdown ahead? Named after Hyman Minsky, an economist who was known for his research concerning financial crises, specifically asset bubbles based on credit cycles. [much more inside]

Countrywide Empties Out on Widowmaker

Adamchik — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 11:46:07 -0800

Countrywide Empties Out on Widowmaker gives a vivid idea of the turmoil in the mortgage market, and the difficult American real estate environment. "You sold your unlimited subway card after the 5th race, plunged full-bore on a filthy hot dog, a beer and a 9-1 shot that finished next-to-last. You are Countrywide."

A world of Casey Serins

Asparagirl — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:13:46 -0800

What's the link between:
1) the quickly-growing number of American homeowners becoming unable to pay their mortgages after their ARM's reset (a trend nicknamed "ARMageddon" -- applicable in the UK too), which is translating into soaring foreclosure rates, and in turn forcing at least 60 US semi-shady mortgage brokers to go belly-up in the past year (i.e. the "subprime meltdown"), and...
2) the recent implosion and impending financial bailout -- which may become the biggest since the Long Term Capital Management fiasco of 1998 -- of two Bear Stearns hedge funds which dealt in mortgage securities? [more inside]

Sub-prime blues

Adamchik — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 11:05:57 -0800

For those of you who haven't been following The Mortgage Lender Implode-O-Meter and other purveyors of financial and real estate schadenfreude, the sub-prime mortgage market is in some serious trouble. The stock charts of the likes of New Century Financial and Fremont say a lot, although BusinessWeek and MarketWatch have been helpful in explaining. Is there really fraud in 70% of early payment defaults? I know traders are given to hyperbole, but Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch as "almost junk"?