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01 Oct 2011 16:16

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U.S.: Why the anti-Bank of America “Take Back Boston” protests worked so well

  • Much credit to these protesters: In some ways, these protests were arguably more effective in one quick burst than the Occupy Wall Street protests have been in one long, slow-moving one. With a specific target (Bank of America) and a specific reason (their overly harsh handling of foreclosures) the result is a protest that plays well for the cameras and effectively encapsulates the point of what’s going on. People got arrested, but they did peacefully. It took a while to draw some reaction from Occupy Wall Street; Bank of America was forced to dismiss the protests as a PR stunt right away. But the fact they had to say anything at all is a big deal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Jun 2011 23:47

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Biz: Home foreclosure backlogs laughably long in some states

  • 62 year backlog for foreclosures in New York state (no really) source
  • » And they’re far from alone: Nearby New Jersey has a backlog stretching back a solid 49 years, and noted foreclosure mecca Florida has a decade-long backlog. A big reason? The courts are overworked on this issue and can only handle so many cases. But even in the 27 states where courts aren’t involved, the wait is often still significant — at least a year in many cases. Beyond the courts, the entire system is overworked — and lenders seem to be in no rush to add any more repossessed houses to their balance sheet.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Feb 2011 23:26

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Biz: Bank Of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo feel heat over mortgages

  • The current environment of heightened regulatory scrutiny has the potential to subject the corporation to inquiries or investigations that could significantly adversely affect its reputation.
  • A statement from Bank of America • Noting in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the company could be subject to huge penalties over their abusive mortgage practices. They’re not alone; Wells Fargo and Citigroup ware in the same boat, and it’s all thanks to the shady way that the trio dealt with their foreclosures. The reports from the companies suggest that all three will take a financial hit for said shadiness. Bank of America says that the state and federal inquiries “could result in material fines, penalties, equitable remedies (including requiring default servicing or other process changes), or other enforcement actions, and result in significant legal costs.” In other words, they’re screwed for screwing over homeowners. Oops. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jan 2011 10:40

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Biz: Some positive home sales news, because we need some

  • 12.3% jump in existing home sales in December source
  • » Oh yeah, some more good news: The annual rate of 5.28 million homes, while far below the mid-naughts peak of 7 million in September 2005, is a bit higher than analysts expected. The number hit a low of less than 4 million home sales back in the middle of last year. Granted, people’s homes are still getting foreclosed en masse, but this isn’t bad news.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

13 Jan 2011 09:38

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Biz: A record year: How bad were home foreclosures in 2010?

  • 2.9 million the number of foreclosure notices homeowners received in 2010 – a record, but only modestly above 2009
  • 1 million the number of people who lost their homes as a result – Nevada led the nation in Foreclosures, BTW source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Dec 2010 11:09

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Biz: Ready to be depressed? Read this assessment of housing numbers

  • The double-dip is almost here. There is no good news in October’s report. Home prices across the country continue to fall.
  • Standard & Poor Index Committee Chairman David Blitzer • Expressing fear that recently-released housing numbers are a harbinger of a double-dip. The numbers, which showed a 1.3 percent decline in home prices in 20 key cities, were apparently much more dire than many analysts were expecting. “It was a bit of a surprise,” said IHS Global Research’s Pat Newport. “I wasn’t expecting it to lag so badly in all 20 cities.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Oct 2010 21:10

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U.S.: Chicagoland sheriff: We won’t process these mass foreclosures

  • This is not the lotto. This isn’t something where we roll the dice and say, ‘You know what? Possibly this has been done legally. Maybe it hasn’t, but in the meantime you and your children go find some place to live. There’s plenty of homeless shelters out there.’ We can’t do that.
  • Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart • Informing mortgage companies that he WOULD NOT be evicting people due to foreclosure orders. Why? Well, his staff discovered that many of the foreclosure orders coming his way were from so-called “robo signers,” who have been ordering foreclosures en masse without even reading the documents. “This is so outrageous. These poor people are being put through this day in and day out, by people who don’t do their jobs,” he said. “It’s so hard for me to stomach these people. This isn’t just we are taking their bike away, or their car away. This is their house.” Dart, by the way, is noted for his attacks on Craigslist. source
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14 Oct 2010 10:50

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Biz: Cheerful foreclosure numbers: Read at your own depressing risk

  • 930,437 number of properties hit with a foreclosure filing in the third quarter of this year alone
  • 102,134 number of foreclosed homes in September, which, by the way, is an all-time record source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2010 09:24

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Biz: States ready to throw collective book at mortgage lenders

  • Know how we know that the government is taking this whole foreclosure thing seriously? Well, more than two-thirds of the state attorney generals are about to probe the mortgage industry to see what happened with all that questionable paperwork that they’ve reportedly been plowing through the legal system. Last week, Bank of America halted foreclosures in all 50 states, but other companies have yet to follow suit to that degree. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Oct 2010 20:03

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U.S.: Obama stops the foreclosure smorgasbord from becoming worse

  • what Obama said he would veto the Interstate Recognition of Notarizations Act, a minor bill  which passed both houses with little debate.
  • whyThe timing is suspect – as a side effect, the bill could allow mortgage lenders to rush through foreclosures more quickly from outside states. source
  • » Why this is a big deal: In recent weeks, politicians (especially Democrats) have been attacking mortgage lenders for using aggressive, shady techniques to push through foreclosures – a process which was impeded after the companies’ documentation came under question. A leading mortgage firm, Ally (better known as GMAC) recently had to halt all evictions in 23 states as a result of these documentation problems – revealed by one of their own employees in sworn testimony. The big story there, though, is that the smorgasbord of eviction is still on in 27 other states.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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