FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY IN CALIFORNIA

Here is the latest article pointing up the continuing problem of foreclosures. Go HERE
While Obama is in Nevada promising more billions to troubled borrowers in exchange for votes for Harry Reid, the real estate market continues in chaos. No one in government seems able to connect the dots of their intervention with the long slow collapse of the housing market. Left alone the market by now would likely have reached some level of equilibrium. We might not have liked the level, but it would be on the way back to normal. As it is we're expending enormous amounts of money, we've stalled the economy, and we're headed for the same level anyway. Interest rates, as indicated by this article are in great shape, and these pronouncements are intended to make us all feel good, but the fact is you probably can't qualify for the loan, or even if you do, no one will loan you the money. We see the same advertisements you do, advising 48 hour approval, fast this and fast that, but in fact what we used to be able to do in two weeks is taking more like 45-60 days, and even then the risk of collapse before funding is very great. Originating lenders are running very scared, mainly because the investors who buy the mortgages are not especially anxious to do so. The government has made it possible for them to borrow money at virtually zero interest and use it to buy government securities at a profit with zero risk. So why lend it to real estate borrowers?
Reagan was right. Government is the problem.
Meantime, if you or anyone you know is faced with foreclosure, please send for the FREE booklet explaining your options. http://www.foreclosurebooklet.com or email askdougnow@yahoo.com
As usual,
Thanks for visiting

More Foreclosures?

Realty-Trac advises over 300,000 home into foreclosure in January, and the articles linked below indicate the worst is far from over. If you're one of the millions of borrowers in, or heading for, trouble and expect some sympathetic help from your lender, you may want to consider some hard facts. For every news release advising of some government effort to encourage lenders to help you save your home, there are government programs designed to bailout lenders and hold them harmless should they foreclose and face a loss. The news releases are public relations ploys designed to make you comfortable with your politicians while the actual behavior is designed to make sure that cronies in finance don't lose any money. Tax dollars will continue to reward the risk takers and consequently disadvantage the borrowers. Billions of dollars have been pumped into banks with the advertised expectation the money would be loaned. In actuality, getting a mortgage loan is very difficult, the money is instead being used to shore up balance sheets, and to take advantage of very low rates for their own investment purposes.
Go HERE 0r HERE for a couple of worthwhile articles about the foreclosure picture. I try to provide you with reliable information and these are article from the lending industry, not some governmental propaganda. Information will allow you to make reasoned decisions about your buying, selling, or financing of real estate. We still offer a FREE booklet of information about your options if your mortgage is in trouble. You can order it HERE
If it's easier just email askdougnow@yahoo.com. If you want a referral to a knowledgeable mortgage/foreclosure attorney just go HERE
With any luck we'll find a way to get the government out of the way and we'll all survive this mess, but it won't be easy, and it won't be soon.
As usual
thanks for visiting

defaults-short sales-foreclosures

Some news from the lender front. While the economy is really, really hurting a large number of people, and a large number of businesses, some folks are just plain prospering. An example of how to buy assets for less than ten cents on the dollar is here.
I previously posted here the intention of Fannie to buy back a pile of mortgages over 120 days delinquent, and now Freddie is going to do the same thing. When you hear the talking heads on the news opining that things are improving, take into account the huge number of foreclosures this situation will lead to. Also consider that the liabilities of these two GSE's, (government sponsored enterprises) are not figured into the administration's deficit figures. That large sucking sound is your tax dollars leaving you for the boys and girls in Washington and their friends.
A lot of the news we hear is intended too convey that government behavior and the actions of lenders are designed to ameliorate the woes of borrowers and help them through a rough patch.
This article about the plans of CitiMortgage to "help" troubled borrowers is part of the propaganda campaign. If you think for one minute this is an altruistic move, think again. When the incredibly complicated mess of the mortgage security market is finally sorted out you'll find that the government which enabled the huge profits gained by the lenders will have shielded them from the risks of of their bad bets, and have in fact further enabled even larger profits funded with your tax dollars. Goldman Sachs is an early example, but simply the highest profile to date. There are others and will be more still. There are those "too big to fail", and the rest of us, "too little to care about".
For those in trouble or headed that way, our free booklet is available here and if you want a referral to an experienced attorney anywhere in the country, visit here
We'll continue to offer informational links on matters of interest to borrowers, or anyone with an interest in watching the politicians steal our money and pay off their friends.
As usual,
Thanks for visiting.

Foreclosure-Default-Real Estate

If you enjoy irony you'll enjoy this site.
The Mortgage Bankers Association is losing a bunch of money on an investment gone bad, just like many others in this economy. Please note in the article that the Association may pay some of the debt due the lenders. If you wonder why morality and ethics are flexible and don't concern all of us equally you're probably part of an older generation that has not tuned in to modern values. Think Edwards, Spitzer, Dodd, Geithner, well you get the idea.
Foreclosures continue to drive much of the market in residential sales despite the prodigious amount of money the government is throwing at the problem trying to stem the tide. Efforts to shore up the toxic mortgages that fill the portfolios of financial institutions with tax dollars, presumably to help troubled homeowners with modified loans, etc. have not been entirely on target. The beneficiaries of the bad lending practices inspired by Frank, Dodd, and their friends at Fannie and Freddie have not lost their place in line, as evidenced by the video available here
If you thought the government was attempting to help you with your mortgage problem this little video may change your thinking.
We have tried in the past to help people with mortgage needs or problems, and we'll continue to do so, but it is discouraging to watch as people continue to allow themselves to be deluded by opportunists both in and out of government. There is a steady flow of misinformation directed at the vulnerable, some well intentioned, some self-serving, and you must protect yourself. There is no tooth fairy. A recent article in the New York Times, dealing with foreclosures, etc. quoted a Phoenix Mortgage Broker who claimed to have counseled 60 people who were upside down in their mortgage to "just walk away". Perhaps the law in Arizona is more relaxed than in my state, but that advice requires either or both, a license to practice law, and/or a CPA, and my Mortgage Broker License would be a thing of the past if I offered that advice to my clients. I have a FREE booklet available for people to learn their options when confronted with mortgage issues, http://www.foreclosurebooklet.com , and better still a lawyers referral service to help insure getting an expert in the field at http://www.foreclosurelawyersreferral.com.
No charge to you ever, so do your homework. If you think "walking away" is a good idea you may want to check http://www.strategic-foreclosure.com
I'm going to try to update this blog more frequently and focus on foreclosure issues. I'll link to relevant sites and articles in the hope that someone will benefit from one of them, if in no other way than entertainment value. Watching politicians and others discover new and ingenious ways to steal from you can be exhilarating, and may provide you enough warning to get out of harms way.
As usual
Thanks for visiting