Congressional Democrats and mainstream media have heaped high praise on Speaker Pelosi for finally delivering the House health care reform bill, all 2000+ pages of it. In the aftermath of a liberal love fest that focused more on Pelosi’s historical win than on how close the vote actually was, the question is, will Majority Leader Harry Reid be able to duplicate Pelosi's success in the Senate? http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-28761-Reno-Conservative-Examiner~y2009m11d10-Pelosi-passes-health-care-bill-barely-Et-tu-ReidCongressional Democrats and mainstream media have heaped high praise on Speaker Pelosi... more
Bank of America sends workers out to repossess a home. The workers take all the normal steps -- changing the locks, cutting utility lines to the house, dumping winterization chemicals into the plumbing lines.
Only one problem: They went to the wrong house.Bank of America sends workers out to repossess a home. The workers take all the normal... more
Amazing, beautiful and touching music video by up and coming director Edber Mamisao for Jes Hudak's original song, "Another Day." The song was written for and inspired by the independent short film "Broken," directed by Minh Nguyen and based on the life of producer and lead actor Markiece Palmer.Amazing, beautiful and touching music video by up and coming director Edber Mamisao... more
FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
With the Dow back up over 10,000 and Goldman Sachs raking in profits again surely we could see some improvement in the housing market? Not yet, reports the Wall St Journal:
"The supply of foreclosed homes listed for sale has dwindled largely because of government-mandated efforts to save as many borrowers as possible from losing their homes. That campaign has gummed up the foreclosure process, slowing the flow of houses into bank ownership—but only temporarily. Over the next few years, housing analysts believe, millions of other homes are heading for bank ownership, but no one can say how long that will take or when a sudden torrent of bank-owned properties may swamp certain local markets."
They point to a few specific metro areas including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Sacramento - but the problem is pretty nationwide. Are we looking at another whole wave of foreclosures across the US? We reported on the first one as it happened in a Collective Journalism investigation "Foreclosure Sweet Home" (Below)
Have you been seeing foreclosures in your neighborhood? In your town? Let us know - we'd like to do a follow-up online to this story.FROM THE NEWS BLOG:
With the Dow back up over 10,000 and Goldman Sachs raking in... more
As the country's home foreclosure epidemic claims more victims, homeowners in dire straits are turning to loan modification programs. The Neighborhood Assistance Corporation, a nonprofit group, is helping homeowners on a gargantuan scale at events called Save the Dream. NACA has brought its event to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. And most recently, it came to San Francisco's Cow Palace.
New America Media www.newamericamedia.orgAs the country's home foreclosure epidemic claims more victims, homeowners in dire... more
CLEVELAND — The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri West endured the darkness in her Hyundai sedan. She parked in her old driveway, with her flower-print dresses and hats piled in boxes on the back seat, and three cherished houseplants on the floor. She used her backyard as a restroom.
The second night, she stayed with a friend, and so it continued for more than a year: Ms. West — mother of three grown children, grandmother to six and great-grandmother to one — passed months on the couches of friends and relatives, and in the front seat of her car.
But this fall, she exhausted all options. She had once owned and overseen a group home for homeless people. Now, she succumbed to that status herself, checking in to a shelter.
“No one could have told me that in a million years: I’d wake up in a homeless shelter,” she said. “I had a house for homeless people. Now, I’m homeless.”
Growing numbers of Americans who have lost houses to foreclosure are landing in homeless shelters, according to social service groups and a recent report by a coalition of housing advocates.
Only three years ago, foreclosure was rarely a factor in how people became homeless. But among the homeless people that social service agencies have helped over the last year, an average of 10 percent lost homes to foreclosure, according to “Foreclosure to Homelessness 2009,” a survey produced by the National Coalition for the Homeless and six other advocacy groups.
In the Midwest, foreclosure played a role for 15 percent of newly homeless people, according to the survey, reflecting soaring rates of unemployment — Ohio’s reached 10.8 percent in August — and aggressive lending to people with damaged credit.
...More...CLEVELAND — The first night after she surrendered her house to foreclosure, Sheri... more
Despite concerted government-led and lender-supported efforts to prevent foreclosures, the number of filings hit a record high in the third quarter, according to a report issued Thursday.
"They were the worst three months of all time," said Rick Sharga, spokesman for RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed homes.
During that time, 937,840 homes received a foreclosure letter -- whether a default notice, auction notice or bank repossession, the RealtyTrac report said. That means one in every 136 U.S. homes were in foreclosure, which is a 5% increase from the second quarter and a 23% jump over the third quarter of 2008.
more at link...Despite concerted government-led and lender-supported efforts to prevent foreclosures,... more
I've been a chef now for three years, and in that time I have worked in countless kitchens. Of all the places I have worked from ski resorts, to private golf clubs and gated communities there has been one common problem and theme among the kitchens and that is they all waste mass amounts of food. In some circumstances laws prohibit unused and unwanted food from being distributed to those in need. Perfectly good food that could be transported and distributed is instead being thrown away. I don't think people within the industry put much thought into it,the food we serve like many things in our country becomes just another certainty which makes the value in our eyes seem anything but. I'm looking to get people together to help change this through whatever steps necessary. We may be spoiled americans, but its time we stop over indulging ourselves and reach out to those in need. With the way the economy and job market is currently, sometimes unforeseeable circumstances have put alot of people in situations they never would have expected to be in. I always look at it in the tense that if I were in this situation I would want someone to reach out so that compels me to. What might compel you?I've been a chef now for three years, and in that time I have worked in countless... more
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's Las Vegas Save the Dream event provides free same day solutions to thousands of homeowners, helping to avoid foreclosure, restructure mortgages, and reduce interest rates to as low as 2%
Las Vegas, NV (PRWEB) October 7, 2009 -- Las Vegas is the next stop of the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's (NACA) nationwide Save the Dream tour. It is coming to the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, October 9, through Monday, October 12, 2009.
What: Press conference to launch the Las Vegas event
When: Thursday, October 8, 1 p.m.
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall 3 and 4
This is the third city in the Western U.S. leg of the NACA tour. Los Angeles, the first city on the Western U.S. tour, drew more than 50,000 homeowners looking for mortgage restructuring relief, and the second city, Phoenix, drew approximately 40,000 homeowners.
Click for full article......
P.S. My boss went to this event and got her monthly payment reduced by 2/3 of it original and now it includes taxes and insurance! Her son found out that BofA defrauded him and NACA is helping him get ready to sue for his house. His friend went to the conference in L.A. the last day she was to loose her house and they saved it! She is still there now and doesn't start making payments till 01/10! This is real and happening now! My boss was telling me how mind boggling it was to see NACA demand the banks makes efforts to help the Humans there fighting for their shelter, and the banks obey. THIS IS REAL! My boss told me in amazement as she realized how much this helped her and the 1000s of others in Vegas, "Tim, no one has to be afraid to loose their house anymore." I thought that was profound. Everyone she met got more than they ever imagined possible. Too good to be true, maybe? If you miss it it is, thats for sure.Wed Oct 7, 2:00 pm ET
Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's Las Vegas... more
The film also turns the spotlight on some underreported gems: an internal Citibank report happily declaring America a "plutonomy," with the top 1 percent of the population controlling more financial wealth than the bottom 95 percent; an expose of "dead peasant" insurance policies that have companies cashing in on the untimely deaths of their employees; and amazing footage of FDR, found buried in a film archive and not seen in decades, calling for a Second Bill of Rights that would guarantee all Americans a useful job, a decent home, adequate health care, and a good education.
And Moore underlines the irony of Larry Summers being put in charge of fixing the crisis he helped create. A little like asking Kanye West to plan a Taylor Swift tribute.
While taking no prisoners, and directing equal doses of ire at Republicans and Democrats alike, the film also features a number of heroes, including bailout watchdog Elizabeth Warren; Wayne County, Michigan Sheriff Warren Evans, who announced in February: "I cannot in clear conscience allow one more family to be put out of their home until I am satisfied they have been afforded every option they are entitled to under the law to avoid foreclosure"; and Ohio Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who took to the House floor and offered a radical solution to the foreclosure crisis: "So I say to the American people, you be squatters in your own homes. Don't you leave."
As the foreclosure rate continues to set new highs, a little-noticed legal provision that requires bankers, if challenged, to prove they hold the original mortgage documents before getting possession has spawned a minor homeowner rebellion, alternately called "produce the note" or "show me the note". For homeowners trying desperately to keep their homes, the tactic is one way to buy some time -- and maybe even get the upper hand on the lender.
Click the link for the article in it's entirety.Remember those playground words "prove it!"?
As the foreclosure rate continues to... more
A Wells Fargo & Co. executive who oversees foreclosed properties hosted parties and spent long summer weekends in a $12 million Malibu beach house, moving into the home just after it had been surrendered to Wells Fargo to satisfy debts, neighbors said.
The previous owners of the beachfront home in Malibu Colony — a densely built stretch of luxury homes that has been a favorite of celebrities over the years — were financially devastated in Bernard Madoff's massive fraud scheme, real estate agent Irene Dazzan-Palmer said.
The couple signed the property over to Wells Fargo last spring, and the bank subsequently denied requests to show the house to prospective buyers, Dazzan-Palmer said.
Residents in the gated community told the Los Angeles Times that a woman they believe was Cheronda Guyton took up occupancy at the home in May. Residents said they obtained Guyton's name from the community's guards, who had issued her a homeowner's parking pass.
Residents also wrote down the license plate number of a 2007 Volvo sport-utility vehicle they say was parked in the home's garage. A check of state motor vehicle license plates by the Times found the vehicle was registered to Guyton.
Guyton is a Wells Fargo senior vice president responsible for foreclosed commercial properties, resident Phillip Roman said.
"It's outrageous to take over a property like that, not make it available and then put someone from the bank in it," said Roman, who lives a few homes away from the property.
Residents said Guyton, along with her husband and two children, often hosted guests at the home, including a large party the last weekend of August. Malibu Colony is about 25 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
Wells Fargo said in a written statement that it would conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations by neighbors, but said it wouldn't "discuss specific team member situations/issues for privacy reasons."
Guyton's home number is unlisted, and attempts to reach her at her Los Angeles office after work hours were unsuccessful.
The bank's agreement with the prior owner required it to keep the home — a 3,800-square-foot, two-story structure built in the early 1990s — off the market for a period of time, Wells Fargo said in the statement. The bank said it planned to list the property for sale soon.A Wells Fargo & Co. executive who oversees foreclosed properties hosted parties and... more
This educational film was made on behalf of my satirical Political Action Committee, DEATH-PAC (Dying and Enfeebled against Total Healthcare).
I attended the most recent Health Care Town Hall in suburban Chicago. Outside the Town Hall were camped various denominations of the Tea Party Patriots, as they call themselves. These people have come together with the galvanizing principle that America's health care system is fine as it is. Whether you agree or disagree with their point, one thing is certain about their message: America's Tea Party Patriots spend most of their time asking America to let them speak. So, on August 31st, 2009, that's what I did.
The fallout from the recession has cut deeply into the housing security, employment and income of many Americans. But some parts of the country are clearly faring better than others. Here, three interactive maps show foreclosure and jobless rates as well as household income by county.The fallout from the recession has cut deeply into the housing security, employment... more
By Renae Merle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The country's growing unemployment is overtaking subprime mortgages as the main driver of foreclosures, according to bankers and economists, threatening to send even higher the number of borrowers who will lose their homes and making the foreclosure crisis far more complicated to unwind.
Economists estimate that 1.8 million borrowers will lose their homes this year, up from 1.4 million last year, according to Moody's Economy.com. And the government, which has already committed billions of dollars to foreclosure-prevention efforts, has found it far more difficult to help people who have lost their paychecks than those whose mortgage payments became unaffordable because of an interest-rate increase.
"It's a much harder nut to crack, unemployment," said Mark A. Calabria, director of financial regulation studies at the Cato Institute. "It's much easier to bash lenders than to create jobs."
During the first three months of this year, the largest share of foreclosures shifted from subprime loans to prime loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The change to prime loans -- traditionally considered safer -- reflects the growing numbers of unemployed who are being caught up in the foreclosure process, economists say.
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, has proposed using $2 billion in government rescue funding to provide emergency loans to these borrowers. "We are going to be seeing more foreclosures because of prolonged unemployment," he said. "These are people who weren't in trouble and wouldn't be in trouble if they hadn't lost their job."
Unlike the borrowers with subprime mortgages who helped ignite the housing downturn more than two years ago, Deepak Malla, 42, fell behind on his payments when his information technology job was shipped overseas late last year. He does not have a subprime loan, and he made a 20 percent down payment when he bought his five-bedroom house in Ashburn in 2005. The payments were affordable -- until he lost his job.
Last year, about 40 percent of borrowers who sought help at NeighborWorks, a large housing counseling group, cited unemployment or a pay cut as a primary reason for their delinquency. Now it is about 65 percent. The number citing a subprime loan fell significantly.
"Rising unemployment, for the sake of this downturn, has magnified things considerably," said John Snyder, manager of foreclosure programs for NeighborWorks. "It's less about the payment adjustment."
When a subprime borrower becomes delinquent because of a hefty payment increase, the fix often involves lowering the interest rate to its original level. Unemployment poses a more difficult challenge, industry officials and consumer advocates said. During extended periods of joblessness, the borrower accrues large late fees that drive up monthly payments. And a new job often comes with lower pay, making it more difficult to catch up.Unemployment Spike Compounds Foreclosure Crisis
By Renae Merle
Washington Post... more
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing federal and state programs to avoid foreclosures, which have severely strained housing and the economy.
Foreclosure activity jumped 7 percent in July from June and 32 percent from a year earlier as one in every 355 households with a loan got a foreclosure filing, RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
Filings -- including notices of default, auction and bank repossession -- have escalated with unemployment.
"July marks the third time in the last five months where we've seen a new record set for foreclosure activity," James J. Saccacio, RealtyTrac's chief executive, said in a statement.
"Despite continued efforts by the federal government and state governments to patch together a safety net for distressed homeowners, we're seeing significant growth in both the initial notices of default and in the bank repossessions."
More than 360,000 households with loans drew a foreclosure filing in July, a record dating back to January 2005, when RealtyTrac started tracking monthly activity.
Notices of default, auction or repossession have reached nearly 2.3 million in the first seven months of the year -- with more than half a million bank repossessions, the Irvine, California-based company said.
Making timely payments keeps getting more harder for borrowers who have lost their jobs or seen their wages cut.
The unemployment rate is 9.4 percent and President Barack Obama has said he expects it will hit 10 percent.
Obama's housing rescue is gaining traction in altering terms of loans for struggling borrowers, but slowly.
Earlier this month the U.S. Treasury Department detailed the progress of the top servicers in modifying loans and prodded them to step up efforts to stem foreclosures.NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home loans failed at a record pace in July despite ongoing... more
OAKLAND, Calif.--On the morning of Monday, July 20, Tosha Alberty left her West Oakland Victorian home and headed to work. By evening, she and her family had become homeless.
Alberty has lived at the edge of the Acorn district since 2005, but she is one of many families in the region slapped with foreclosure because of subprime mortgages.
For two years, Alberty struggled financially but was still able to make her monthly scheduled payment of $2,800. But then the interest rate on her loan reset and she was facing an impossible $1,000 monthly increase.
Most folks who are down on their luck start praying or buying lottery tickets.
Not Angela Logan. The actress and mother of three has starting baking and selling what she calls “Mortgage Apple Cakes” to avoid falling into foreclosure.
Last Friday, the New Jersey Record published an account of how the Teaneck, NJ Mom was hoping to bake and sell 100 cakes at $40 each in order to make her $2,559.94 mortgage payment. She has had her mortgage modified, but needs to make these payments on time in order to comply with the mortgage modification plan.
As of Tuesday, Logan has received 500 orders for her cakes. Teaneck officials have logged 15 complaints from residents who want to know why Logan can bake and sell cakes from her house without a commercial baker’s license.
Logan’s solution to her financial problems is clever. You never know - even if she can’t bake cakes from her house, she might be able to take orders and ship from her “home” office.Most folks who are down on their luck start praying or buying lottery tickets.
Not... more
Nevada, Arizona, Florida boast the worst state foreclosure rates. More than 6 percent of all Nevada housing units (one in 16) receiving at least one foreclosure filing in the first half of 2009, an increase of 23 percent from the previous six months and up 61 percent from the first half of 2009.
Arizona is second in line, with 3.37 percent of its housing units (one in 30) receiving at least one foreclosure filing, and Florida registered the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate, with 3.08 percent of its housing units (one in 33) receiving at least one foreclosure filing.
Rounding out the top 10 were California (2.94 percent of housing units receiving at least one foreclosure filing), Utah (1.46 percent), Georgia (1.42 percent), Michigan (1.34 percent), Illinois (1.31 percent), Idaho (1.26 percent), and Colorado (1.25 percent).
It’s the deterioration over the prior six months that’s really frightening: Alabama (foreclosure filings increased an estimated 125 percent over the prior six months), Virginia (up 111 percent), Oregon (up 56 percent), Wisconsin (up 70 percent), Mississippi (up 89 percent), and Hawaii (up 53 percent). It’s here that you can really see the damage inflicted by the stock market crash post Lehman Bros. and the dramatic rise in unemployment.Nevada, Arizona, Florida boast the worst state foreclosure rates. More than 6 percent... more
A New Jersey woman hopes her bake sale will help forestall foreclosure and keep a roof over her head.A New Jersey woman hopes her bake sale will help forestall foreclosure and keep a roof... more
