From the monthly archives:

September 2008

Uncle Sam Realty and Loans Inc.

by Moe Bedard

Sadly, recent events in Washington suggest that this optimism of some kind of meaningful rescue plan for Main Street may have been misplaced and that politicians, never the most economically intelligent of mankind, may be working towards constructing the Great Depression - Part II.

The reality now is that we are heading into a major recession and the [...]

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Citigroup will absorb Wachovia’s loans

by Moe Bedard

Wachovia announced this summer it would stop offering pick and pay loans, but that wasn’t soon enough for thousands of homeowners like Marie, who are already in those loans.
Citigroup did not return our calls on Monday seeking comment about what it will do with the existing loans and Wachovia said it was too early to [...]

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Bailout: Little help for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The $700 billion bailout legislation now under consideration by Congress calls for the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to stem foreclosures by working with servicers to modify loans.

But many housing experts question whether the bill will help struggling homeowners refinance into more affordable mortgages. They stress that the economy won’t [...]

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Even with bailout, mortgage delinquencies will likely worsen

by Moe Bedard

The “proposal is positive for the housing market to the degree that it shores up the banks’ ability to lend and prevents banks from closing their doors, that is key to finding stability for the housing market,” says Susan Wachter, professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “But it [...]

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The “loan modifications,” Coakley said, would have kept homeowners in their homes under affordable, “sustainable” terms.

by Moe Bedard

Little more than a week ago, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley was in Washington, D.C., testifying before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee about the state’s prosecution of auction-rate securities fraud.
However, more interesting was written testimony Coakley submitted to the committee regarding the failure of the state’s attempt to get the mortgage industry to rearrange [...]

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Wachovia Option-ARM Mortgage Losses May Force Merger

by Moe Bedard

Sept. 29 (Bloomberg) — Wachovia Corp., under increasing pressure after shares of the sixth-biggest U.S. bank by assets plunged 47 percent last week, may be forced to seek a buyer or merger partner as losses from mortgage defaults mount.
Three days after Chief Executive Officer Robert Steel told employees Wachovia was “strong and performing well,” the [...]

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Bailout includes no bankruptcy aid for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

The Wall Street rescue deal does not include a provision allowing judges to revise loans on primary residences.
LA TIMES WASHINGTON — As congressional negotiators labored over the giant financial bailout plan last week, business leaders saw little to applaud in more than a few of the ideas under discussion, including one that proposed changing the [...]

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Bailout: What’s in it for homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Sunday’s revised plan calls for the Treasury to work with loan servicers to stem the tide of foreclosures, but how that will happen remains unclear.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The revised $700 billion bailout legislation unveiled Sunday calls for the Treasury Secretary to implement a plan to stem foreclosures and to work with servicers to modify [...]

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Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 Gives Little Hope for Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

I personally have read over the preliminary details of the 106 page Wall Street Bailout Bill, called the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and I am disappointed to say the least. This was the most significant federal intervention in the economy since the Great Depression and a golden opportunity to develop a loan modification [...]

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The Mortgage Servicing Sector Has Failed & Is In Complete Chaos

by Moe Bedard

The facts remain that without provisions mandating loan workouts and loan modifications, increased regulation on mortgage servicers, servicer accountability and without complete 100% control of these mortgages, themselves, this bailout plan WILL NOT work.
Well, at least for the people on Main Street losing their homes.
The proposed $700 bailout proposed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, in [...]

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Lost Home Not a Lost Voice, Official Says

by Moe Bedard

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler instructed local and state election officials to make certain that voters who have lost homes to foreclosure know that they have not lost their right to vote.
Gansler (D) sent a letter this week to Linda H. Lamone, administrator of the state Board of Elections, after his office was [...]

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Provision to Alter Loans Is Sought

by Moe Bedard

A push by Democrats to include in the proposed Wall Street bailout new legislation that would allow U.S. judges to modify mortgages for people in bankruptcy potentially could save hundreds of thousands of homeowners from future foreclosure, judges and other legal experts say.
The provision is being demanded as part of an effort to make the [...]

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Will Congress Give the Courts Power to Modify Mortgages?

by Moe Bedard

Congress voted that primary residences would not be allowed to be modified when they rewrote the bankruptcy laws in 1978. I wonder who swayed that decision (banks maybe)? Bankruptcy judges already have the ability to modify the terms of other debt, including car loans and even 2nd homes, to help consumers with a reasonable payment [...]

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Senator Clinton Speaks on Loan Modifications and Help for Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

Please Watch the CNN Money Video: Clinton – “The Time to be Decisive”

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What about my mortgage?

by Moe Bedard

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Bush administration wants to help beleaguered financial institutions – and prevent the financial crisis from getting worse – by spending $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage securities.
But many struggling homeowners are asking: “Where’s my bailout?”
Democratic lawmakers have taken up their battle and say they will include more help for [...]

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Will the Bailout Help Homeowners on Main Street?

by Moe Bedard

If US Treasury Secretary Paulson and President Bush have it their way, the world’s largest bail out will give the US Treasury what is essentially a blank check to do with it as they please. Meanwhile, the tax payers and the homeowners footing the bill will get nothing, nada, go straight to foreclosure because we’re too busy bailing out [...]

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Lenders Offering Homeowners Little Aid, Congress Told

by Moe Bedard

The House Financial Services Committee is holding hearings this week into mortgage lenders’ efforts to help struggling homeowners avoid default. The testimony from one state official was less than encouraging.

“Based upon our experiences in Massachusetts, lenders, holders and servicers have not lived up to their very public promises of avoiding foreclosures by achieving loan modifications,” said Massachusetts [...]

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Welcome to Washington Street – They Get Trillions While You Get Kicked Out of Your Home!

by Moe Bedard

It looks like American tax payers on Main Street America may be on the hook for trillions of dollars as we try and figure out how to get gas in the car to find a second job and not lose our homes.
Meanwhile in Washington and Wall Street, AKA, Washington Street, they have come up with [...]

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New Study Shows Wells Fargo Offers Very Little Help to Struggling Homeowners

by Moe Bedard

I had the privilege of receiving a new study done on Wells Fargo via email by Valparaiso University law professor and member of the Federal Reserve Board’s consumer advisory council, Alan M. White this past week.  The study concentrated on a pool of Wells Fargo mortgages and gives us all a not too common look under the hood [...]

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Statement of Sheila C. Bair Chairman FDIC on A Review of Foreclosure Mitigation Efforts

by Moe Bedard

Applying workout procedures for troubled loans in a failed bank scenario is something the FDIC has been doing since the 1980s. Our experience has been that turning troubled loans into performing loans enhances overall value. In recent years, we have seen troubled loan portfolios yield about 32 percent of book value compared to our sales [...]

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