U.S. mortgage demand withers as loan rates spike

Spiking U.S. mortgage rates drove down total home loan applications last week as demand for refinancing shriveled to the lowest level since November, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

More bad foreclosure news for Homeowners

Mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures rose to records in the first quarter and home-loan rates jumped to the highest since March this week as the government’s effort to fix the housing slump lost momentum.

Bank Accused of Pushing Mortgage Deals on Blacks

As she describes it, Beth Jacobson and her fellow loan officers at Wells Fargo Bank “rode the stagecoach from hell” for a decade, systematically singling out blacks in Baltimore and suburban Maryland for high-interest subprime mortgages.

Fed Projects a Deeper Recession

The yen rose to an eight-week high against the dollar after the U.S. Federal Reserve projected a deeper recession, boosting demand for the Japanese currency as a refuge from the global slump..

www.bloomberg.com

GM details plans to wipe out current shareholders

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson

General Motors Corp on Tuesday detailed plans to all but wipe out the holdings of remaining shareholders by issuing up to 60 billion new shares in a bid to pay off debt to the U.S. government, bondholders and the United Auto Workers union..

www.msnbc.com

Obama orders tax crackdown on U.S. firms with overseas operations..

Mr Obama plans to stop companies putting off tax payments on profits made overseas as long as those earnings are invested back into the international subsidiaries...

Obama and Homeowners Defeated: A plan that would have spared hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure..

The Democratic-controlled Senate yesterday defeated a plan to spare hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure through bankruptcy, a proposal that President Barack Obama embraced but did little to see through..

Obama Administration Boosts Aid For Struggling Homeowners...

The Obama administration said Tuesday it is expanding its plan to stem the housing crisis by offering mortgage lenders incentives to lower borrowers' bills on second mortgages…

www.dailymail.co.uk

Mortgage Bill Looks Doomed…

The centerpiece of President Barack Obama's plan to keep thousands of people from losing their homes amid the worst economic crisis in decades is headed for defeat next week in the Senate...

www.nypost.com

Surge in middle-class homeowners seeking help

The collapse in the housing market and the economic slowdown is increasingly taking its toll on middle-class homeowners, a company that specializes in buying properties from cash-strapped sellers said today..

www.independent.co.uk

Foreclosures will keep rising as unemployed owners fall behind on mortgage payments..

Bloomberg.com
Home resales in the U.S. probably slipped in March after jumping a month earlier by the most in more than five years, indicating the market will not rebound quickly, economists said before a report today.

US economy goes back to 1955 as deflation returns..

Guardian.co.uk
The US economy has begun to deflate for the first time in more than half a century as a slump in demand pushes energy and food costs lower.

The consumer price index fell at an annual rate of 0.4% in March, the first decline since August 1955, figures from the US labour department showed today. It was bigger than the 0.1% drop expected by economists…

Critics scent blood on Obama mortgage bill

FT.com: Opponents believe that they can defeat the legislation. That would be a blow for President Barack Obama, whose administration is still pushing the bill as a key element of its housing plan..

Mortgage Fraud Crackdown Is Gathering Steam in Florida

Yahoo! News: A big problem the feds face is that the housing crash has created a whole new slew of cases.

The first stage of fraud, which helped bring about the crisis, is now being followed by a second as people scheme to buy up foreclosed homes and other properties whose prices have plummeted, or as desperate homeowners hurry to refinance exorbitant mortgages or get their interest rates and principals reduced.

Record number of middle classes desperate to sell homes..

Record numbers of middle-class homeowners are trying desperately to sell and move to smaller properties.

As a 'white-collar recession' begins to bite deeply, new figures show a sharp jump in families looking for a quick sale on houses worth £500,000 or more.











Experts say the downturn is entering a new phase and even high earners face losing both their jobs and their homes.

Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Some clever schemes have paid off for cash-strapped towns

According to the "Adversity Index," produced by MSNBC.com and Moody's Economy.com, 9 out of 10 metro areas in the U.S. are in recession, with 0 areas in recovery.

In light of such dire statistics, it's hard to imagine that there's anything individuals can do to help get the nation out from underneath the economic crisis.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com

Consumers Should Check Credit Reports After 40 Million Cards Stolen

Because of the scale of the theft, it is very possible your credit, and possibly even your identity, has been compromised. The number one way to detect identity theft is to check for errors on your credit report.

If someone has been fraudulently using your identity, making charges and opening accounts in your name, it will show up on your credit report..

Source: www.breitbart.com

Obama (as TV Salesman) Pushes Home Refinancing

The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.

He is not a mortgage broker. But for a time on Thursday, President Obama seemed to be playing one on television, urging Americans not to miss out on rock-bottom refinancing rates. From his perch in...

Source: www.nytimes.com

The rising jobless rate manifests itself in consumers' increasing reliance on credit cards..

"I'm trying to find optimism in these numbers, but I'm pretty hard pressed to do that," Adams said, despite a recent burst of relatively positive news that has fueled hope that the U.S. housing market has turned a corner.

But Adams said the continued increase in mortgage delinquencies revealed in his data foreshadows more foreclosures, short sales and home price declines as homeowners default and banks then repossess the homes to sell them at deep discounts...

Source: www.reuters.com

Mortgage delinquencies SOAR in the U.S.

More U.S. consumers are falling behind on their mortgages, an indication that the housing market has yet to hit bottom, a top credit bureau executive told Reuters.

Dann Adams, president of U.S. Information Systems for Equifax Inc, reported that 7 percent of homeowners with mortgages were at least 30 days late on their loans in February, an increase of more than 50 percent from a year earlier..

Source: www.reuters.com

U.S. property bust threatens condo "death spiral"

Condominium and homeowners' associations are facing what experts call a trickle-down disaster from the property crisis. Dozens and perhaps hundreds of condo buildings have budget shortfalls as thousands of owners, under water on their mortgages or in foreclosure, stop paying monthly fees...

Source: www.reuters.com

No End in Sight to Job Losses; 663,000 More Cut in March. “It’s really just about as bad as can be imagined,”

The American economy surrendered 663,000 more jobs in March as the unemployment rate surged to 8.5 percent, its highest level since 1983, the government reported Friday.

The severity and breadth of the job losses — which afflicted nearly every industry outside of education and health care — prompted economists to conclude that an agonizing plunge in employment prospects was still unfolding, with no clear turnaround in sight.

Source: www.nytimes.com

The Obama administration wants to use $275 billion of taxpayers' money to refinance the loans of people who didn't pay their mortgages..

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S mortgage "rescue" initia tive gets only four things wrong.But those flaws are so major, they negate any good that the plan would do. Here's what's wrong:

Source: www.nypost.com

Tenants are 'forgotten victims' of the repossession crisis

Thousands of tenants will be evicted from their homes this year because their landlords have not paid the mortgage.

Private tenants have become the "forgotten victims" of the repossessions crisis, according to a coalition of charites, which launched a campaign this week to increase tenants' legal rights. About 27,000 landlords are in arrears on their buy-to-let mortgages, according to the Council...

Read more 'tenants' forgotten victims of the mortgage mess...

Source: www.imesonline.co.uk

As thousands more people lose their jobs, we explain how to handle tenants who disappear or default

'But I lose my job...I cant pay you what I owe you"


Rent arrears strikes fear into amateur landlords..

The forecasts are hardly promising. By the end of the year the jobless total could hit 3.4 million, about one in ten working adults, leading to thousands of missed rental payments.

Read more record number of tenants defaulting...

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Realtor: "I haven't seen pricing like this ever. Foreclosure properties are plentiful and priced to sell…"

A Glendale home that originally went for $259,000 sells for $113,000. A Phoenix home that fetched $190,000 two years ago sells for just $45,900. Lenders saddled by a growing number of foreclosed properties are selling homes for prices not seen in metro Phoenix for a decade. Last year, almost half of the homes in the area were foreclosed houses resold by lenders,...

Read more deals on foreclosures…

Source: www.examiner.com

Coming to a bank near you: the 9% mortgage

If, like me, you're holding out for cheaper fixed mortgage deals, last week's review of the global banking crisis by Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, showed just how long a waiting game it could be.

Buried in the report was a startling figure: mortgage rates can stay high for six to nine years after the onset of a banking crisis. Turner wants banks to hold much more.....

Read more 9% mortage....

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

'Bad to Really Bad': Foreclosure Rescue Gone Wrong

The big, bright, four-bedroom Florida dream house was proof for , that they had finally made it. Debi Dillon and her husband Don Dillon were facing foreclosure on the Wisconsin home her father... Debi Dillon and her husband Don Dillon were facing foreclosure on the Wisconsin home her father built 35 years ago. The Dillons paid a steep $3,000...

Read more home rescues gone really bad….

Source: www.acbnews.go.com

Home Buyers Stir Hope in California

California's mortgage crisis hit this master-planned community particularly hard last year, and eventually 90% of mortgage holders here owed more than their homes were worth. But residents are allowing themselves the first twinges of optimism amid the gloom. The 2,600 existing homes in this development 60 miles east of San Francisco are selling at nearly...

Read more Hope in California...

Source: www.online.wsj.com

California home sales up 42.5 percent..

Home sales in California rose 42.5 percent in February from a year earlier as the median home price fell by 39.9 percent, driven by sales of foreclosed properties, according to an MDA DataQuick report released on Thursday...

Read more California February home sales up 42.5 percent

Source: www.reuters.com

County appraiser: ‘This is not a normal year’

Paul Welcome, Johnson County's appraiser, may have said it best: "This is not a normal year." The majority of reappraisal notices mailed to homeowners earlier this month were lower than last year, a sign of the recession and the national trend toward lower home values.

This trend was most pronounced in areas like De Soto, where 93 percent of single-family homes received reduced...

Read more ‘This is not a normal year’

Source: www.kansascity.com

“If your property value goes up 10 percent this time around, you’re going to pay 10 percent more to the schools,”

Homeowners, businesses to shoulder bill: “A lot of people are going to get their notices of valuation and go, ‘Excuse me,’ “It’s the real estate industry and real estate owners who are going to be so dramatically affected…”

Read more Homeowners, businesses to shoulder bill

Here’s why it’s a bad idea to walk from the mortgage..

With home prices continuing to drift lower nationwide, something like one in five homeowners now owes more on their mortgage than their house is worth.

It’s tempting to consider just walking away and starting over. Here are a few reasons why that’s a bad idea. I owe about 50K more on my mortgage than my house is worth....

Read more dont walk away from your mortgage…

Source: www.msnbc.com

Cons with foreclosure scams rarely go to jail

They call themselves loan modification consultants, negotiators or specialists. Some are legitimate, but many are simple con artists looking for desperate marks facing foreclosure amid the wreckage of the nation's housing market.

It's a good business, too, because, in most states, there's not much of a chance they'll ever end up before a judge facing any time in jail. "It's difficult...

Read more real estate scams..

Source: www.knoxnews.com

Will not help home-owners: Rudd Bank

SINCE the Government announced it would make available at least $2billion of taxpayers' money to bail out commercial property investors, there has been much thrashing about as to the rationale underlying this surprising decision...

Read more homeowners cant get help...

Source: theaustralian.com

February foreclosures up 30 percent

Despite halts on new foreclosures by several major lenders, the number of households threatened with losing their homes rose 30 percent in February from last year's levels, RealtyTrac reported Thursday.

Nationwide, nearly 291,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month, up 6 percent from January, according to the Irvine, Calif-based company. While...

Read more defaults up 30%

Source: www.syracuse.com

Not even renters safe from foreclosure storm

About 40 percent of people facing eviction from foreclosure in the United States are renters, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition [NLIHC].

Yet regulations on the rental industry vary by state, and often there are no protections for those living in rental properties...

Read more Not even renters safe...

Source: www.cnn.com

Jobless? Citi to Allow You to Pay Less on Loan

Under the program, Citigroup will temporarily lower mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for certain borrowers who have recently lost their jobs and are at least 60 days behind on their mortgage payments.

Borrowers will be allowed to make the lower payments for three months. Citigroup will waive interest and penalties during this period…

Source: online.wsj.com

Obama’s Homeowner Rescue Bound to Fail?

Now, there is no doubting that Obama’s heart is in the right place. With foreclosures at record highs, the American white picket fence dream is crumbling. And the impulse of any caring President must be to do something, almost anything to keep the dream alive.

But the experience of politicians tinkering with the U.S. housing market is not a happy one. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, anyone? …

Read more Homeowner plan to fail?..,.


Source: www.wsj.com

U.S. Homeowners late with payments now 1 in 9

One in every nine US homeowners with a mortgage was behind on home loan payments or in some stage of foreclosure at the end of 2008, as mounting job losses exacerbated the housing crisis, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

The percentage of loans that were in foreclosure or at least one payment past due rose to 11.93 per cent in the fourth quarter, the highest since the MBA began keeping records in 1972 and a jump of almost 2 percentage points since the third quarter...

Read more US home loan arrears affect one in nine

Source: www.ft.com

Obama Homeowner plan focuses on "responsible" homeowners

President Obama's new $75 billion Homeowner Stability Initiative aims to help three-to-four million homeowners who owe more than 80 percent of their home's value.

The plan focuses on "responsible" homeowners, who are still current in their payments but at risk of default.

Read more focuses on "responsible" homeowners...

Source: breitbart.com

Homeowner Mortgage Delinquencies Up 8th Straight Quarter

The number of people who were late making their mortgage payments shot up 53 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the same period in 2007, according to data provided by TransUnion LLC...

Read more Mortgage delinquencies up..

Source: yahoo! news

The Plan: $75 billion to Bailout Homeowners

Asked why the cost had jumped to $75 billion from initial talk of a $50 billion effort, Geithner said, "We think that's necessary to make a program like this work."

And he said relief would be almost instantaneous, basically as soon as rules are published March 4. "You'll start to see the effects quite quickly", Geithner said…

Read more homeowner bailout…

Source: the star

Recession: State Farm net worth drops

State Farm Insurance Cos. last year had a $9.2 billion reduction in its stock value, the company said Friday.

Crain's Chicago Business reported that the Bloomington, Ill., company's net worth was $53.3 billion at year-end, down $10.4 billion from 2007.

The newspaper said State Farm, the nation's largest insurer of cars and homes, posted an after-tax net loss...

Read more State Farm net worth drops..

Source: insurance news net

Lenders Blocking Homeowners From Getting New Loans

Home equity lenders are throwing roadblocks in front of their clients who want to refinance their primary mortgages. In some cases, they delay refinances for a month or more. In other cases, they block homeowners from refinancing altogether -- all because of something called...

Read more lenders block homeowners refinancing plans...

Source; seattle pi

Obama: Homeowners May see Help by April

Against a backdrop of record-low new home sales and another round of heavy losses expected from Fannie Mae, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told Senate lawmakers the lending industry is set to launch its foreclosure prevention program next week.

Details about which borrowers can qualify will be released Wednesday, but Donovan said the plan will allow borrowers with big debts from car loans, credit cards and unaffordable mortgages to have their home loans modified to lower the monthly payment, even if they are not in default...

Read more homeowner help by april?..

Source: breitbart

U.S. housing market bottom may be a year away

The U.S. housing market slump is nowhere near over and home prices will probably keep falling well into next year, one of the property market's best-known economists said.

Karl Case, the co-developer of a widely watched gauge of the housing industry, told Reuters that the hard-hit U.S. housing market has gone from being the primary source of the U.S. economic recession to one of its biggest casualties..

Read more U.S. housing market bottom

Source: reuters

Recession: Home's For Sale For $1

With more than 44,000 vacant properties, and nearly 7,000 homes in foreclosure, the Detroit real estate market is not for wimps. Just ask Shanika Strickland.

She says she's put about $100,000 into her home. But now, four years after she bought it, she owes so much more than the house is worth, she's considering the unimaginable...

Read more Housing Crisis Upside: $1 Homes?

Source: cbs news

Distressed Homeowners Can Now Get Pro Bono Aid

The idea is being launched by the Mortgage Foreclosure Pro Bono Project, which started last May as a partnership between several governmental agencies, the Nassau County Bar Association and nonprofits to help distressed homeowners.

Details, such as location and number of attorneys, are being worked out, but the clinic could be patterned after the bar's walk-in clinics established 20 years ago, a monthly one for seniors and a bimonthly one for bankruptcies…

Read more Distressed homeowners aid..

Source: world news

Republican Gov Crist reserves judgment on Obama's homeowner plan

Gov. Charlie Crist has emerged as one of the biggest Republican champions of President Barack Obama's economic-stimulus package, but he said Sunday he's not yet signed on to the administration's bid to rescue struggling homeowners...

Read more Crist reserves judgment on Obama's plan....

Source: the miami herald

Obama unveils $275billion plan for homeowners

Obama described the collapse of the housing market as "a crisis unlike any we've ever known" and proposed throwing hundreds of billions of dollars into a pot to help an estimated 9 million homeowners...

Read more $275bn plan to help US homeowners...

Source: guardian.co.uk

Nearly 5 million Americans drawing jobless benefits

The data from early February suggested the 13-month-old U.S. recession was deepening, a conclusion supported by a report that showed factory activity in the country's Mid-Atlantic region contracted sharply in February.

"The data indicates an accelerated deterioration ... jobs are being lost and the pool of unemployed is growing faster," said Kevin Logan, senior U.S. economist at Dresdner Kleinwort in New York. "People cannot find jobs."..

Read more Nearly 5 million Americans drawing jobless benefits

Source: reuters

Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

The lending plan, a full $25 billion bigger than the administration had been suggesting, aims to prevent as many as 9 million homeowners from being evicted and to stabilize housing markets that are at the center of the ever-worsening U.S. recession...

Read more Obama throws $75 billion lifeline to homeowners

Source: yahoo! news

Obama to unveil plan for troubled housing market

President Barack Obama was set on Wednesday to unveil a plan to stabilize the troubled housing market, a main cause of the economy's deepening slump.

Fresh from signing into law a sweeping $787 billion fiscal stimulus package, Obama is turning his attention to the housing market, where foreclosures have continued to climb despite earlier initiatives aimed at halting that trend...

Read more plan for troubled housing market

Source: reuters

Obama faces massive scope of foreclosure crisis

In one neighborhood here, every block has at least two for-sale signs out front. Many homes have broken porch lights and crispy brown lawns. One house has graffiti on the door.

With one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country, Arizona makes a fitting backdrop for President Barack Obama's new housing program, to be unveiled Wednesday. And local residents have more hope than confidence that the $50 billion plan will be enough to end the nation's housing recession.
..
Read more Obama faces massive foreclosure crisis

Source: breitbart

Foreclosure Aid on Obama agenda

Obama will also be tackling the home mortgage foreclosure crisis. The direct appeals for public support follow scant GOP backing in Congress for his agenda and increasing partisan bickering...

Read more Stimulus signing, foreclosure aid on Obama agenda

Source: iht.com

Homeowners’ questions are left unanswered

There was little detail on Tuesday of how the rescue plan would address one of the most pressing problems for many Americans: how to prevent mortgage foreclosures and keep families in their homes.

Help for the housing market has turned into one of the main battlegrounds in the struggle between Republicans and Democrats in Congress....

Read more questions are left unanswered

Source: ft.com