Posts Tagged ‘subprime’Keepin’ It Real Estate: Subprime Lending Is Back With a VengeanceBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water… Subprime lending has come roaring back. But this time, reckless financial innovation isn’t being hatched on Wall Street. Instead, state governments are angling to “monetize” first-time homebuyer tax credits so borrowers can purchase [...] Keepin’ It Real Estate: Jumbo Prime R.I.P.By ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Countrywide was to subprime lending what Thornburg Mortgage was to jumbo-prime. Now, both are out of business. Thornburg said it expects to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, ending a nearly 2-year struggle to fend off creditors and survive the credit crunch. The company, once the [...] Fed Jumps on Loan Modification BandwagonBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” – and you certainly can’t fault lawmakers for a lack of persistence in trying to stem the epidemic foreclosures plaguing America’s housing market. Sadly, they insist on trying the same failed strategies over and over again. For [...] Freddie Blows Through Another $35 BillionBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. $100 billion just isn’t what it used to be. Over the weekend, Freddie Mac (FRE) requested a second draw on its Treasury Department credit facility, saying $30-35 billion would suffice to keep its net worth above zero, thank you very much. After taking $14 billion in [...] Fannie, Freddie Knew About Risks, Ignored ThemBy ANDREW JEFFERY This post first appeared on Minyanville. Unprecedented. Unpredictable. Unparalleled. Extraordinary. These are the adjectives offered by mortgage industry executives defending their relative innocence in the collapse of the housing industry. Conditions, they argue, deteriorated so rapidly and in such unpredictable ways they couldn’t possibly batten down the hatches fast enough. As it [...] JPMorgan Tackles Troubled MortgagesThis post first appeared on Minyanville. The mortgage bailout parade marches on. Just days after rival Bank of America (BAC) announced plans to modify hundreds of thousands of mortgages, JPMorgan (JPM) released details of a homeowner rescue plan of its own on Friday afternoon. Following its takeover of both Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual, JPMorgan’s inventory of [...] Housing MisconceptionsThis post first appeared on Minyanville. Washington is currently trying to sell the American public that its $700 billion bailout plan will help put a floor under falling home prices. And while the debate will rage over whether this is a good or bad thing, its not even true. The most beaten down real estate [...] A Housing Solution that Focuses on (Gasp!) HousesThis post first appeared on Minyanville and our sister site, Dawn Patrol. Every once in a while, the most important news story of the day is the one the Wall Street Journal allots a mere 200 words. In a move that will soon be greeted with quiet mutterings of “I should have seen this coming,” [...] Morgan Stanley Latest Band-Aid Over Fannie, Freddie’s Bullet HoleThis post first appeared on Minyanville and our sister site Dawn Patrol. It looks like all those short-sellers might have been on to something. Freddie Mac (FRE), the beleaguered mortgage giant that was just weeks ago on the brink of collapse, released second quarter results this morning that were nothing short of abysmal. Along with [...] New Countrywide Suit Tries To Foreclose ForeclosuresThis post first appeared on Minyanville. When Bank of America (BAC) agreed to buy Countrywide, it didn’t just take on a mountain of questionably valued mortgage-related assets. It also took on huge legal liability. San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who has a penchant for punitive lawsuits that rarely result in much more than a [...] New Mortgages … Rule!Below are some details on the Fed’s proposed new mortgage rules courtesy of Briefing.com: New final mortgage rules ban prepayment penalties if payment can rise in first 4 years. New rules create category of ‘higher-priced mortgages’ including virtually all subprime loans. Lenders must verify repayment ability from income, non-home assets for higher-priced mortgages. Lenders must [...] |