I mentioned the other day the foreclosure and eviction moratorium legislation that has passed the House. State Rep. Mike Connolly is putting together a coalition for a whole host of actions, at https://rentfreeze.org. ProgressiveMass is … [Read more...]
Mortgage application discrimination by Wells Fargo Home Mortgage in an anti-discrimination state
Moving across country and buying a new home are stressful events. Those stresses were partially eased for my wife and me because we were moving back to Massachusetts, a state that recognizes our same-sex marriage and protects residents … [Read more...]
Deval and Ameriquest
Where is the outrage about Deval Patrick's involvement in the subprime mortgage mess, Deval's $300,000 salary from Ameriquest for attending a monthly meeting, Deval's approval of a $50 million severance to the guy trying to reform … [Read more...]
How Not To Help Homeowners
The Treasury Department is planning to subsidize thirty-year, fixed rate mortgages at 4.5% interest. But the plan apparently only extends to new home purchases, not to refinances. Am I missing something? I thought our problem was that we … [Read more...]
MassHousing board member “quits”
Who's guilty? Who's innocent? Who's greedy? Who isn't? To some degree, I have to put a small check mark next to 'all of the above' and maybe you do too. If you are waiting for the other shoe to drop in this … [Read more...]
BMG – lets write that better RESTRUCTURE [not “bailout”] bill together – an OPEN THREAD
OK - Congress has tanked so far. Neither candidate has come up with a plan. How about this: Together WE can. Collectively. Am I serious? You bet I am. For starters, STOP calling what is needed a "bailout" - START calling … [Read more...]
Stakeholders, history, and options in the mortgage mess
Who's who? Broadly speaking, the most important distinction is between people who own homes and people who don't own homes. But which category someone is in may have changed during the bubble. So that gives us at least 6 … [Read more...]
An unspeasant change in the bailout formula.
The logic is that the bailouts to date have set up short sellers to know where to look for the next victim, sort of a domino theory of busted equity corporations. This probably has some merit. However, if the formula shifts so that … [Read more...]
Fannie and Freddie
The winners, it seems to me, are: (1) The bondholders, including the foreign governments and investors who own $1.4 trillion in U.S. mortgage debt. I feel like a sucker for investing in treasury bonds rather than Fannie and Freddie bonds. I … [Read more...]
Mortgage Madness
Attorney General Coakley has promulgated new regulations that would forbid mortgage lenders and brokers from making a loan unless they have a reasonable belief that the buyer will be able to repay.My reaction: What kind of a world do we … [Read more...]