Swift Steps Help Avert Foreclosures in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — When Wilbert and Patricia Savage missed two mortgage payments on their tidy row house here last fall, Mr. Savage, 75, despaired that they could ever catch up.
But he remembered Roy Miller, a nonprofit housing counselor with a nearby storefront office who had helped other neighbors in trouble. The Savages visited Mr. Miller, and […]
Democrats, Bush Square Off Over Housing Relief
President Resists Wide-Scale Assistance
Now that the Federal Reserve has pledged billions of dollars to rescue Wall Street bankers from possible default, lawmakers and regulators are turning their attention to helping average citizens — from homeowners in danger of foreclosure to people who want to buy a home.
But unlike the Fed’s rapid moves last week to […]
Housing crisis cools off growth
Torrid population growth rates in Sun Belt metropolitan areas from Florida to Arizona, Nevada and California have slowed amid a severe downturn in the nation’s housing market, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Census Bureau data released today.
“It’s really a slowdown in places with superheated housing markets that were almost out of control in […]
The Affluent, Too, Couldn’t Resist Adjustable Rates
They took out adjustable-rate mortgages at the peak of the housing bubble to buy homes they would otherwise not be able to afford. Or they refinanced existing mortgages to take cash out. And now, two or three years later, the day of reckoning is here.
These are not lower- and middle-income borrowers, but more affluent consumers […]
Foreclosed Homes: A Local Blight
The peach-colored house in a modest subdivision near downtown Modesto, Calif., used to be someone’s dream home. But it stands out in a row of similarly hued homes where many have a “For Sale” sign planted in their front yards. The two-story appears battered: its address has been scratched on a front panel and weeds […]
Home Sweet Investment
FEAR is ruling the financial markets. Billions of dollars have been lost in mortgage-related investments. The Federal Reserve worked madly over the weekend to engineer a takeover of Bear Stearns and avert a systemic meltdown. But the big fear remains. How low will house prices go?
If prices continue to fall, mortgage defaults will move well […]
Housing Crunch Flattens More Companies
Souring Economy Spreads Its Tentacles, Causing Business Insolvencies to Rise
As the housing and credit markets continue to spiral downward, business casualties are rising rapidly in bankruptcy courts across the Washington region.
The number of corporations that have filed for Chapter 11 protection to reorganize so far this year in Maryland, Eastern Virginia and the District has […]
Florida Leads Nation In Mortgage Fraud
Florida led the nation in mortgage fraud in 2007, a dubious distinction it’s had two years running.
The competition to be first in fraud is getting stiffer as the housing downturn persists and agencies nationwide report more suspect mortgages, according to industry data released Thursday.
Nevada ranked second in mortgage fraud, up from No. 6 a year […]
Stronger Rules for Mortgages Are Proposed
WASHINGTON — The nation’s top economic policymakers, hoping to prevent a repeat of the excesses that led to the mortgage bubble and bust, on Thursday proposed a broad series of reforms aimed at tightening oversight of financial institutions.
The changes include tougher disclosure requirements for banks and Wall Street firms, a nationwide licensing system for mortgage […]
Subprime Writedowns Could Hit $285 Billion: S&P
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Subprime mortgage write-downs could reach $285 billion but an end to the write-downs is now in sight for large financial institutions, Standard & Poor’s said in a report on Thursday.
The rating agency said some subprime mortgage write-downs are larger than any reasonable estimate of actual losses. It […]
Previous Stories
- Swift Steps Help Avert Foreclosures in Baltimore
- Democrats, Bush Square Off Over Housing Relief
- Housing crisis cools off growth
- The Affluent, Too, Couldn’t Resist Adjustable Rates
- Foreclosed Homes: A Local Blight
- Home Sweet Investment
- Housing Crunch Flattens More Companies
- Florida Leads Nation In Mortgage Fraud
- Stronger Rules for Mortgages Are Proposed
- Confessions of a Subprime Mortgage Lender
- Treasury To Release Analysis of Meltdown
- Foreclosure crisis has ripple effect
- Fed Chief Urges Breaks for Some Home Borrowers
- Bill Would Set Foreclosure Moratorium
- Mortgage Lender Freddie Mac Reports $2.5 Billion Loss
- Republicans Block Consideration of Housing Relief Package in Senate
- Housing Woes Put Bush, Hill At Odds
- Bargain hunters may toss a lifeline to housing
- Foreclosure Aid Rising Locally, as Is Dissent
- St. Lucie foreclosure tours put fresh spin on house-hunting; ‘It’s a buyer’s market’
- Confronting a Wave of Foreclosures