All Posts Tagged With: "toxic"
Are Toxic Loans Coming Back?
Our good friends at Realty Times report that some in the mortgage industry believe that no-doc loans and other forms of toxic finance “may soon be making a comeback” and that “some people can’t wait for the no-doc loans.”
Really?
I have no doubt that some people would be elated by the return of liar loans [...]
Mortgages, Foreclosures & The Disgrace of Journalism
It was long ago when I received a degree in journalism.
I wanted to study journalism because it gave me an opportunity to travel and to meet interesting people. I have been a correspondent on Capitol Hill and at the White House, I have lived on an offshore drilling rig in pursuit of a story, I [...]
Why Have Piggyback Mortgages Disappeared?
We usually define a “conventional” mortgage as financing with 20 percent down. Since most people don’t happen to have 20 down much less 20 percent plus closing costs, there has always been a market for mortgages that somehow require fewer dollars up front.
The way you get loans with less down is to find [...]
Foreclosures — No Worries, No Vision
The lending community will plainly tell you that foreclosures are on the rise — in part because of rising interest levels — but don’t worry. According to the party line, there’s no need for alarm because the problem is contained to subprime loans and just a few states.
For example, John Robbins, Chairman of the Mortgage [...]
Foreclosure Numbers at New Highs: Are Toxic Loans To Blame?
Foreclosures used to be a rarity and for the most part that’s still the case. As of the second quarter of 2008 only about 2.75 percent of all loans were in the process of being foreclosed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
That term “in the process of being foreclosed” is important. Neither borrowers nor [...]
Must Mortgages Be “Suitable” For Borrowers?
How come we have so many toxic loans?
“The system is out of balance,” says Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT), “There is a chain of responsibility that makes these abusive loans possible.”
The way Washington works is that you have to read between the lines. Notice that Dodd’s core concern is not “predatory” loans or even “subprime” [...]
Toxic Loans & The Art of Denial
There’s an idea which has been voiced with more and more frequency and it generally goes like this:
I have a toxic loan but why worry? After four years or so — just before the monthly cost of this loan doubles — I’ll just go out and get another interest-only or option ARM, begin the [...]
Toxic Loans: The Coming Storm
(Presented before the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO), April 7, 2006, at Jacksonville, FL.)
It’s been a very good century for real estate, at least so far. According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical home that sold for $139,000 in 2000 was worth $208,700 in 2005.
Not only have home values [...]
25Aug2008 | Peter G. Miller | 0 comments | Continued
Should We Require Lenders To Modify Toxic Loans?
Mortgage interest rates are down at this writing, well below 6 percent.
In such circumstances it certainly makes sense for borrowers with exploding ARMs to refinance into stable, fixed-rate mortgages.
But many such borrowers have loans where mortgage balances have grown while home values have fallen. Many toxic loans require huge prepayment penalties. Most borrowers with [...]
Did One Mortgage Regulator Get It Right?
For months, Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, has been saying that there’s an instant solution to the mortgage meltdown that can prevent massive numbers of foreclosures. Not a perfect solution, but a solution.
Her idea? Freeze toxic loans at their original interest rates.
Writing in the New York Times, Bair [...]
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