By Mike Colpitts Swamped by foreclosures banks and mortgage lenders are demolishing homes in some of the hardest hit real estate markets in the U.S. after they foreclose on them in order to free up capital and get a tax write-off on the properties. JP Morgan Chase donated 1,900 homes since 2008 to be demolished… Continue reading Banks Demolish Thousands of Homes
Category: Banks
Mortgage Volume Jumps on Lower Interest Rates
Mortgage volume jumped last week to the largest level in four months as low interest rates drove homeowners to refinance loans, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The upbeat news is likely to spur more refinancing activity this week. The bankers’ composite index, a combination of refinances and new home mortgages rose 15.5% on a… Continue reading Mortgage Volume Jumps on Lower Interest Rates
Taking a Loss On Your Own Home
By Kevin Chiu It’s a beating that’s hard to take –a financial loss on your own home. Just a handful of years ago you couldn’t go any where in public without over hearing how hot the housing market was. People were buying and selling property as much as they could afford or were allowed to.… Continue reading Taking a Loss On Your Own Home
U.S. Bank Failures Decline
By Mike Colpitts Fewer U.S. banks have failed in 2011 compared to the mid-way point last year and had to be taken over by the FDIC as insolvent. The government has forced the takeover of just 48 banking institutions through last weekend, which is a major decline and expects fewer to fail by the end… Continue reading U.S. Bank Failures Decline
Shadow Inventory Halts Economic Recovery
By Kevin Chiu The shadow inventory of homes and other real estate is holding an economic recovery back from fully developing, according to a study by credit firm Equifax. As many as six million residential properties make up the inventory of homes not yet officially foreclosed by lenders, but left in limbo to rot in… Continue reading Shadow Inventory Halts Economic Recovery
Mortgage Growth Stalls on Higher Interest Rates
A sudden increase in mortgage interest rates triggered a slowdown in loan applications for the first time in more than two months, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association weekly survey. The index saw a fall in applications, bringing refinances to a stall. Mortgage rates rose sharply for the week on a 30-year fixed rate loan… Continue reading Mortgage Growth Stalls on Higher Interest Rates
Financial Crisis Criminal Conspiracy Unravels
By Mike Colpitts It was a criminal conspiracy in the making for nearly a decade before Colonial Bank and Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation came tumbling down long before the financial crisis came to a head. A high level Fannie Mae executive, Samuel Smith discovered a mortgage in January of 2000 that had been… Continue reading Financial Crisis Criminal Conspiracy Unravels
Feds Extend Mortgage Rulemaking
By Mike Colpitts Five U.S. government agencies extended the time-frame to consider major changes to the nation’s mortgage financing system. The extension was announced one-day before time ran out for the government to consider changes offered by dozens of special-interest groups trying to sway Congress’ decision making on new Dodd-Frank financial reform rulemaking. The decision… Continue reading Feds Extend Mortgage Rulemaking
Banker Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison
By Mike Colpitts The former owner of one of the largest privately held U.S. mortgage lending companies and Colonial Bank was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit $38.5 million for his part in a massive $2.9 billion fraud scheme that drove his bank and mortgage company into failure. Lee B.… Continue reading Banker Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison
Banks Mortgage Servicers Penalized
By Mike Colpitts Nearly four years after the foreclosure crisis began to make inroads to wreck the U.S. economy and mortgage lenders started foreclosing on homes without proof of ownership, the U.S. Treasury is finally taking action to withhold payments to three of the nation’s largest banks as a way to penalize their mortgage servicing… Continue reading Banks Mortgage Servicers Penalized