Headlines...

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
<p>Note that this article is mainly about renters feeling pain...</p>



Mortgage crisis inflicts collateral damage

Marriages, families, tax revenues fall victim to wave of foreclosures



<p>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22246203/</p>
 
<p>Heigh ho, heigh ho, inflation here we go...</p>

<p>dumb dumb, dumb dumb, dumb dumb, dumb dumb dumb dumb, ...</p>

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_70;_ylt=AsBO7tQu5fj0313_dDGjMO4E1vAI">http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071214/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_70;_ylt=AsBO7tQu5fj0313_dDGjMO4E1vAI</a></p>

<p>And for giggles, housing hunting during the bubble... </p>

<p><embed id="VideoPlayback" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nN1BegE3QR0" width="425" height="350" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" wmode="transparent"></embed></p>
 
<p>Housing Crash Deepens in 2008 as U.S. Realtors See Record Drop </p>

<p><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aFGRVkX98Hzw&refer=home">http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aFGRVkX98Hzw&refer=home</a></p>

<p>Moody's Economy.com Inc., the economic forecasting unit of Moody's Corp. in New York, says home sales will hit bottom next year, declining 40 percent from their peak.</p>
 
<p>Never fear, Senator Barbara Boxer is on the job!</p>

<p>Once upon a time, I obviously sent our Senator an email on some issue, I get regular email updates on her 'defending' us.</p>

<p>Here's this morning's missive (italized from the cut and paste):</p>



<p><em>Dear Friend:





It is safe to say that no one in America will be untouched by the current crisis in home mortgages and the growing number of defaults. Experts predict that over 2 million Americans (including more than 460,000 Californians) will lose their homes, and we all will be impacted by the reactions in the stock market, the number of abandoned houses that serve as magnets to crime, and the local government programs that will be delayed because of the lack of local tax revenues.





Several bills have been introduced in the Senate to help ease the home mortgage crisis, and I am pleased to cosponsor several of them. Of prime importance is new legislation, the Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act of 2007. This bill is intended to protect American homeowners and prevent this disaster from happening again. Because it contains several provisions, I invite you to learn more by using this </em><a href="http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999921240.623731.173&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3343"><em>link</em></a><em>.





To give Californians a better understanding of the mortgage crisis, I am offering a special </em><a href="http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999921240.623731.173&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3344"><em>web feature</em></a><em> to my constituents. It includes some basic background, summarizes legislation that I am supporting to help deal with the crisis, and links to websites offering tips to those with mortgage problems.





Many experts say that we are now seeing only the beginning of the problems with home mortgages. If you are concerned about your own loan, if you have friends or others who are at a loss about what to do about their situation, or if you just want to learn more about what caused this crisis and how we might avoid it deepening, I encourage you to visit my special feature at </em><a href="http://boxer.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=1999921240.623731.173&gen=1&mailing_linkid=3344"><em>http://boxer.senate.gov/features/mortgage/</em></a></p>





<p><em>Sincerely,</em></p>

<p><em></em></p>

<p><em>Barbara Boxer


United States Senator</em></p>
 
<p> I can hardly stand to read these articles anymore with all these people acting so shocked at the housing situation - how can all these ceo's and cfo's of companies claim that they didn't recognize this situation that was coming. I really just don't get it.</p>

<p> </p>
 
Well, it looks like even the government stats are begining to have a difficult time hiding price inflation. It may be time to start thinking, when someone says, "That house is worth $400,000 at the most.", what are they comparing as relative worth? What is a dollar worth? What is a dollar?
 
<p>Bernanke Seeks Greater Disclosure From Home Lenders (Update3)


<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aM2NCdyAXtx8&refer=home">http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aM2NCdyAXtx8&refer=home</a></p>
 
<p>Anony---</p>

<p>GRRRRRRrrrrr.....</p>

<p>Disclosures do nothing. there are already too many disclosures and the people don't read 'em. In fact, when I try to explain things, all too often the borrowers simply look bored.</p>

<p>The only question that most ask is, tah-daaaah--how much is my monthly payment. The sophisticated want to make sure it's a fixed rate, and the really sophisticated want to make sure there is no prepayment penalty.</p>

<p> </p>
 
OldVet over at AngryBear sez that the reason that the financial mkts have not yet completely collapsed is that they are being supported by the Chinese and the people of the Arabian peninsula, who a effectively tied to us in such a way that they will lose big if we collapse.
 
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119767003250230199.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news">http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119767003250230199.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news</a></p>

<p>


Sallie Mae Chairman Sells 90% of Shares


By Keith J. Winstein


Word Count: 338


Albert L. Lord, chairman of student-loan giant SLM Corp., commonly known as Sallie Mae, sold 1.2 million shares of the company, or more than 90% of his stock in the company.</p>

<p>Friday, the company said the sale was "required under Mr. Lord's borrowing arrangements," suggesting Mr. Lord had borrowed against his stockholdings and faced a margin call as the value of his holdings declined.


</p>
 
<p>LA Times had an article on sub-prime returning to renting. Interesting reading because IMHO, anybody facing foreclosure or a reset will get the gist from the article of the landlords saying walk away before you max out your credit cards and you'll still be able to rent, screw the rest of your bills up or tap your credit cards and they'll turn you away.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/printedition/la-re-rent16dec16,1,2025083.story?ctrack=2&cset=true">http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/printedition/la-re-rent16dec16,1,2025083.story?ctrack=2&cset=true</a></p>
 
<p>Greenspan Says He Favors a Government Bailout for Homeowners </p>

<p>http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=auY2a_GkmbD4&refer=home</p>
 
<p>Apparently people are spending less. . . shocking</p>

<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_us/holiday_shopping">news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071217/ap_on_re_us/holiday_shopping</a></p>

<p>"Just as malls and stores ushered the official start of the holiday season with expanded hours and generous discounts, they plan to do the same in the final stretch. Macy's Inc. plans to pull all-nighters at several of its stores, including its Manhattan flagship, starting Friday. Toys "R" Us plans to keep its doors open until midnight every day until Dec. 24." [Cool, I can go get a nerf ball at 11:30 p.m.]</p>

<p>"<strong>Based on early reports from analysts and malls on Sunday, sales results were generally unimpressive this past weekend</strong>, as shoppers were held back by a snow storm that spread a mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow from the Great Lakes states to New England. Consumers, fretting about economic worries, were also delaying their shopping even more this year, knowing there's a full weekend before Christmas, when the bargains will be even better.</p>

<p><strong>Meanwhile, for online retailers, which likely finished their busiest days last week, their fate appears to be already sealed: holiday sales didn't live up to industry's hopes as lower-income shoppers pulled back on spending amid a housing slump.</strong> ComScore Inc. reported on Sunday that online sales from Nov. 1 through Dec. 14 rose 18 percent — less than the 26 percent growth rate seen in the same period a year ago and the 20 percent projection for the season.</p>

<p>"This holiday season at this point has been disappointing, whether they're brick and mortar, catalog or online," said C. Britt Beemer, chairman of America's Research Group, based in Charleston, S.C. "Shopper are more frugal and cost-conscious because they have less money to spend." As for Saturday and Sunday, he said, "This weekend was busy, but it wasn't huge."</p>

<p>BTW: Went to South Coast yesterday. . . fairly empty for Christmas. . . even the LV store was only 40-50 percent full (compared to last year when my wife and I had to wait in line to get in.)</p>
 
Bargain Houses Largely Unsold





<a href="http://www.modbee.com/local/story/152921.html">http://www.modbee.com/local/story/152921.html</a>





<p>On Friday, O'Toole said, a foreclosed five-bedroom Modesto home on Hemstead Avenue went up for auction with a starting bid of $301,500, even though the lender was owed $537,000 from a delinquent mortgage.</p>



<p>But that $235,500 discount apparently wasn't enough. O'Toole said no one bid, so the lender now owns the house.</p>
 
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