In my previous posting with the VERY long headline the other day, I challenged any and all to contradict me when I —and a Congressional oversight committee—concluded that the Obama administration’s attempt, thus far, to gain meaningful mortgage modifications has totally flopped.
In even less time than I thought would be the case, I have been proven sadly right: A new RealtyTrac report just out says that foreclosures are up a full 5 percent from summer to this fall…..meaning almost 940 thousand properties were impacted….
And, in case you’re not counting (and who is??? anyone??????) RealtyTrac says that puts the number of foreclosure postings at about 3.5 million by the time the year is out, compared to 2.3 million a year ago. CNN is even reporting the headline, “Foreclosures: ‘Worst three months of all time’
As an Associated Press report points out, “unemployment is the main reason homeowners are falling into trouble.” God, what would we do without the keen insights of the A.P.?
And, what of the government’s program of foreclosure modification? Easier to find a brain inside of Paris Hilton’s head!
As I said in my last post—quoting from a newly released Congressional report–the fact is the banks have all but ignored the entire modification thing, opting , for the most part, to continue taking in all sorts of fees for late monthly payments rather than reducing the principal owed to make it easier for folks to stay in their homes and maybe one day actually pay off the mortgage…which is supposed to be the idea. Right?
Only a week ago, you may recall, Obama claimed the mortgage relief effort is working! Yeah, and I think I found that brain inside of Paris Hilton’s head.
Article Author:
Charles FeldmanCharles has written 149 articles for us.
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Charles is currently reporting for KNX Radio in Los Angeles, is the co-author of the book No Time To Think, and can be found commenting about the news on his blog, The Feldman Blog.
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It works for the people that can actually get it done. Unfortunately the banks just want to make their money, they dont care about the economy or individual people.
-Tyler
Tyler´s last blog ..Kettleman Bagel Co: SE, NW, Downtown Portland
I have seen statistics that show that delinquent mortgages are way up in 2009 over 2008, approx 50% more. This 2nd wave is very unfortunate for homeowners, but will certainly offer tremendous opportunity. What happens when they raise interest rates to fend off inflation? This seems to be the perfect storm. There are still a ton of subprime and option A mortgage resets, unemployment and income reductions, tons of people underwater and even shadow inventory. Add on the commercial meltdown and the next 3-5 years is going to be interesting, tremendous for savvy investors.
Ryan Moeller´s last blog ..Cash Flow Duplex