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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mortgage loans

mortgage loans stories: 18 news summaries

 FHA Helps High-End Buyers  

Raised guarantee limit may be tough to roll back

Nov 20, 09 5:34 AM CST
(Newser) - When the government last year doubled the amount the FHA will guarantee on a home loan, to more than $700,000, it moved the agency into uncharted territory: backing loans for the middle-class and the wealthy, too. It also moved the FHA, designed to help low-income buyers who can't raise... More »

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real estate • housing market • Federal Housing Administration • mortgage loans • mortgage insurance • FHA

(Newser) - The government's foreclosure prevention program is failing largely because of mortgage companies who can make more money when loans go delinquent, industry insiders tell the New York Times. Companies servicing mortgage loans charge many lucrative fees as loans go bad—recoverable, if necessary, out of the proceeds when the foreclosed... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage loans • mortgage lender • mortgage delinquency • Obama administration • mortgage modification

(Newser) - Democratic Sens. Chris Dodd and Kent Conrad were fully aware they were getting sweetened mortgage deals, the Countrywide Financial exec who handled their loans has told congressional investigators. The testimony from the loan officer to the House Oversight and Senate Ethics committees directly contradicts the senators' assertions that they had... More »

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Chris Dodd • Countrywide Financial • mortgage loans • Senate Ethics Committee • political scandal • Kent Conrad • Robert Feinberg

(Newser) - The Obama administration's plan to help millions of homeowners avoid foreclosure has so far been a major failure, Politico reports. It's reached just 160,000 of the 3 to 4 million homeowners it was supposed to protect, and another 2 million homes are expected to be foreclosed upon before the... More »

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housing market • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage loans • Senate Banking Committee • Obama administration

(Newser) - Would-be homeowners with good credit are finding themselves shut out of the mortgage market by stiff restrictions from wary lenders, the New York Times reports. Many believe that in an effort to move away from the laxness blamed for the financial crisis, lenders have gone too far the other way... More »

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housing market • mortgage • credit crisis • mortgage loans • mortgage lender

Top Subprime Lenders Owned by Bailout Banks

Analysis of gov't data reveals sources of the economic meltdown

May 6, 09 9:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - Some 21 of the top 25 subprime lenders that triggered the global economic collapse were either owned or financed by banks that ended up needing bailouts, an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity finds. Among the backers, who make huge profits on the subprime business, were Lehman Brothers, Merrill... More »

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Citigroup • subprime mortgages • Wells Fargo • AIG • mortgage loans • GMAC • investment banks • JPMorgan Chase • subprime lender • banks • financial crisis • TARP

OPINION

Banks Have Gotten a Bum Rap: BofA Chief Ken Lewis

The steps already taken are working, so let the market sort it out

Mar 9, 09 8:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - Banks have been unfairly tarred by misconceptions about the current financial crisis, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis argues in the Wall Street Journal. It's not true that banks aren't lending, he writes. They are just doing so more responsibly, as they should. And it's not true that bad banks... More »

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Bank of America • nationalization • mortgage loans • free markets • Kenneth Lewis • banks • financial crisis • TARP

Citi Offers Jobless Lower Mortgage Payments

Recently unemployed can drop payments to average of $500

Mar 3, 09 7:25 AM CST
(Newser) - Citigroup is announcing a new program easing mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for homeowners who have lost their jobs and fallen behind on their debts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Borrowers will be allowed to make the lower payments for 3 months and will pay no... More »

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Citigroup • mortgage • mortgage loans • housing crisis • mortgage delinquency

 Foreclosures Soar 81% 

States where property prices spiked during boom now seeing highest foreclosure rates

Jan 15, 09 6:05 AM CST
(Newser) - Foreclosures rocketed 81% in the US during 2008, affecting one of every 54 households in the nation, reports Reuters. A total of 3.2 million foreclosures were filed, according to research firm Realtytrac. The hardest-hit states were Nevada, Florida, Arizona, and California, the same states where property prices surged the... More »

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real estate • foreclosure • mortgage • property • mortgage loans • homeowners

Scamsters Cash In on Foreclosure Crisis

Phony rescuers collect big upfront fees from desperate homeowners

Jan 15, 09 3:44 AM CST
(Newser) - A new breed of crook is getting rich preying on homeowners desperate to fend off foreclosure, the New York Times reports. Scamsters set themselves up as "foreclosure rescue companies,” collect big upfront fees for the promise to modify loans, then do little or nothing to help. Some people... More »

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fraud • foreclosure • mortgage • debt • housing • scam • mortgage loans • loan • homeowners • recession depression

Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years

Execs charge Syron was warned
of disaster

Aug 5, 08 4:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The CEO of Freddie Mac disregarded several warnings from inside the company that the mortgage giant faced imminent disaster. More than two dozen current and former high-ranking employees told the New York Times that Richard Syron dismissed repeated recommendations from as early as 2004 to limit its exposure to bad... More »

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subprime mortgages • housing • Freddie Mac • mortgage loans • mortgage debt • Richard Syron • loan • financial crisis

Celebrity Foreclosure:
Canseco's Out at Home

Former baseball star forced to move into smaller home

May 1, 08 9:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - It can happen to the rich and famous, too: Jose Canseco's mansion is in foreclosure, and he's had to move into more modest digs, Inside Edition reports. Canseco owed more than $2.5 million on the California property his neighbors called the "hotel." He made $30 million in... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • debt • Jose Canseco • Washington Mutual • mortgage loans • mortgage debt • mortgage lender • subprime crisis • mortgage defaults

Federal Mortgage Plan Not Helping the Neediest: Critics

Only 2K in danger of foreclosure have been able to take advantage, stats show

Apr 29, 08 4:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - A plan to federally subsidize the refinancing of troubled mortgages has in fact helped relatively few of the most at-risk borrowers, the New York Times reports. Though Bush administration officials said FHA Secure has benefited 150,000, federal statistics show that only 1,729 of those mortgages were delinquent. “... More »

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Bush administration • housing market • foreclosure • Federal Housing Administration • mortgage loans • housing crisis • subprime crisis • FHA Secure

$6B From Outside Investors Will Shore Up Wachovia

Bank selling discounted shares to combat credit crunch

Apr 13, 08 10:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Ailing bank Wachovia will get a $6 billion-$7 billion shot in the arm from outside investors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Specifics of the capital infusion, designed to help the company recover from the credit crisis, haven’t been finalized. Details may be revealed when the company reports first-quarter... More »

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Wall Street • Wachovia • credit crisis • Washington Mutual • mortgage loans • private equity firms • sovereign wealth funds • Golden West

As Margin
Calls Mount, Carlyle Holds
'Crisis Talks'

Private equity giant's subsidiary imperiled

Mar 10, 08 12:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Carlyle Group is holding emergency talks with lenders to try to save its drowning Carlyle Capital division, the Washington Post reports. Creditors have decided that Carlyle’s portfolio of traditionally safe mortgage-backed securities holdings isn’t good enough in the current market, and they're demanding $400 million more... More »

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private equity • Carlyle Group • credit market • mortgage loans • mortgage backed securities • housing crisis • subprime crisis

Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop

October figures exceed gloomy estimates, show continued slump

Dec 26, 07 12:25 PM CST
(Newser) - Home prices plummeted 6.1% in October, a record year-over-year drop that exceeded forecasts. The index of prices in 20 major markets has dropped every month this year and fell 1.4% from the September figure, another record. The trend threatens overall consumer spending, making it more difficult for homeowners... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • mortgage • houses • home prices • home equity • mortgage loans • subprime crisis

Bad Credit?
Buy a Piece of Someone Else's

Company boosts scores by adding names to paid-off loans

Dec 8, 07 8:22 PM CST
(Newser) - Americans struggling with bad credit records may have a new route to a better score: For as little as $1,199, a San Diego company is offering the chance for customers to add their names to already-paid-off loans in order to boost their rating, the Los Angeles Times reports. The... More »

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FBI • credit crisis • mortgage loans • TradeLine Solutions • Ted Stearns • bank fraud

Home Prices Show Record Drop

Consumer confidence off too; the credit market is to blame, again

Aug 28, 07 11:21 AM CDT
(Newser) - The credit market is continuing to weigh on economic indicators, Bloomberg reports, as home prices and consumer confidence both notched records in their downward swoon. A report released today showed home values down an unprecedented 3.2% in the second quarter. Consumer confidence this month fell to its lowest levels... More »

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home sales • consumer confidence • US economy • credit market • Department of Commerce • mortgage loans

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