underwater mortgage

18 Stories

Calif. City OK With Seizing Mortgages From Banks

Eminent domain would be used to help Richmond homeowners

(Newser) - Eminent domain is usually used to seize homes from people, but Richmond, California, in the early hours of this morning gave a tentative green light to a plan that would use it to keep people in their homes. In a contentious 4-3 vote, the city council voted to continue pursuing...

Feds Eye a Fresh Round of Mortgage Relief

Refinancing could take on loans not backed by Fannie, Freddie

(Newser) - The White House is looking to roll out a fresh round of refinancing, this time adding mortgages that aren't backed by the government, reports the Wall Street Journal . Some 22% of mortgages—about 10.8 million—exceeded the value of the homes they backed in June, down sharply from...

The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages
The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages
OPINION
Aug 13, 2012 1:59 PM CDT

The Government Needs to Start Buying Mortgages

Economists Joseph Stiglitz and Mark Zandi have a plan to fix the housing market

(Newser) - Five years after the mortgage crisis began, housing is still one of the biggest factors dragging the economy down. There's just one option left, economists Joseph Stiglitz and Mark Zandi write in the New York Times : Mass refinancing. "Well over half of all American homeowners with mortgages are...

One in 30 Homeowners Over Age 75 in Foreclosure
One in 30 Homeowners
Over Age 75 in Foreclosure
sad stats
Jul 19, 2012 9:44 AM CDT

One in 30 Homeowners Over Age 75 in Foreclosure

AARP says delinquency growing among the over 50 crowd

(Newser) - Older Americans are increasingly feeling the hovering specter of foreclosure, after years of not suffering as acutely from the housing crisis, according to a new AARP report. While younger Americans still have a higher rate of serious delinquency, older Americans are now falling behind at a much faster rate, the...

Finally, We Realize It's OK to Help Sinking Homeowners

Public's hatred of debt relief seems to have passed: Nicole Gelinas

(Newser) - When Bank of America announced this month that it was going to reduce the mortgage balances for some underwater homeowners, the news didn't set off the usual flurry of critics complaining that these people were getting an undeserved break, notes Nicole Gelinas in the Los Angeles Times . "The...

Banks Ink $26B Deal to Help 2M Homeowners

49 states sign on to deal with nation's top 5 banks

(Newser) - America's five biggest banks have hammered out a $26 billion settlement for their role in causing the mortgage meltdown, reports the Wall Street Journal . The deal—the biggest of its kind since 1998's $206 billion settlement with the tobacco industry—was hammered out during almost a year of...

Bankruptcy: Wrong for You, OK for American Airlines

It's a double standard that needs to go

(Newser) - When American Airlines declared bankruptcy even though it could afford to pay its debts , pundits largely applauded this smart business move. Many homeowners face the same predicament, observes James Surowiecki in the New Yorker : "They can still pay their debts, but doing so is like setting a pile of...

Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015
Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015
new report
Sep 21, 2011 11:07 AM CDT

Housing Market Will Stink Through 2015

Economists, builders, mortgage analysts fear 'lost decade'

(Newser) - Even more bad economic news from a report released today: Housing prices will remain depressed for years, dropping by an expected 2.5% this year and rising only 1.1% each year through 2015, according to the survey of more than 100 economists. Since the 2005 peak, housing prices have...

Mortgages, Wages Force Many to Delay Retirement

Debt weighing down 60-something Americans: Wall Street Journal

(Newser) - Many Americans are being forced to put off retirement thanks to mountains of debt and lower wages, a feature in today’s Wall Street Journal asserts. Because wages have barely kept up with inflation over the past 35 years, Americans have been borrowing more money and saving less. As of...

Almost 40% of Second Mortgages Underwater

And it's proving a drag on the recovery

(Newser) - Homeowners who took out a second mortgage are twice as likely as those who didn’t to be underwater on their mortgages, with a whopping 38% owing more than their homes are worth, according to a CoreLogic report released today. They were also much deeper in the hole, with an...

11.1M Households Underwater
 11.1M Households Underwater 
Mar 9, 2011 7:17 AM CST

11.1M Households Underwater

Number jumps to 23.1% at end of 2010, more likely on way

(Newser) - Just when it looked like the housing market might be treading water, more American homes slipped underwater at the end of 2010, reports the AP. Now 23.1% of all mortgages, or 11.1 million, outweigh the value of the house they secure—up from 22.5% in the previous...

Millions of Underwater Borrowers Debate Walking Away

Mass abandonment of mortgages could trigger new economic plunge

(Newser) - A quarter of American homeowners now owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth and millions of them are thinking about just walking away. "Strategic defaults" on so-called underwater mortgages are on the rise, although abandoning mortgages is controversial and, to some, immoral. "We made a...

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way
Homeowner Bailout
May Be on the Way
hot rumor dept
Aug 5, 2010 2:44 PM CDT

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way

Insiders think Fannie and Freddie will forgive mortgage debt

(Newser) - Another enormous bailout may be in the works, this time for underwater homeowners, writes Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis. Rumor has it that the Obama administration will sidestep Congress and order lenders Fannie and Freddie to forgive some of the mortgage debt of Americans who owe more than their homes are...

BofA Forgiving $3B in Mortgage Debt

45K 'underwater' borrowers to be offered reduction

(Newser) - Bank of America is offering to slash mortgage-loan balances by up to 30% for thousands of delinquent borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth. The plan—part of an agreement to settle a lending-abuse suit—is one of the most ambitious moves yet to ease the foreclosure crisis,...

Millions Considering Walking Away From Mortgages

10% of mortgages expected to be underwater by June

(Newser) - The long slide in property values has left huge numbers of homeowners considering just walking away from their mortgages. People start thinking about jumping ship when their home value falls below 75% of what they paid for it, according to new research. Over 5 million Americans are expected to be...

1 in 4 Homeowners Underwater
 1 in 4 Homeowners Underwater 
Nov 24, 2009 6:34 AM CST

1 in 4 Homeowners Underwater

Swell of those owing more than home value a risk to market

(Newser) - Nearly 1 in every 4 homeowners owes more on their mortgages than their homes are worth, a serious obstacle to any kind of housing recovery. According to a report from First American CoreLogic, a real estate information company, nearly 10.7 million households are “underwater,” with 5.3...

Watchdog: Feds Need to Expand Foreclosure Plan

$50B plan proving ineffective as more mortgage holders lose their jobs

(Newser) - The Treasury's $50 billion loan-modification program is in danger of being swamped as the foreclosure crisis accelerates, the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report yesterday. The Home Affordable Modification Program has met its target of 500,000 trial mortgage modifications started by November 1, but the watchdog warned that...

By 2011, 48% of Mortgages Will Be Underwater

(Newser) - Nearly half of US homeowners will owe more than their house is worth by 2011, Deutsche Bank analysts said yesterday, predicting that the number of such “underwater” mortgages would nearly double from today’s 26% to 48%. Their report stated that home prices will fall another 14% between now...

18 Stories