December 07, 2007

HousingPANIC Stupid Question of the Day


Seen enough?

Or do you want more?

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Man, where the f is dopes?

Anonymous said...

More please

Anonymous said...

Cue the somber music from Platoon... we're about to head into the jungle along the Cambodian border circa 1968.

Anonymous said...

ominous.

Eric Z said...

Like John Kreese said in Karate Kid III: "I wanna see a lot more!"

Anonymous said...

Let it go folks, the "very conservative" Kansas:

Terrell Ford, 33, of Kansas City, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy for his part in a local scheme that federal prosecutors said collectively fleeced lenders of $14 million, Eric Melgren, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said in a written statement.

Ford admitted that he and others involved in the scam launched a company in 2002 called TERM Appraisers, which would lure low-income borrowers into applying for home loans or refinancing despite their generally low credit scores.

The conspirators then would send phony mortgage applications and inflated appraisals to lending companies, and deposit the loans into a bank account in Olathe under the name of Liberty Escrow.

Other defendants still under indictment in the $14 million scam are Wildor Washington Jr. and Victoria Bennett of Leawood, Maurice Ragland of Lee's Summit, Kara Robinson-Franks of Grandview and Terrence Cole of Kansas City, Kan.

Anonymous said...

MOAR HOUSING PORN!!!
but seriously, I think we ain't gonna hear so much about it until banks publish their 4th quarter results. That is somewhere in 2008.
Too bad, when I watch a TV show, I like it to be a one shot. Can't wait for season 2.

Anonymous said...

How many times the crooks on Wall Street will use the "possibility of a rate cut on Fed's next meeting" to pump this moribund stock market?

Every couple of days they use this as a reason for the rally. C'mon, we know you guys want that xmas bonus, but nobody here is that stupid. And the MSM bootlickers join the party every time.

Anonymous said...

Here's more

http://rjrcos.blogspot.com/2007/12/analysts-say-subprime-losses-could.html

Analysts Say Subprime Losses Could Reach $500 Billion

By Emma Trincal, Senior Financial Correspondent
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 6:07:53 PM ET

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)—The impact of the U.S. subprime crisis on the global financial system could be worse than what many had initially anticipated. As banks begin to understand the high degree of their own exposure to subprime loans, more analysts are becoming pessimistic. Their pessimism is being compounded by the introduction on Thursday [Nov. 15] of a new accounting rule that is likely to reveal the true proportion of illiquid assets on most banks' books.

Some analysts are saying that the credit bubble has led to another and potentially more dangerous bubble in the finance sector. Large investment banks have announced significant write-downs linked to their subprime investments. But it could get much worse, those analysts said.

In a report released Monday [Nov. 12], Mike Mayo, financial sector analyst at Deutsche Bank, predicted between $300 billion and $400 billion of subprime losses in the banking sector. This would force banks to write down between $60 billion and $70 billion of assets related to subprime by year-end, he noted.

Russ DoGG said...

The winding explanations and tortured logic coming from the congress is really amazing. And Bush is well.... reacting to this like the Deer in the headlights.

I'm trying to see what this plan will do to influence hte RE market. I can see they put some effort into this "plan" to try and make it not obviously resemble a bailout. But one doesn't have to look too hard to see that it is a bailout. I might look like a bailout for gamblers but it looks to me more like a bailout for lenders.

So this bizarre sillyness will supposedly keep some people from being foreclosed, and keep some of hte McMansions off the market / out of foreclosure. I won't even consider the possibilities for fraud by speculators claiming to have multiple "primary residences" ala casey serin.

But I don't see this as doing anything to address teh underlying affordability issue. Prices should continue to come down because the -new- buyers will still be facing tougher mortgage qualifications (higher interest rates & more conservative loans).

The most innocent of those to supposedly benefit from the baiilout would be the honest borrowers who stretched to buy their homes, but didn't inflate income/asssets. So they coud barely afford the payments. Current owners may be able to stay in their homes through this govt intervention. But the -current- fair market value of their RE has to reflect the more recently conservative lending standards; i.e. lower values in relation to the median local income base.

So buy doing this bailout its going to keep the marginal buyers making their loan payments. And the value of the uderlying asset (fair mkt value) is now 20-30% lower than the purchase price.

In relation to a subprime borrower who purchased at inflated prices with little money for a down payment (i.e. little or no equity): If the loans reset they would realize that they can't afford the homes. they might also realize the house isn't worth what they owe on it (loan is underwater or upside down). So they might be tempted to stop payments & face foreclosure or mail th keys back to the bank. Creating big losses for said bank in an expensive foreclosure.

So it seems to me that the effect of this intervention, now, will be to incentivize the sub-prime borrower to keep making payments on the loans when they are upside down/underwater. Without the intervention the homedebtors would more likely see loan reset, then the light (that they are underwater), and abandon their upside-down houses.

It looks like a rescue for sub-prime lenders- not sub-prime borrowers. This plan may keep people in houses; but it doesn't seem to improve their net worth. Those who can afford hte higher loan payments will still have to make those higher reset rates- right? it appears to me like it improves the finacial net worth of banks more than borrowers.

I'm looking at a good number of for-sale signs in the 'hood where not much is moving in the last 6 months.

Anyone see this differently? I could use some input and don't want to buy in a declining market.

tater said...

And, while you're at it Keith, a little Pepsi along with the popcorn would just make my day.

Oh yeah, that good article about the crooked company in Kansas is just the little itty bitty tip of the iceburg. Ain't Kansas the place Dorothy, Toto, and Auntie Em lived? It's lookin' baaaaad.

Anonymous said...

I want more!

I want it now!

Oh yea, that's instant gratification, that's a no-no, must be patient.

Oh f#ck patience, I want more, I want it NOW!

Anonymous said...

How to eat popcorn:

When ordering popcorn at the cinema, ask for the bottom half to be filled with sweet popcorn and the top half with salty popcorn, that way when you get to the half-way point and you're sick of the salty, you can eat the sweet.

Sweet!

Anonymous said...

>> How many times the crooks on Wall Street will use the "possibility of a rate cut on Fed's next meeting" to pump this moribund stock market?

Moribund? Can I come visit your parallel reality?

christiangustafson said...

All houses in America should be like this:
http://www.cupertinoproperties.com/houses/olive.htm

I rent in a bungalow-belt neighborhood in Seattle called Crown Hill. Our neighbor across the street has his little palace priced at $465K. So we have a long ways to go before we attain Cupertino prices.

Seattleites are smug ... and scared. Inventory and whining will EXPLODE when the "spring selling season" starts around Superbowl time.

Anonymous said...

Here ya go, Democrat Party stooges:

HILLARY CLINTON: CAREER PROFILE (SINCE 1989)
Top Industries
The top industries supporting Hillary Clinton are:
1 Lawyers/Law Firms $15,909,855
2 Securities & Investment $8,261,513
3 Retired $7,744,381
4 Real Estate $6,835,169
5 TV/Movies/Music $4,434,399
6 Business Services $4,407,965
7 Health Professionals $3,146,926
8 Misc Business $2,972,825
9 Education $2,920,334
10 Misc Finance $2,705,575

Mammoth said...

Christian Gustafson,

Check out this morning's front-page articles in both the Seattle Times and the Seattle P-I.

Seattle is different...not.

Cheers,
Mammoth

Anonymous said...

Blood in the Streets, hell, let's go ALL the way this time...

Anonymous said...

UNCLE! UNCLE!

Anonymous said...

The three-hour film "Housing Panic" started slowly, to emphasize a dawning awareness of the pending disaster in Hometown, USA. The pace is picking up right before intermission with arty black and white scenes of displaced homedebtors and courthouse auctions.
The plot thickens, with the President making a teary-eyed speech in the face of the crisis, and just before the curtain, the sound of a helicopter in the distance. As we head to the popcorn stand, no one quite knows how this thriller will end.

Anonymous said...

Hey Keith,
How about posting that song: "Ain't Seen Nothin Yet" by BTO

Miss Goldbug said...

Anon said:"Every couple of days they use this as a reason for the rally. C'mon, we know you guys want that xmas bonus, but nobody here is that stupid. And the MSM bootlickers join the party every time."


Agree, its truely unbelievable the market rallies on bad news. Even goog is back up to $700 a share.

Has the markets gone mad?

Anonymous said...

the loan modification plan. The bottom line is it will affect more borrowers than we thought, which is probably marginally better for the economy and housing, but it also means it is slightly worse for the investors. It appears there are 1.2 million subprime borrowers facing resets, half which would qualify for refinancing options. The remaining borrowers would qualify for refinancing based on their FICO score - i.e. those below 660 would have their payments frozen for five years.

Princess Mononoke said...

Geez, I missed one day of blogging and now have loads of reading to do!!! But it is fun fun fun...

Give me moooooorreeee! LOL ;)

Princess Mononoke said...

Anonymous said...
>>How about posting that song: "Ain't Seen Nothin Yet" by BTO
December 07, 2007 6:48 PM

That's a good one. But how about "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty

Anonymous said...

Keith gets it.